The biggest white elephant of them all

The Dom Post reports:

The chances of Wellington getting a billion-dollar light rail system are looking good, mayor Justin Lester believes.

He reckons there is a “strong likelihood” of the long-talked-about project happening, after the Government’s latest transport policy announcement prioritised rapid rail above state highway upgrades.

If the Government does implement this Labour-Green wet dream, it will be the biggest white elephant of recent times.

The Regional Council costed this not long ago. The benefit to cost ratio was 0.05. Not 0.5 but 0.05. A BCR of 1 means a project is worth funding. A BCR of 0.5 means the costs will be twice as large as the benefits. A BCR of 0.05 means the costs will be 20 times as large as the benefits.

For every $1 million spent on Wellington light rail, the benefits will be just $50,000. It’s madness, but one in which left politicians want to throw our money at.

Light rail in some areas does stack up economically, such as parts of Auckland. But in Wellington it does not – not even close.