For taxpayers that want to learn about the true value of the estimation of public works projects like high-speed rail, here is a link to an article "Underestimating Costs in Public Works Projects   Error or Lie"?  by Bent Flyvbjerg, Mette Skamris Holm and Soren Buhl, that will easily convince them that these estimations are bogus and fraudulent.  The  $2 billion price tags for high-speed rail are intentionally misleading and should not be believed.  Basically, the estimations are just a bunch of lies to fool the public into buying into them.  The $2 billion estimates for HSR is garbage!  $8-10 billion would be closer to the truth.  Not to mention the 30 year development window is another joke.

The public can "purchase" copies of the proposals by contacting Dave Powers, National Graphic Imaging, 1612 N Orange Ave, Orlando, Florida 32804, 407-898-3381.  The public can "review" the proposals at the FDOT Public Transportation Offices at 605 Suwannee Street in Tallahassee. In other words, they don't want the public to know the details of these proposals.  No free  or easy access to  this information is available to citizens that live in Central Florida.  That should be a  big warning to taxpayers.

This following article is from the American Planning Association web site.

"Underestimating Costs in Public Works Projects   Error or Lie"? by Bent Flyvbjerg, Mette Skamris Holm and Soren Buhl

The following was copied from the APA web site...............

"This article presents results from the first statistically significant study of cost escalation in transportation infrastructure projects.  Based on a sample of 258 transportation infrastructure projects work US$90
billion and representing different project types, geographical regions, and historical periods, it is found with overwhelming statistical significance that the cost estimates used to decide whether such projects should be
built are highly and systematically misleading.  Underestimation cannot be explained by error and is best explained by strategic misrepresentation, that is lying.  The policy implications are clear: legislators,
administrators, investors, media representatives and members of the public who value honest numbers should not trust cost estimates and cost benefit analyses produced by project promoters and their analyst."

Here is the link to the complete article (17 pages)
http://www.planning.org/japa/pdf/JAPAFlyvbjerg.pdf

To learn more about the true cost of light rail, please contact:

Sally L. Baptiste
Citizen for Ethics and Accountability in Government
Citizen for Reform in Education, Transportation and Campaign Finance
PO Box 720685
Orlando, FL  32872
407-761-9016