$22M RailRunner budget targeted by new leadership

From KOB-TV.com - By: Stuart Dyson, KOB Eyewitness News 4; Taryn Bianchin, KOB.com -Newly elected leadership will soon replace the legislature’s democratic majority, resulting in contested public projects like the RailRunner to become a moving target for budget cuts. The train's officials have already felt the heat. Like almost all mass transit, the RailRunner is heavily subsidized by taxpayers. According to official numbers, a passenger fare for an average trip is $2.35 after discounts. The actual cost for the train’s operation is close to $18 for that trip, with taxpayers picking up most of the difference. Now opponents of the train may drum up enough votes in the House’s powerful legislative finance committee to clip the train's operational budget, a move that Governor-elect Martinez is bound to support. “When you’re only getting back 12 or 13 percent of the operating costs back to run and offset the cost of the operations, you have to look at that,” said Rep. Larry Larranaga, R-Albuquerque. Read more

$22M RailRunner budget targeted by new leadership