By Teresa Auch, Post-Tribune staff writer
tauch@post-trib.com
The estimated cost for expansions to the South Shore commuter rail is $500 million.
Porter County averages 750 to 800 riders a day.
Those numbers don't add up for Porter County Commissioner Bob Harper, who said the expansion is not worth the money to taxpayers.
"Maybe another 740 (riders) will use it, but it's a half a billion dollars," Harper said.
The proposed extensions would go to Valparaiso and Lowell, with each one headed to Munster and then up to Hammond to connect with the existing South Shore lines. The estimated cost for the project is $500 million, which would likely be paid for by the federal and state governments and Lake and Porter counties.
Officials said the extensions are needed to serve the growing areas of Lake and Porter counties and to bring more economic development to the region.
Makes for a long trip
But Harper disputes the demand for new lines, pointing to figures from the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District, which runs the commuter rail.
For 2006, totals of 755 to 799 riders used the three Porter County stations on average during peak hours, according to a NICTD study.
Harper, who is on the board of directors for NICTD, said he doubts that number will grow enough to make the extensions worth while. His theory is that most people will not want to travel such a long time to and from work.
The current travel time from the Dune Park station to downtown Chicago is an hour and 30 minutes. Adding on time to get to the station and then to a person's actual work place, Harper said, the total trip could be four to five hours.
"There's only so many people who will do this," he said.
But travel times for the extensions are unknown and could be shorter if express trains are used, John Parsons, NICTD spokesman, said.
Combine that with the cheaper cost of taking the train versus driving to Chicago, and continuing rise in gasoline prices, and the South Shore becomes much more attractive to customers, he said.
And in monetary terms, ridership numbers make it worth it in Parsons' mind, he said. The county sees about $40 million to $50 million from the South Shore commuters, he said.
Even without the extension, ridership has increased in the past few years and is bursting at the seams. Trains during rush hours are filled past capacity, meaning all the seats are full.
John Swanson, executive director for NIRPC, said the continued increase of Porter County's population will just add to the demand.
And it's not just in Porter County. The other high-growth areas, such as Schererville, Merrillville, St. John and Crown Point, would also benefit from the extensions.
"You've got to look at what is the ridership potential," Swanson said.
Demand still unknown
As for Harper's theory about people not wanting to spend such a long time commuting, Swanson dismissed it. The continued increase in South Shore commuters shows more and more people are willing to make the commute if it means a higher salary.
"If that's too long of a ride, there's a lot of people taking that ride," he said.
Whether the demand is there for the extensions is unknown for now. The project is still in the early planning stages, and studies haven't been completed on estimated ridership numbers.
But an early indicator could be the addition of 14 new cars on the existing South Shore, which are supposed to start arriving by next fall.
Both Parsons and Swanson said they expect to see those cars fill to capacity too, and NICTD is considering adding extra runs.
Until Harper sees proof that the extensions will bring a much larger group of commuters, though, he said he will not support adding a tax to Porter County residents, which is almost certainly needed to fund the project.
"In my thought process, you have to weigh the possible benefits against the tax increase," he said.