Letter to the Editor: Amp Alternative

Traffic on West End is abysmal, and something needs to be done. The Amp is, indeed, something. But what alternatives are there? I’m not presently taking sides in the debate over the Amp. But I’d like to propose one alternative which I think will be simpler and cheaper.

Amp is projected to cost $4 million a year to operate, plus the $174 million startup costs. Add some for inevitable overruns, divide that over 20 years, and you get about $14 million annually. A comparable BRT system in Cleveland has ridership of around 14,000 daily. So we’re spending (very roughly) a thousand dollars per year to get each individual car off the road.

How about instead, we just pay people to carpool? If someone paid me a thousand dollars a year for my trouble, you can bet I’d be carpooling! Set up a good smartphone-based system to make ride matches, and I guarantee you you’ll get more cars off the road for less money. The result helps all of Nashville, not just one dense strip. And there’s zero construction disruption. If you want to get it off the ground fast, don’t put a fixed dollar value on it. Say “There’s a million dollars in the pot. Whoever carpools splits it.” It will take off instantly.

Obviously there’s a lot of variation possible. Who gets paid? The driver? The rider? Both? How do you keep track and minimize gaming the system? I don’t have all the answers. But it’s worth consideration.