Wentworth points out that the bill did not spell out how the district would fund the commuter rail system. It simply creates an entity that can then apply for federal funds to study the feasibility of having this commuter rail district. The availability of federal funds should be an incentive for the county to join the rail district, said Wentworth. County Judge Sam Biscoe supported joining the rail district because it would have allowed all of the governmental players in the region to study the issue more closely and determine potential funding mechanisms. And that means joining the rail district.
Formal membership is what it really takes.
But Biscoe said his fellow commissioners were afraid that the county was becoming overextended financially on transportation projects. But he doesn't think that should have been a roadblock for commuter rail. In June, the group endorsed commuter rail again, saying it wanted the commuter rail district to be created. The study estimated ridership at 8,000 per day, a figure that could grow to nearly 11,000 per day by 2020. The study also estimated that a regional sales tax of 0.11 cents in Williamson, Travis, Hays, Comal, and Bexar counties would cover half of the construction costs.