Eric Goldwyn and Matt Yglesias Discuss

Matt Yglesias: [Second Avenue subway] is a really good piece of infrastructure to have. And I think some people in New York will look at it and say, “well, you know, at any price, it’s worth doing.” But I mean, it has cost a lot of money.

Eric Goldwyn: If it had been double, it still would have been on a per-rider basis, cost-effective relative to other American projects, by a long shot.

Matt Yglesias: ...So even though it’s very expensive, it’s actually highly cost-effective in ridership terms because demand for mass transit is so large in New York City. So, what that comes down to is that if New York could stretch that money further, it could generate an incredible amount of extra transit ridership.