Omaha’s streetcar project is speeding ahead, but Warren Buffett is not on board.
In a letter to the World-Herald, the 92-year-old billionaire noted that he rarely takes sides on local issues in his hometown, but decided to “make an exception on the streetcar issue.”
“It’s an important matter,” he wrote, “and it’s going to be hugely expensive if implemented.”
Omaha’s streetcar system overcame its last major hurdle on the road to construction earlier this month with the approval of $440 million in bonds to pay for the project. The project is also contractually tied to the development of a Mutual of Omaha skyscraper in downtown Omaha, a detail that adds pressure to the streetcar’s progress.
It would be difficult for anyone to tap the brakes now — even the Oracle of Omaha himself.
Still, Buffett urged caution and suggested that the city instead invest in Omaha’s bus system.
“Residents can be far better served by extended or more intensive service by the bus system,” Buffett wrote. “As population, commerce and desired destinations shift, a bus system can be re-engineered. Streetcars keep mindlessly rolling on, fueled by large public subsidies. Mistakes are literally cast in cement.”
Construction costs alone are estimated at $306 million.
