I recognize that Mr. Hirt has strong personal feelings on preferring more buses to additional rapid transit rail system lines, however, I believe that this discussion should be based less on emotions, preferences, hyperbole and agendas, and more on facts and computer simulations as outlined by Mr. Lee.

Mr. Hirt should visit the Bay Area and witness for himself how well BART does in continually moving significant numbers of commuters. A perfect example is BART’s east Link System that runs linearly from San Francisco to Walnut Creek and Orinda. This linked part of the BART system is always SRO during commuting hours and the riders are almost entirely white-collar workers who would not ride the buses.

Rather than talk to one politician in the Bay Area that was not re-elected, Mr. Hirt should look at the facts and testimonials of urban transit professionals on the numbers of travelers that BART carries, and in turn, displaces (along with polluting autos and buses) from the highways. Also, he should ride the linked line between San Francisco and the SFO airport as I do whenever I am in the Bay Area.

A rapid transit system need not just travel in circular loops. Look at Portland’s highly effective linear MAX light rail line. For 40 years our politicians have allowed fringe, emotional debates to defer long-term investment in the Puget Sound in rapid transit systems. We are virtually the only major metropolitan city left without a rapid transit system. Even Disneyland beat us to the punch.

Let’s move out of the dark ages and replace the alchemy of personal interests with readily available hard facts, economics, environmental impacts and circumstances.

Harvey Gillis, Bellevue