Word: Perdue gets on board

By Thomas Wheatley Sunday June 22, 2008 10:00 PM EDT

Gov. Sonny Perdue recently reversed his long-standing opposition to state-funded commuter rail in Georgia.

I am fully prepared to support GDOT’s efforts on commuter rail and making the pilot a reality. After looking at the operational costs that I’ve seen it makes sense to go all the way to Griffin using this pilot program.

— Perdue, in a June 12 press release.

"We have added 15 new GRTA Express bus routes and plan to have 37 such routes in operation by 2010. We are moving forward with the Bus Rapid Transit project on the I-75 corridor, at a cost of over $1.8 billion."

— Perdue, responding to a question about passenger rail in Georgia, during a 2006 AJC candidates’ forum.

"The Atlanta-Lovejoy line had also endured a decade of hurdles, including Perdue’s 2003 gutting of a state bond package (passed under Roy Barnes’ administration) that included money to fund commuter rail..."

— Georgia Trend, March 2007.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)