The Caribbean's first underground rail subway launches on February 27th in Santo Domingo. The 16-mile, 9-stop subway is primarily aimed at commuters and President Leonel Fernandez hopes it will entice locals to stick around instead of fleeing for bigger cities like New York and Miami. Fernandez actually grew up in Manhattan and apparently got the subway bug. He thinks its time Santo Domingo take on a modernized functionality.
Okay. Well, I do hope it assists their locals in being able to work easier and make a 16-mile commute without costly cab rides or gas bills. But most of the press on this project is just bad. The budget spiraled out of control to over $710 million and most are wondering why this wasn't put towards fighting the country's poverty, frequent power outages, and pollution.
Although I'm perfectly comfortable taking the subway here in New York and in other cities, I'm not sure if I'd be open to taking the subway in the DR when it has a reputation for being seedy and dangerous off-resort. And it seems a $710 million project would need tourist dollars to not only balance but justify the expense.
We'll see how it goes. If it's anything like New York's subway system, it will forever be under construction, not working late at night or on weekends, and there will be fare hikes every 6-months. I'm thinking Santo Domingo would have been better off with a stronger bus system.
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