How does Phoenix stack up?

I saw this post on Valleywag talking about a mapping system Startup Warrior has put together.

Take just a minute and compare the number of startups we have here in the Phoenix metro area with those in other metro areas that are far, far smaller in population. Also, note that Phoenix itself has very, very few. Again, don't believe the hype coming out of city hall - ours is not a forward thinking city - and we need to do a lot more than just installing light rail if we want to move forward.

And, if that's not bad enough, the top story on AZCentral's local site is how the commuter bus system is now bursting at the seams because of the high gas prices. Be sure to read some of the comments at the end of the story, especially from "Rick" who writes:

Not surprising considering our extremely inadequate approach to mass transit on top of our urban sprawl. We're always reacting to something when it becomes a big problem instead of planning ahead. You can argue that its because of the gas prices, but I'd disagree and say that many people dont use mass transit because our system isnt available or even worth trying to use. Look at the 4 US cities larger and smaller than Phoenix and compare, they have subways, light rail, many more bus routes. Compared to them our system doesnt even exist.

Heres a chart showing we rank 13th based on passenger miles and unlinked trips (meaning a person is counted each time they enter instead of once for the whole trip). Were the 5th largest city in the US yet dont even register in the top 10.

RANK URBANIZED AREA UNLINKED TRIPS PASSENGER MILES
=====================================================

1. New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT 3,383,886.2 18,966,321.2
2. Los Angeles-Long Beach 606,842.5 2,790,328.1
3. Chicago, IL-IN 582,785.7 3,751,324.8
4. Philadelphia, PA-NJ-DE-MD 350,517.6 1,589,177.9
5. Miami, FL 151,222.1 756,782.9
6. Dallas-Fort Worth 85,764.4 436,105.1
7. Boston, MA-NH-RI 396,087.1 1,888,774.3
8. Washington, DC-VA-MD 442,936.2 2,266,691.6
9. Detroit, MI 45,393.2 242,781.5
10. Houston, TX 95,881.6 565,113.0
11. Atlanta, GA 147,582.3 802,673.6
12. San Francisco-Oakland, CA 415,112.8 2,233,441.3
13. Phoenix-Mesa, AZ 55,334.2 224,274.4

Some other commentators talk about how subsidized these bus rides actually are. To a point, they're right. Check out some of the very well-researched report by John Seemens at the Goldwater institute.

While I agree a lot with Seemen's analysis, here's the trouble with saying that we're subsidizing mass transit so heavily that the a $1.25 ride actually costs $5:

• First, nobody is yet going to pay even $5 one way to wait for a horribly long time in the sun, then ride a bus with chancy air conditioning and lack of adequate seating or storage areas that in traffic goes much slower than a bicycle, often taking at least 3 to 4 times as long as a car trip.
• Governments at all levels - and our society in general - has subsidized us owning automobiles for a long time. Think about what we pay for constructing roads, repairing roads, and policing the freeways.
  

Take just a moment to think about how much we, through government, actually pay for the privledge of owning a vehicle - and the hidden costs involved Building cities around the automobile, like we have in Phoenix, also is a drain on our economy as people spend largely unproductive time behind the wheels of their vehicles. Traffic deaths kill tens of thousands of people each year. We have to consume vast quantities of oil, which requires a foreign policy of interference in world affairs - which is both dangerous and expensive. We have air pollution that certainly may cause a lot of cancer and breathing problems, requiring medical treatment - much of which is government-provided. We have to pay heavy environmental prices for driving - that will eventually require trillions of dollars in resources to even slightly ameliorate.

The only way to tackle these kinds of problems is not through chipping away piecemeal at government programs or imposing bulky and inefficient socialist systems that leave everyone in misery. We have been conditioned towards incrementalism and lulled by the false dichotomy of either Republican tax cuts and "deregulation" versus Democrat gimmicks that might even make some feel good at the expense of a sicker society.

All of us need to be advocates for the wholesale overhaul of society. And this is why I don't support some of these hardline conservative Republicans who might give us tax cuts here and there or Democrats who will let gays get married and at least talk about ending the drug war. These aren't even really steps in the right direction, because they only serve to further screw up an already screwed up system.

Unfortunately, as I've said before on here, the road to heaven first winds through hell, and we won't get the free society we all yearn for - whether we know it or not - until the current one collapses under its own weight.

This isn't something I want to happen. It is simply something that will happen. It's the only thing that will wake us up.