Russ Steele
Having been in the advanced transportation business, and a social scientist interested in people transportation choices, I have followed transportation trends, including public funded transit and high-speed rail. California's high speed rail is a black hole that tax payers will be poring subsidies for Centuries. Now even California's High-Speed Rail Authority PR firm cannot find enough good to say about the project and are jumping off the money train.
The Sac Bee has the story: Public relations firm Ogilvy quits high speed rail
Its job performance coming under increasing scrutiny, Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide is quitting its multimillion dollar contract with the California High-Speed Rail Authority.
"We were unable to develop a solid working relationship with your agency, and that impeded the kind of top-notch work we are accustomed to providing our clients," the public relations company's Michael Law said in a letter Wednesday to rail officials.
The rail authority is struggling to maintain political support as it prepares to start building a rail system between Los Angeles and San Francisco. It has faced questions about cost and ridership projections, among other concerns.
According to former Sen. Quentin Kopp, the problem is not that the concerns over cost and ridership are real, only that the PR firm could not convince the public to over look these issues.
Former state Sen. Quentin Kopp, a former rail authority board member, encouraged rail officials in March to cancel Ogilvy's contract. He said the company's failure was evident in worsening public statements about the project.
From my investigation several years ago for a Comstock's Business article, the issues over cost and ridership are real!
Read the rest here.
