As gas prices have skyrocketed across California, a new wave of support has grown amongst voters for the controversial high-speed rail project.
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The project, which would connect San Francisco and Los Angeles with one high-speed train, has faced cost overruns and major delays. Over the years, the price tag to build it has more than doubled.
But according to a new poll, more than half of registered voters and more than 70% of Democrats support the rail.
"It's a newsworthy finding," said Mark DiCamillo, director of the UC Berkeley's Institute of Governmental Studies, which conducted the poll along with the Los Angeles Times. "Because I haven't seen support of this level before."
According to the poll, 56% of registered voters "support the state continuing to build the high-speed rail project, even if, as is currently planned, its operations only extend from Bakersfield to Merced in the Central Valley by the year 2030 and to the Bay Area by the year 2033," a press release issued about the poll stated.
Democrats overwhelmingly support the project, at 73% in favor and 18% opposed, according to the release. A majority of Republicans oppose the project at 66%, with 25% in favor.
One thing that could be making this massive transit system more popular is the spike in gas prices.
"I think that might be part of it," said DiCamillo. "I think people are looking for alternatives whenever possible."
That pain at the pump is having an especially hard impact on low-income residents.
"If you're making less than $40,000 per year, you're almost two times as likely to consider the price increases as having a very serious effect," he said.
But gas prices are likely to fluctuate, and the actual opening of the rail is still far into the future, so it's unclear how long the new support will last.
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