Today’s Headlines – 3/10/10
March 10, 2010By Sean Barry
A new coalition is petitioning for $74 million in added funding for the Washington Metro system in order to avoid new cuts and fare hikes. (WP)
Stimulus-funded purchases of energy-efficient lighting products for roads required a suspension of “Buy American” rules. (NYT)
Despite clocking in as relatively dangerous for pedestrians, metro Atlanta still has some great places to walk. (Journal-Constitution)
Entrenched subsidies continue to tilt the scales in favor of sprawl over cities. (Globe)
Train agencies in the San Francisco Bay Area are expecting hundreds of millions of funding from a regional set-aside in California’s high-speed rail bond. (Mercury-News)
And, high-speed rail in Europe helped with social cohesion, a more difficult task in the vast United States. (Brookings Blog)
People for Bikes
March 10, 2010By Stephen Lee Davis
Bikes Belong launched their new People for Bikes project last night at the National Bike Summit in Washington, D.C. I’d explain it in great detail, but why bother when you can watch this outstanding video instead? After watching, don’t miss their new website where you can share your story and sign their pledge. http://peopleforbikes.org
A reminder if you haven’t already, tell your Representative to support safer walking and biking by supporting the Active Community Transportation Act. We’re organizing a day of calls to Congress tomorrow, so check your email or follow us on Twitter for the details.
Today’s Headlines – 3/9/10
March 9, 2010By Sean Barry
Our friends at Environmental Defense Fund put tight transit budgets around the country in very concrete terms. (EDF Blog)
Federal investigators called for sweeping changing in a report on the safety of the Washington Metro system. (WP)
A national infrastructure bank would jump-start more projects, but put off the spending burden for a generation. (TransportPolitic)
Minority businesses are still receiving a disproportionately small share of federal stimulus contracts. (AP)
Paratransit riders would be hit the hardest by deep cuts in Sacramento. (News10)
And, a well-renowned expert on Detroit’s transit system died last week. (Detroit News)
Tell Congress: Get America back on its feet with investment in healthy transportation!
March 8, 2010By Stephen Lee Davis
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| s_walk Originally uploaded by Transportation for America |
In the last 15 years, 76,000 Americans have been killed while walking or simply crossing the street.
But help could be on the way. Rep. Earl Blumenauer introduced a bill last week to create a $2 billion competitive grant program to fund safe networks for biking and walking — giving states and cities the resources they need to start building projects they have waiting in the wings. This week, more than 700 bike advocates are descending on Capitol Hill to drum up strong support for the program while in D.C. for the National Bike Summit.
We need to back them up: Send a letter to your representative urging them to co-sponsor the Active Community Transportation Act (H.R. 4722).
This bill is a no-brainer. It will make America’s roadways safer, create jobs, reduce traffic congestion, cut emissions, and promote healthy living. It even pays for itself — as we make biking and walking safer and more accessible, we save billions of dollars on reduced healthcare, gasoline, and environmental costs.
And if we build it, they will come! Half of all trips taken in the United States could be accomplished with just a 20-minute bike ride, and a quarter are within a 20-minute walk. We need to make it safer and easier to make those trips on bike or foot. Polls have shown that Americans think their cities and communities should be more walkable.
Let’s get America back on its feet! Send a message to your representatives asking them to co-sponsor the Active Community Transportation Act.
Thanks to everyone who has already taken action today, retweeted the email alert, or posted it to Facebook to help us spread the word.
Transit grants out the federal door, but what about the cuts?
March 8, 2010By Stephen Lee Davis
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| Park and Ride Ribbon Cutting Originally uploaded by WSDOT |
Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood is (rightfully) touting the great news on his blog this morning that the Federal Transit Administration met their ambitious deadline for distributing 100% of the transit funds from the stimulus package. That’s great news, but it should be accompanied by the sobering reminder that these public transportation systems that get people to work each day largely couldn’t use that money to keep from having to cut service at a time when it’s needed the most.
The FTA has now doled out 881 grants totaling $7.5 billion since the stimulus was signed last year, and LaHood notes that these grants have funded the purchase of nearly 12,000 buses, vans and rail vehicles; construction or renovation of more than 850 transit facilities; and $620 million in preventive maintenance to keep systems running smoothly.
But what about the hundreds of agencies cutting back service, raising fares, or laying off workers — like the terrible story from Atlanta we chronicled last Friday, where 25-30% of all service may be history come June?
Unfortunately, the FTA’s hands were tied with the rules for the grants set by Congress, which meant that almost all of the money had to be used to purchase new equipment or perform maintenance, even if those agencies couldn’t afford to hire or train the new drivers to operate the buses or railcars. We say “most of the money,” because a group of lawmakers were able to successfully include a provision in a separate bill during the summer that made it possible for local transit agencies to spend up to 10% of their transit stimulus money on operations. But in many places like St. Louis, where the deficit was ten times the $4.6 million they could now spend on service, that’s not enough to keep from having to make drastic cuts or lay workers off, even while getting an influx of federal money.
With a full transportation bill likely months away, in the short term we need to urge the Senate to include money in any future jobs bills to help keep transit systems running.
With millions who depend on these systems each day to get to work, making sure that reliable transit service doesn’t disappear will help get them to their jobs quickly and conveniently each day, ensuring that many of them stay employed.
Today’s Headlines – 3/8/10
March 8, 2010By Sean Barry
Sacramento Regional Transit in California’s capital faces a $13 million shortfall, potentially cutting service on weekends and evening hours. (News10)
The stimulus bill has funded the purchase of nearly 12,000 buses, van and rail vehicles and the construction or renovation of more than 850 transit facilities. (DOT Blog)
New Jersey transit is likely to raise bus and train fares by a whopping 25 percent. (Star-Ledger)
Commuters in Charlotte, North Carolina could also face a 25 percent hike to stem service cuts. (Observer)
And, bicyclists should not just demand safety in Florida’s cities, but step up to make it happen. (Miami Herald)
Transit riders in Atlanta face massive cuts, “wholesale restructuring” of service
March 5, 2010By Stephen Lee Davis
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| Eastbound Originally uploaded by robholland |
| A family on an eastbound MARTA rapid rail train in Atlanta. |
Transit riders in Metro Atlanta will soon require a new system map to find their way because the current map is about to be ancient history, a document fit for use only by archivists and history buffs. Of course, this would only apply to those who still have a bus or train to wait for after MARTA goes through with massive cuts this year. This story from the Atlanta Journal Constitution was included in a few headline posts from the usual suspects earlier this week, including one of ours, but the desperate situation in Atlanta is worth a closer look.
Wrap your head around this number: MARTA is facing a budget deficit of $120 million, on an operating budget of $399.1 million, making their deficit nearly a full third of the operating budget.
As a result, the cuts the agency is forced to consider are downright shocking. More than half of Atlanta’s 131 bus routes could be cut entirely, and rail service will be cut severely. Wait times for a train could be as much as 30 minutes on weekends before 7 a.m. and after 9 p.m., and even rush-hour train intervals could be as much as 12 minutes. The AJC pegs the cuts as approximately 25-30 percent of all service.
While the loss of routes or the inconvenience of long waits and increased transfers will result in some riders going back to their cars or finding other options, what about the thousands who depend on MARTA as their transportation lifeline to reach work, get to the doctor or pick up their kids at school? The “lucky” ones might have an alternative, a longer wait or less convenience. But too many riders will be left completely stranded, unable to get to important destinations as routes disappear entirely in the South’s biggest metro and the economic core of the state.
The popular refrain among some Atlantans is that MARTA is a bloated bureaucracy that wastes money. The truth is far different. MARTA enjoys the lowest cost per-mile of passenger rail service for any heavy rail system in the United States, and survives on a penny sales tax from two counties, with no dedicated funding stream from the State of Georgia. They are the largest transit agency with no such dedicated funding source in the country.
| Atlantans: Tell us your story of how these cuts will affect you. |
This year’s situation was narrowly avoided last year when the Atlanta Regional Commission, the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the region, found a way to transfer $25 million in last year’s stimulus funds to MARTA. In return the agency spent $25 million of capital funds on infrastructure improvements around their stations like better sidewalks, crosswalks, and other vital bike and pedestrian improvements to improve access.
The creative deal with the ARC was necessary because by a curious — and old — piece of state law, MARTA has to evenly split their tax revenues between operations and capital funds (they have a capital budget of $388 million this year), meaning they aren’t even able to set their own operating budget.
The Georgia State Senate passed a bill that would have removed that rule, allowing MARTA the flexibility to set their own operations and capital budgets. This would have enabled the agencyto basically plug budget holes with a share of (formerly) capital funds — never an ideal situation, but one that would have staved off dramatic fare increases and wholesale cancellation of service. Unfortunately for Atlantans, that bill died in the Georgia State House on the last day of the legislative session, leaving many upset and frustrated at the State’s failure to act.
Even with the funds from the ARC, MARTA had to raise their base fare $0.25, and weren’t able to restore all of the service that had been proposed for cuts, though they did avoid the drastic step of closing down service entirely one day a week.
MARTA Board Chairman Michael Walls pointed out that this was no permanent solution to the crisis, noting “this is a one-time infusion of funds” in a MARTA press release. “We are facing increasing deficits in the coming fiscal years. It is imperative that we identify a permanent, dedicated source of funding for transit as soon as possible in order to avoid more drastic cuts in the future,” he said.
That future has become the present, so what will the State do this time? Will they remove the barrier that prevents MARTA from making their own budget? At a broader level, what help will the federal government provide for the hundreds of other transit agencies facing this same crisis? Will they turn their back on the millions who depend on public transportation each day?
Want to do something? Here are three things you can do:
- Tell Senator Harry Reid to include funding for keeping transit systems running in the next round of jobs-creation legislation he’s planning to bring to Congress.
- Tell us your story! How are these cuts going to affect you in your daily life? Will you be going back to your car? Will you be stuck with no way to get to work? We want to know.
- If you’re in Atlanta, join up with the Citizens for Progressive Transit or the Area Coalition for Transit Now Facebook page calling for Gov. Perdue to call a special legislative session. These groups are also joining with others in Atlanta to organize a “Ride MARTA” day in late March to drum up support statewide.
Today’s Headlines – 3/5/10
March 5, 2010By Sean Barry
The House passed a $15 billion jobs bill modeled after the Senate version. (WP)
The Obama administration is planning to outline its principles for a new transportation law in 90 days. (Bond Buyer)
California legislators passed a measure that could increase gas tax revenues but sidestep dedicated transit funding. (LAT)
Four Democratic Senators and a major wind energy producer are on opposite sides of a proposal to add “Buy American” provisions to stimulus projects. (Hill)
Atlanta’s bus system is cutting a quarter of its service. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
And, Detroit Mayor Dave Bing signaled confidence in a major light-rail project breaking ground next year. (Free-Press)
IBM imagines a smarter planet with smarter transportation
March 4, 2010By Sean Barry
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| “The systemic nature of urban transportation is also the key to its solution. We need to stop focusing only on pieces of the problem: adding a new bridge, widening a road, putting up signs, establishing commuter lanes, encouraging carpooling or deploying traffic copters. |
| Instead, we need to look at relationships across the entire system—and all the other systems that are touched by it: our supply chains, our environment, our companies…the way people and cities live and work. Traffic isn’t just a line of cars: it’s a web of connections. |
| ‘Smart traffic’ isn’t yet the norm—but it’s not some far-off vision of tomorrow. In many places, IBM is helping to make it happen today.” |
| From IBM’s Smarter Traffic page. |
Perhaps you’ve seen the IBM commercials touting the fact that for the first time in history, the majority of humanity lives in cities — and solving the challenges facing our growing cities will be more urgent than ever before. One of the 21 programs of IBM’s “Smarter Planet” initiative focuses on traffic, congestion and what’s known as Intelligent Transportation Systems. (Others include cities, buildings and infrastructure.)
Last week, a forum sponsored by IBM as part of their Smarter Planet series that focused on improving transportation systems through technology yielded important lessons from some of our European counterparts.
Two speakers – Dr. Leo Kroon of Netherlands Railway and Gunnar Soderholm of Stockholm, Sweden – were among the highlights of “A Smarter Transportation System for the 21st Century,” held on Capitol Hill last Thursday.
Kroon described the importance of rail in his “tiny country,” whose 16 million people make it extremely dense. According to Kroon, rail market share between some Dutch cities reaches 50 percent, an amount that would be unheard of in the United States. And rather than force anyone onto the train, Kroon says the Netherlands Railways “seduces” them instead, through continued technological improvement that makes travel convenient and a commitment to reliability and affordability.
For instance, Netherlands Railway has introduced a SmartCard system and is improving its monitoring systems to pinpoint its flow of passengers and accommodate them as efficiently as possible.
The report out of Stockholm was even more compelling.
Gunnar Soderholm, head of the city’s Environmental and Health division, explained how a congestion charging scheme went from “biggest political suicide ever in Sweden” to embraced by even the most right-wing parties. The policy itself was made easier to implement than other cities because Stockholm proper is composed of several islands, with easy boundaries around the central business district.
After implementing the policy – in which drivers are charged for bringing autos into the business district during peak hours – the conventional wisdom was that people would need to see numbers showing its impact. According to Soderholm, no numbers were needed. Everyone could see the difference. “It was free flow all the time,” he said. Stockholm saw a 20 percent reduction in traffic, a 30-50 percent reduction in travel time and a 10-14 percent reduction in carbon emissions. Many more Stockholm residents are combining auto use with more walking and bicycling. Revenues from the charge are directed toward transportation infrastructure.
Stockholm is aiming to be fossil fuel free by 2050.
Innovations are also underway here at home. Judge Quentin Kopp, a decades-long transit advocate and former chairman of the California High Speed Rail Authority, explained how his home state has pledged to match dollar-for-dollar every piece of stimulus funding for high-speed rail. Kopp has been on the frontlines of the cause from the beginning, battling with former Republican Gov. Pete Wilson over a commission and, just two years ago, helping to shepherd narrow passage of a statewide ballot measure to fund high speed rail in the State.
Congressman Earl Blumenauer, a Portland Democrat, concluded with a window into how innovation and technology can guide efforts on the Hill. The big question: how does Congress pay for the next transportation bill? Blumenauer is an advocate of a vehicle-miles-traveled-tax and has pushed legislation to allow pilot projects across the country.
There remains great potential to both learn from our friends abroad and build upon successes here at home.
(Graphic below from Smarter Planet’s Transportation page.)
Today’s Headlines – 3/4/10
March 4, 2010By Sean Barry
Senator Barbara Boxer, chair of a key committee, kicked off the upper chamber’s work on a new transportation bill. (Streetsblog)
New Jersey’s former transit chief will take the helm at Washington DC’s Metro system. (AP)
Some of the start-ups contained in last year’s stimulus law deserve renewal and need a “budgetary home.” (TNR)
An Ohio transportation official touts the potential for trains as a job creator. (BusinessWeek)
And, officials from sprawling Tracy in California’s Central Valley want high-speed trains connecting to downtown. (Mercury-News)
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- Transit grants out the federal door, but what about the cuts?
March 8, 2010 - Transit riders in Atlanta face massive cuts, “wholesale restructuring” of service
March 5, 2010 - Opposition to Senate extension results in looming shutdown of federal transportation programs
February 26, 2010 - T4 jobs proposal would create nearly half a million jobs, according to Economic Policy Institute
February 17, 2010 - Obama’s 2011 budget gives a lift to livability and transportation
February 2, 2010
- Transit grants out the federal door, but what about the cuts?
The United States of Transit Cutbacks
Driving is down and transit ridership is at record highs. Yet transit agencies across the country are considering layoffs, service cuts and fare hikes. Find out more and learn what you can do to help at t4america.org/transitcuts
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