Public Transit Ridership Is The New Black

Some good news finally on the public transit front, as this Washington Post article makes crystal clear in its headline: "Public Transit Ridership Rises To Highest Level in 52 Years". 10.4 billion transit trips, according to a survey by the American Public Transportation Association! 52 years! Take that cars and trucks!

It's definitely a bit of a surprise, since the cost of a gallon of a gas is so low right now ($1.61 at year's end). What makes the stats so impressive is that a lot of the gains came in unexpected places, like Salt Lake City, Dallas and towns with less than 100,000 people. Perhaps there was a fundamental shift during those months of high gas prices, as people realized that commuting via transit saves money and means you don't have to spend hours stuck in your tiny car which is stuck in traffic? As the article says:

"People who were used to driving did the math and figured they could buy a monthly pass [$50] for less than a tank of gas," said Morgan Lyons, a spokesman for the Dallas Area Rapid Transit. As gasoline prices fell, other benefits became more apparent, he said. Instead of traffic-clogged drives that could take up to an hour, riders could be on the train for 35 to 40 minutes and do work or relax. "When you have to start making decisions about all the little things, other little things become equally important," he said.

Where do we go from here? As the article makes clear, the transit agencies need to show that they are using the first stimulus funds to create jobs and better the system for riders. Knowing the level of disrepair for most systems and the number of projects already on to-do lists, this should not be too difficult. Beyond that, this news couldn't have come at a better time, as there's some major legislative pieces coming up that could bring in much more funding for public transit around the country. There's lots of talk about a second stimulus bill coming up, as (not surprisingly) the first one was too paltry and focused too much on tax cuts. Now, big cities, transit authorities, mayors, industry people and citizens can come to the table with real proof that transit is a viable option for providing jobs and making life more affordable for the average citizen. There's also the upcoming federal transportation bill, which comes up every 6 years and allocates billions of dollars for transportation projects around the country. Now is a good time to contact your senators and representatives and stress the importance of public transit for yourself. I also recommend signing the petition that Transportation for America has written, a call for a 21st transit system and major investment in such a system in the federal transportation bill.

Let's keep up the good news!

OneRail

Okay, I might have a problem, as no one should have this much to say about transportation funding in the stimulus bill who isn't getting paid. Honestly, that's one of the main obstacles to fighting for increased funding for public transportation and rail. There's no distinct lobbying group that represents all of the interests of the many people who could gain from this new money: straphangers, big cities, Amtrak, rail companies, unions, to name a few.

Well, it looks like this is changing, as a new group called OneRail is forming to make sure that rail gets a voice in the debate unfolding now. It's especially nice to see disparate groups, like the National Resources Defense Council and the Association of American Railroads, coming together for a good, green, productive goal. This is a big step, not just for this stimulus bill, but also the upcoming transportation bill that will happen later this year. More rail, less roads! Let's do this! OneRail!

High Speed Rails

Okay, needed to take a little break to finish up my personal statements for grad school, needed to keep all of my great prose that you expect here (don't laugh!) to that task alone. Street Ballet is now back though and we're so excited for 2009 and doing what we can to help shape cities.

One of the main reasons most people are excited for 2009 is the ascendancy of Barack Obama to the Presidency (and the departure of the worst President the nation has ever had). It was such a beautiful day yesterday with the inauguration that I hate to already start in with criticisms. But, hey, President Obama said it was time to get to work and so get to work for our cities we must.

We've been discussing the special moment that the economic crisis has opened up for a committed investment in our nation's infrastructure from the beginning here. We've already had everyone head over and recommend light rail be a priority in this spending bill. It is a unique moment where the country can radically redefine its development trends, where it can foster a cleaner, greener economy and help us out of one of the worst recessions in a century. Sadly, it appears that Obama is going to let this moment pass and continue us along the path of car-centric, anti-green development. Light rail projects and transit projects are being rumored to get short shrift in the budget proposal and that's a damn shame.

Check out John Judis' article, "Not Doing Enough," on the perception that Obama and his administration don't understand the severity of this recession. He sees light rail and mass transit as the missing component, an investment that not only would update our infrastructure but also revive domestic manufacturing, make the country more energy efficient and add jobs. As he notes, "unlike tax cuts--the benefits of which can be siphoned off in the purchase of imported goods--the money spent would go directly to reviving American industry and improving the country's trade balance." Especially intriguing is his notion that the struggling carmakers could become trainmakers in the future. How wonderful would it be if the very industry that helped destroy cities in the middle of the last century became the same one to lead to their rebirth in the new one. Read the whole article, as Judis also takes a look at the need for structural changes to the global economy to truly bring us back from the scary precipice we stand at now.

Vote For Light Rail At Change.Gov

Ugh, I have been gone for way too long, trying to put together applications for grad school has left me a little worried about using any excess brilliance on the Internets. We're coming up on the finish line, so posting will pick up in a big way shortly.

In the meantime, I wanted to check in quickly and recommend that all readers of this site head over to the site that the Obama people set up, change.gov, and vote on the Bullet Trains and Light Rail proposal being pushed as a priority for the new administration. It amazingly appears to be the leading vote-getter right now. While I have no idea if the Obama people will even take a second look at these results, it really can't hurt to show deep support for light rail in the US and a different approach to the infrastructure plans (more money for transit projects, less for roads and cars!) It really gets me dreaming about the US suddenly becoming like Europe, with all of the major US cities linked by light rail lines, making it possible to zip down to Miami or over to San Fran for a reasonable price. Death to the interstate highway system! Supertrains!

Search around the site, as there's lots of similar ideas floating around (like this and this) It takes a few minutes to register and get started, so there's really no excuse not to do this.

New SEPTA Signs

We've been slow to discuss my favorite city and birthland, Philadelphia; I'm looking forward to remedying that over the coming weeks, no better time than now to start.

It's nice to start off discussing some good news, as I caught word that SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority) is introducing new signs around the city to make the transit system easier to navigate. As the ones who run the city's trains, buses and trolleys, this is a long overdue initiative and great news for anyone who has ever been confused as to what lines run out of which stops. Check out some photos from the unveiling ceremony in front of the clothespin building at 15th and Market Streets to get a sense of what you will see around the city in the near future. It's nice to see the Center City District, the city and SEPTA come together to make the city more appealing. Check out the Center City District site for more info and plans on this initiative.

It wouldn't be a SEPTA initiative if there wasn't some criticism. I don't understand why they went with this green T on top instead of going with the regular SEPTA S or even a redesigned version of that logo. It's pretty iconic image for the people of Philadelphia, no reason it needed to be changed so radically.

That's minor quibbling in the scope of things, as any thing that SEPTA does to make Philly's public transit better and more manageable deserves support. Especially nice to see the transit agency come together with other entities to make improvements, as SEPTA needs all the help it can get. I cannot stress enough how vital improvements to the city's transit system are, as it's such a glaring weakness for Philly. As a lifelong resident, it saddens me that I thought of the system as more of a hindrance than anything. It's unpredicatable and antiquated, as customer un-friendly as it could be. Here in NYC, I use the subway and buses everyday, it's an essential part of my day and let's me enjoy more of the city. In Philly, there isn't that same sense of interconnectedness, whole neighbors are cut off and inaccessible by transit. It's so sad, as I feel like it leaves residents more in tune with their neighborhoods than the city as a whole. Without major improvements in the extent and quality of transit offerings, the city will never feel like a great, complete city.

MTA Rescue Plan

There was big news out of Albany last Friday, as the Commission on Metropolitan Transportation Authority Financing came forward with its plan to rescue the Metropolitan Transit Authority and close its $1.2 billion budget gap for the next fiscal year. If the plan can pass, it will mean that proposed 27% fare and toll increases and service cuts will be lessened. The Ravitch Plan advocates for tolls on the Harlem and East River Bridges, plus a payroll tax on all the counties that utilize MTA. The good folks at Streetsblog have come up with a great summary of the important points here and here.

Not surprisingly, most of the politicans from the boroughs have already declared the tolls a non-starter. Even more not surprisingly, I think that this is the essential element of the plan. Let me just stress one point about all of this: how could the state reps. from Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx are fighting against this proposal? "“It’d be an extreme hardship to have to pay a toll every time,” said Assemblywoman Helene E. Weinstein, a Democrat from Brooklyn. “We’re talking about people going to work, people going to doctor’s appointments, elderly people.”"

Huh? Isn't it a much greater hardship for people to keep a car in NYC, from the cost of buying the car to paying for upkeep, insurance and gas? YES, IT IS! Here's a chance to fully fund the transit system, which is disprortionately used by the working classes, keep the cost stable and allow for future improvements. Yes, some areas are undeserved by public transit, but the solution would seem to be to fight for the increased bus service and special bus lanes that are part of the plan. I don't know if this plan is the solution to NYC's transit problems, but it would be nice to see more NYC-area politicians standing up for the transit system and alternatives to cars.

Read the Ravitch report for the details. Streetsblog has a nice roundup of the post-Ravitch reactions, including the New York Times endorsement. I'll have more on this as Governor Patterson and the Assembly take up an actual bill.

Transit Ridership Up Up Up

Big news today, as the Washington Post reports that mass transit ridership broke national records in September, as people continue to flock to the buses and trains despite the decreasing cost of gasoline. Transit agencies experienced a 6.5% increase in riders over the same quarter last year, the largest percentage increase in 25 years! Not only that, but people drove 4.4% less than they did in September of the previous year, which may signal some real behavioral changes for people.

The key graf shows how this might be a generation-changing moment:

The trends are likely to boost support for more transit funds in the economic stimulus package that Congress will send to President-elect Barack Obama. With the economy in a recession, Obama pledged Saturday to create the largest public works construction program since the building of the federal interstate highway system in the 1950s.

I like that reference to the building of the interstate highway system in the 50s, as it's hard to underestimate how important that moment was to the decline of cities. They enabled people to move further and further away from the city, they lead to disastrous design choices where highways were built through the hearts of neighborhoods and planning focused on making life for cars easiest. Now, with Obama's plan to invest at least $500 billion on infrastructure, we may be seeing the pendulum swing back to the right side, as cars continue their decline and cities rise again in the popular imagination.

Transportation For America Petition

G-d, so much to write about, hope to have a chance to catch up this weekend. Here's something quick that continues our focus on the federal level. Transportation For America has started a petition to make transportation a focus of Barack Obama's first 100 days. As they say:

Smart transportation infrastructure investment will strengthen our economy, create jobs, reduce our dependence on oil, and make it easier for Americans to find the money to meet their growing transportation needs. But we need President-elect Obama to make building that 21st Century transportation system a priority in his first 100 days.

Go here and sign, as we are at epochal moment where our country needs and appears ready to invest in itself. This is the opening for a new vision of transportation in the US. Make sure to check out the Transportation For American website, a phenomenal group leading the way on these issues.