Our Aging Infrastructure: Voices for Change Mount Quickly
By Neal Peirce on March 23, 2008
The infrastructure issue—the long shadow thrown across America’s future by deteriorating roadways, bridges, railroads, water systems, and schools—finally seems to be getting hot.
Mass Transit, Road Repair Vie for Federal Dollars
Congressional Quarterly for March 24, 2008
Across the developing world, governments are pouring billions of dollars into projects to relieve stress on antiquated roads and reduce carbon emissions. Nations such as China and India are planning to spend between 8 and 9 percent of their gross domestic product on infrastructure upgrades and mass transit. In contrast, the United States now spends less than two percent of the nation's GDP on efforts to shore up its transportation infrastructure while also launching more efficient, congestion-relieving mass transit projects.
Opinion: Farsightedness at the Polls: It Can Happen, Returns Show
Can today’s Americans make wise choices for the futures of their communities? In a string of referendum votes across the country last week, glimpses of refreshing far-sightedness shone through.
Transit News Features
TTI Report: Urban Congestion Costs $78.2 Billion
The 2007 Urban Mobility Report describes how traffic congestion caused 4.2 billion hours of travel delay in 2005, which averages about 38 hours per driver... click here to read the full report.
The 50-Year Challenge
By Coral Davenport, CQ Staff
When people think about global warming they mostly think about burning coal and gasoline. However, burning limestone to create lime and concrete also releases a lot of carbon dioxide, and controlling the production of lime and concrete might raise prices all through the economy. Any law that regulates emissions of carbon, in fact, would reach into every corner of American life and virtually every aspect of the
economy.
Groundbreaking New Analysis:
Public Transportation Saves $6,200 Per Household, 1.4 Billion Gallons of Gasoline
Today, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) released a groundbreaking new study finding that public transportation use saves 1.4 billion gallons of gasoline every year, and can reduce household expenses by $6,200 - more than the average household pays for food in a year.
America's Most Expensive Commutes
It's often said that the trip to work can kill you. But if you live in Houston, what really takes a beating is your wallet. There, the average commuter spends 20.9% of his annual household costs on getting to work... More
What Turning Down the Heat Means for Travelers
Whenever possible, "choose public transportation ... to cut down on auto emissions—according to a Department of Energy report in 2003, motor gasoline "has been responsible for about 60 percent of U.S. carbon emissions over the last twenty years." If you rent a car, look for companies, such as EV Rental Cars, that specialize in hybrid electric vehicles." .... More...
The 'Humane Metropolis'--Are We Ready?
A metropolis is considered green if it fosters humans' connections to the natural world. "Nature in the city must be cultivated, like a garden, rather than ignored or subdued." .... More...
Americans Take More Than 10 Billion Trips on Public Transportation for the First Time in Almost Fifty Years
The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) announced today that Americans took 10.1 billion trips on local public transportation in 2006 – the first time in 49 years. Over the last decade, public transportation’s growth rate outpaced the growth rate of the population and the growth rate of vehicle miles traveled on our nation’s highways.... More...
Eye on NY security -- New head of House Homeland Security says transit
safety funding should be top priority; vows to team with KingBy Carol Eisenberg Newsday January 30, 2007
Public Transportation Ridership Continued To Climb In 2006
7.8 billion trips taken on public transit in the first nine months – nearly 3% increase
The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) today announced that public transportation ridership has increased by nearly 3% in the first nine months of 2006, as Americans took 7.8 billion trips on public transit.
“Even as gas prices declined, more and more people decided to ride public transportation as ridership grew by nearly 3% in the first nine months of 2006,” said APTA President William W. Millar. “This continued increase in transit ridership demonstrates that when people have transportation choices, they use them.”
Transportation Referenda
Score Big
Transportation scored high at the ballot box on Tuesday, winning
21 of 30 measures (3 still pending) totaling $40 billion in urban,
suburban, and rural communities across the nation... More...
NPR : Cities Lure White-Collar Workers Onto Buses
by Kathleen Schalch
All Things Considered, December 5, 2006 · Increasing numbers of commuters are using buses as a faster and cheaper way to get to work, new figures show. Urban municipalities are expanding bus services -- and adding features like wireless Internet access -- in an effort to target white-collar and business employees who might otherwise drive their cars.
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Opinion/Column -- Where
Do We Put The Next Hundred Million?
By Neal Peirce
WASHINGTON--"We've just passed the 300 million mark, evidence of
America's dynamism. But the only policy response has been to build
a $700 million wall along the Mexican border. How dumb!" More...
Subway Century -- Rail
Transit's Role in Growth and Development
"The subway has shaped New York City. More than any other public
works program or municipal project, the subway has shaped the city’s
development and sustained its global competitiveness over the past
100 years. The subway’s profound impact on the city’s growth and
development—particularly in the outer boroughs—surpasses that of
the city’s other widely acclaimed infrastructure projects, such
as the Brooklyn Bridge and Robert Moses’ highway network." More...
Administration Releases FY
2007 Budget Proposal The Bush Administration released its
Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 Budget proposal, which recommends a funding
level of $8.87 billion for the federal transit program. The Administration's
proposal represents an increase of $370.3 million or 4.4 percent
over the FY 2006 final appropriation level. More...
American Public Transportation
Association (APTA) Statement On President Bush's Proposed FY 2007
DHS Budget
February 2, 2006
APTA is disappointed that President Bush's proposed FY 2007 Department
of Homeland Security (DHS) budget for the Targeted Infrastructure
Protection program, a security infrastructure program that includes
public transportation, freezes funding at the $600 million level
proposed last year...
Transit Ridership Showed Increases
in All Modes in 2005 Third Quarter
January 18, 2006
With high gas prices in the third quarter of 2005, national transit
ridership grew by 3.3 % from the same period in 2004, according
to a report released by the American Public Transportation Association
(APTA) today. At the same time that transit ridership was increasing
during the 2005 third quarter, Americans parked their cars and vehicle
miles of travel (VMT) decreased by 0.2%, according to the Federal
Highway Administration statistics. Additionally, a recent survey
of transit systems conducted by APTA indicates that this growing
ridership trend continued in November, despite a drop in gas prices
that month...
Beyond Pork Barrel: An Ingenious
New Way to Rebuild America
December 25, 2005
Opinion/Column By Neal Peirce — You have to wonder: If Katrina
and its multibillion-dollar bill to repair faulty levees haven't
awakened us to our massive national infrastructure deficit, what
will?
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