Oakland Mills Shovel Brigade
We need more volunteer shovelers and our reps setting an example does not hurt. by Ken Ulman
We need more volunteer shovelers and our reps setting an example does not hurt. by Ken Ulman
Clearing bus stops in Silver Spring
Hans Riemer, who will be announcing his candidacy for Montgomery County Council later this month, helped to organize a bus stop dig out in Silver Spring on Saturday.
Bus stop before. Tina Slater and Kathy Jentz, clearing out the stop on Fenton near Thayer, downtown Silver Spring. (Tina is with Action Committee for Transit, and Kathy is the publisher of Washington Gardener Magazine.)
Bus stop after. Hans Riemer clearing out a bus stop on Fenton near Thayer, downtown Silver Spring. Subsequent bus riders stood in the clearing, with bags placed on the bench.
White House: Transit Inflation Outstripping Private Transportation
by Elana Schor
The White House's annual economic report, in addition to its endorsement of inter-city rail and transit spending, also sheds more light on transit inflation, which is often reported anecdotally in the many cities struggling with fare hikes but rarely put in statistical terms by economists.
(Photo: UPI)The changes in price for what Americans pay for food (218.249 in 2009) and housing, including utilities (217.057), have kept pace with the overall CPI, according to the White House. But in the specific category of transportation, the difference was notable -- private transportation, a category that includes new or used vehicles and motor fuel, had a CPI of 174.762 in 2009, while transit's CPI hit 236.348 last year.
To be sure, transit costs were not the most out-off-control expense singled out by the White House. Inflation for medical care reached 375.613 in 2009, and the cost of shelter, not including utilities, was 249.354 last year.
Still, the palpable disparity between the costs of private and public modes of transportation is a trend that should be catching the attention of policymakers on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue.
By Baltimore Spokes
I've bloged about how the costs of cars are being supplemented by our tax dollars and this report hints that cars are getting more of a supplement then mass transit but a resent video by Transportation For America introduced something not often talked about starting at 0:59: U.S. military actions in oil rich nations to "protect" the resources we so desperately need.
Which got me thinking if that works to keep the cost of using a car down why not use the same mentality to keep the cost of mass transit down? Surly there is some un-American terrorist country where we could get cheaper buses and trains from, like lets say Canada. Talk about being un-American, despite being a part of the same continent they refuse to accept the American life, parts even speak French! It does not get much more un-American then that.
OK, I am being very tongue and cheek but still I have to question why is there so much emphases on keeping single occupancy vehicles cheep when there is no way we can keep up with the demands for new roads that over use of the single occupancy vehicles require? We need to stress appropriate transportation and if efforts are made to keep gas cheep, then the benefits should largely go to commercial interests that truly need to use the roadways and the single occupancy vehicle should be the last to benefit, at least until we can keep up with the demand for new roadways.
A Jobs Bill that Builds More Jobs, Not More Highways
By John M. Krieger , Federal Transportation Policy Analyst, United States Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG)Also posted today on the Huffington Post
As everyone knows, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Yet the transportation spending in Congress' latest "jobs bill" looks insanely identical to the spending that went out the door almost a year ago in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
Repeating earlier spending patterns wouldn't be such a serious problem if America's transportation system functioned well. But there is widespread consensus among citizen organizations around the country that our current approach to funding transportation is broken and in need of reform.
And, while 2/3 of our oil consumption and 1/3 of our global warming pollution comes directly from the amount we have to drive in this country, we continue to spend most of our transportation funds on highways.
This insanity comes partly from the misconception, firmly pushed last year by White House Economic Advisor Larry Summers, that stimulus money for highways would spend faster and create more jobs than public transportation projects.
But a look at the official data (PDF) tells a completely different story.
....
Big Transit News: Bush-Era Rule Tossed, Enviro Benefits on the Table
Transportation reformers and members of Congress have long clamored for changes to the federal government's major transit grant program, otherwise known as "New Starts," and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood answered today with an announcement of sweeping changes in the works.The first move: LaHood's DOT will rescind a 2005 rule that elevated "cost-effectiveness" above all other criteria used to determine whether a local transit project can receive federal funds. Cost remains a factor in the "New Starts" process, but is no longer given more weight than factors such as congestion relief.
...
“Our new policy for selecting major transit projects will work to promote livability rather than hinder it,” LaHood said in his announcement. “We want to base our decisions on how much transit helps the environment, how much it improves development opportunities and how it makes our communities better places to live.”
Late Update: Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) weighed in with a statement connecting today's news to the White House's broader sustainable communities push:
Rescinding this Bush administration restriction will unleash funding for important transportation projects across the nation, jumpstarting local economies and creating good jobs. This means quicker and better funding for streetcars, light rail, and bus projects that improve transportation, revive local economies, and reduce global warming pollution. After much hard work with the administration and my Congressional colleagues, this is an exciting outcome that will create better and more transportation opportunities.
Free Downtown Shuttle Service Starts Monday
By John Patti -WBALBaltimore City is introducing the Charm City Circulator. It's a fleet of 21 free shuttles that will travel three routes in the business district of Baltimore City.
The service will begin January 11th at 11am and target residents, downtown employees, students, tourists and anyone else who wishes to ride.
The service is free to the rider. Barry Robinson, Chief of Transit and Marine Services for the Baltimore City Department of Transportation says the shuttle arrives every 10 minutes at the designated stops on each route.
Why MARC doesn't allow most bikes
By Michael DresserThere was a lot of discussion on the Getting There blog last week about MARC and bicycles, with some readers questioning why the Maryland Transit Administration isn't more open to bringing the two-wheelers on board. I suggested that bringing bicycles aboard the trains could pose a safety hazard. Now we're getting the official version from Henry M. Kay, the MTA's deputy administrator for planning and engineering (at right in 2005 Sun photo).
Here's his explanation of MTA's policy:
When MTA tuned up its bike policies a decade ago we took a close look at MARC with the idea of making it as bike-friendly as Light Rail and Metro (since then the buses were also equipped with racks). Commuter railroads are very diverse in terms of their ridership, equipment, stations and operating environments so what might work on one system won’t work on another. As you correctly identify, our challenge is crowding on peak period trains and the safety issues associated with unsecured and protruding objects. The Penn Line in particular is the fastest commuter railroad in the nation so strict safety standards are in place.
Our solution was a vertical bike rack mounted to the side of each passenger coach. The bike storage area would be separated from the rest of the car by a partition. Our design was tested at the Federal Railroad Administration’s facility in Colorado. However, since it would have meant the loss of two rows of seats in each car we ultimately decided not to proceed. Adding a dedicated car for bikes is not an option for us because we are short on mid-day and overnight storage space. Under our current policy you can bring a bike on board if it can be folded and stowed out of the aisle. Otherwise, we have racks and lockers available at many stations. We are installing more when we receive requests. Here’s a link to a comprehensive description of our policies: <a href="http://www.mtamaryland.com/resources/bikesonmta/MTA_Bicycles_Brochure.pdf">http://www.mtamaryland.com/resources/bikesonmta/MTA_Bicycles_Brochure.pdf</a>;
From what I know of MARC's capacity issues, taking space away from passengers to provide secure bike storage would provoke a commuter revolt. I'm going with the MTA on this one.
We want even more cars on the road
Another Urban Places and Spaces blog article where I really have to wounder if Dr Gridlock wants to see even more gridlock.:I like Dr. Gridlock, but
Robert Thomson is the commuting-mobility columnist for the Washington Post. Most of his writings are quite good, but he persists in neglecting to put much attention on the fact that driving is subsidized to the tune of many dollars per gallon--the reality is that taxes, tolls, and fees typically pay no more than 50% of the cost of roads, the rest comes from general funds.
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Recognize that we are hardest on those that we love. I am hard on Dr. Gridlock because I like what he does and I have high and ever increasing expectations for the quality of his work. I am hard on the Post generally, and of course, on DC and DC Government specifically. That's the role of a critic...
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His "colleague" Neal Peirce, who writes a column that is distributed by the Washington Post Writers Syndicate, but whose column is never published in the Post proper, wrote about this in 2003. See "GAS TAX HIKES: NEEDED BUT POLITICALLY PERILOUS" (5/11/03).
Dr. Gridlock persists in making the point that transit is subsidized, while neglecting in fairness to mention, ever, that roads are subsidized, for example, at the start of his column feature on the Metro budget, he writes:
Every ride we take on Metro is subsidized by many people who never use the transit system and many more who will never see it. Those people are sending Metro riders a holiday gift that should amount to $300 million for the next year. It will take the form of a federal subsidy with matching funds from the local jurisdictions that support Metro.
Where's the "fairness" and "balance" here?
Every gallon of gas gets a subsidy of close to $5 for road use and military protection of oil supplies, plus other spending on the health and environmental impacts.
Walkscore innovators turn to improving public transportation
Front Seat, the civic software company responsible for the massively popular Walkscore service, launched a new project today aimed at encouraging public transportation ridership. The project makes transit agency schedule data available, accessible, and open to developers so they can create applications to make it easier to ride. CityGoRound.org is a new portal where you can find the many applications developers have created to ease and increase the convenience of riding transit. Their mission, outlined on a newly launched site today, is very simple:Our mission is to help make public transit more convenient. For example, an app that lets you know when your bus will arrive is way better than standing outside waiting for 20 minutes. If we can make public transit more convenient, more people will ride public transit. More people riding public transit equals less driving. Less driving equals a healthier planet.
To accomplish that, they’re doing three things: cataloging the hundreds of smartphone/web applications people have created to make riding public transit easier, putting pressure on agencies across the country that have not released their public data, and raising awareness of the need for government agencies to open up their data.
Metro Needs You!
We Need Metro More Than Ever
Dear smart growth supporters,
Last year, transit ridership in the Washington region surged. Metro had a record-breaking year with thousands of new riders, saving 255 million gallons of gasoline and cutting our region's carbon emissions by 2 million tons, according to a report released by Environment America. As our region grows, Metro will continue to be one of the most important solutions for reducing our carbon footprint.
The Metro system is also the lifeblood of our economy. Yet, Metro hasn’t received the operating and maintenance funds it critically needs or the resources to add enough new rail cars and buses to keep up with growing ridership.
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Metro is convenient, offering a way to avoid frustrating and often unpredictable traffic, and saving us time and money compared to the increasing cost of owning, maintaining, and fueling our cars. Our roads couldn’t function without Metro’s help. Metro has sparked billions of dollars in transit-oriented development and helped revitalize DC, Arlington, Alexandria, Bethesda and Silver Spring.
Metro Needs Sustained Investment
Join the Coalition for Smarter Growth and the Transit First coalition in a campaign to ensure Metro has the investment it needs in three key areas:
1) Funding for annual operating and maintenance expenses
($160 million shortfall next year);
2) Funding for
replacement of track, switches, electrical power systems, and
station platforms;
3) Funding for new buses and rail cars to
keep up with growing transit ridership.
Total replacement (2) and capacity needs (3) between 2011 and 2020 is $11.4 billion. A bill currently in Congress would address some of this need. Part of a 10-year proposal to match $1.5 billion in federal funds to $1.5 billion in state and local funds, this year’s bill would allocate $150 million in 2010. But we will need additional commitments each year from local, state, and federal governments for not just the $3 billion, but the full $11.4 billion in needs.
For comparison, the region has spent about $4.6 billion on the Beltway (Wilson Bridge, Springfield Interchange and HOT Lanes) and $3 billion on the Intercounty Connector in recent years, and Maryland DOT is now proposing $4 billion to widen I-270 to Frederick. Clearly, we have to make choices -- we believe that investing in Metro should be a top priority, because of the many benefits it offers.
Transit Ridership Surges & Offers Range of Benefits, New Report Shows
We co-released a report with Environment America about the increase in transit ridership across the country in 2008. This comprehensive report (pdf) is the first to quantify the increase in transit ridership and decrease in vehicle miles traveled as people shifted to transit to escape high gas prices. Read our press release for more information.
The report also quantifies the savings in oil consumed and reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Our dependency on imported oil and driving impacts both our wallets and our national security. Transit increases our energy independence and will ensure we have travel options as gas prices remain high over the coming years and decades. The DC region should be a national and world leader in sustainable transportation and land use, and should make funding our transit systems our top priority.
Sincerely,
Rebecca Perring
Coalition For Smarter
Growth
action@smartergrowth.net