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
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