NY Senator Schumer Pushes for Transit Funding in Stimulus Package

As Obama deals with his nominees’ tax problems and members of both the Democratic and Republican parties spar over details of the economic stimulus package, NY Senator Chuck Schumer is pushing to get more mass transit money added to to the Senate version of the bill. Schumer is teaming up with Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), who succeeded in adding an additional $3 billion for transit into the House stimulus bill.

From Grist:

“In order for our economy to get the boost it so desperately needs from the stimulus package, we have to ensure there is enough funding to upgrade our nation’s transportation infrastructure, particularly mass transit,” said a statement from Schumer’s office on Monday. “We are going to work night and day to make sure this stimuluspackage gives New York’s subways, buses, and rails the boost they need to keep our mass transit system on track.”

Schumer introduced an amendment to the Senate stimulus package that would increase transit funding by $6.5 billion, making for a total of $14.9 billion. Money for transit capital projects would increase from $8.4 billion to $10.4 billion, $2 billion would be added for rail modifications, and another $2.5 billion would be added for the Federal Transit Administration’s New Starts program.

Unfortunately, many existing transit programs are in dire need of assistance to cover the cost of fuel, maintenance and employee salaries so they can stay up and running – and neither the House nor Senate version of the stimulus package includes operations funding. Some say that keeping existing systems running is more important than building new ones.

Either way, it’s important that mass transit gets some attention. A lot of focus has been on the automobile industry lately, and while it’s really important to move forward with green vehicles, mass transit needs to play a large role in transportation in the U.S. from here on out. We need to keep these programs running, and start more – many areas of America still don’t have reliable public transit.

Link [Grist]
Photo credit: Flickr user PhotoDu.de

Bike-Sharing in the Capital

Change is coming to Washington, and it’s not just about the new Obama administration. Washington, DC is now working to incorporate bicycling into its transportation infrastructure. Much like cities across the world, DC is feeling the effects of years of dependence on cars: pollution, congestion, obesity. The documentary below takes a look at why D.C. sees bicycles as part of the solution and examines the challenges the city is facing with the increased popularity of biking.

More info about bike sharing programs at metrobike.net.

Record Low Number of Drivers on the Road in ’08

Commuters are leaving their cars in their driveways and walking, riding bicycles or flocking toward public transit instead. This is great news to us, since it’s not only reducing vehicular pollution and lowering gas use, it’s also helping to reframe how people think about transportation. The government, however, isn’t as happy about it – specifically, the Federal Highway Administration. You see, the fewer drivers use the roads, the less tax money they get toward highways. This gives states an incentive to push driving, rather than encouraging the public to use mass transit.

From CNN Money:

As high fuel costs led many to rely on other forms of transportation, such as mass transit, and to cut back their miles on the road this year, the reduced driving also sliced tax revenue that would normally go toward highway maintenance, the FHA said.

The federal tax on gas generates 18.4 cents per gallon of regular gas sold and 24.4 cents per gallon for diesel fuel, which gets pumped in to the federal Highway Trust Fund. Some states also add a tax of their own to fund various projects.

The FHA budget totaled $42.18 billion in fiscal year 2008. The Bush Administration has requested $40.14 billion for fiscal year 2009.

As Americans drive less, new ways are needed to fund the national road system, the highway agency said. Even though fewer drivers are using the highways, funding is still critical, party [sic] because of a backlog in highway projects.

In effect, since Americans are using public transit in record numbers, they’re diverting their tax funds toward trains, subways, buses and other forms of public transportation. Deal with it. Instead of constantly working on roads and highways, we need to start putting more money into public transit, whether the Federal Highway Administration likes it or not. This is the way of the future.

Link [CNN Money]
Photo credit: Flickr user jacorbett70

Super-Efficient Train Never Stops Moving

A Taiwanese inventor is proposing a novel idea that could revolutionize train travel: it’s a way to keep the train moving at all times, even through train stations. If that just gave you visions of jumping on and off trains as fast as you can, you’ll be surprised at how easy Peng Yu-Lun’s idea actually is.

From EcoGeek:

Instead, Yu-Lun envisions a small separated car perched atop the train. When the train enters a station, this car slides along on elevated rails that smoothly and gradually remove the car from the rest of the train and bring it to a stop.

Another identical car travels from these elevated tracks and gradually slides along the top of the train to pick up speed for boarding passengers. The end result: a train with no need to stop at stations.

Sure, regenerative braking – the process that converts the energy typically wasted as heat when slowing down and storing it as electrical power in batteries – is a terrific energy saving solution. Many hybrid cars, such as the Prius, use regenerative braking and it’s starting to appear aboard hybrid diesel/electric trains as well. But more efficient still is to maintain your momentum and dispense with a train’s need to make stops.

Check out the video below to see a demonstration (in Chinese).

Now if only we could get trains in America, period. The closest rail service to me is an hour away in South Carolina, and if I wanted to drive down there to catch a train to Florida, I’d have to go to Washington D.C. first. WTF? We obviously have a long way to go here in the U.S. before inventions like this one are helpful to us, but it’s nice to get a peek of the possible future!

Link [Eco Geek] + [You Tube]

Gas Prices Causing Commuters to Turn to Mass Transit

First, we heard that cities like Washington D.C. are initiating bike share programs. Then, there was the amazing news that about consumers are turning in their monstrous SUVs for smaller, more fuel efficient cars (hurray!). Now, we’re learning that gas prices have urged commuters to take the train, subway or bus instead of their personal vehicles. It seems that the way to change in America really is through our wallets, not through our heads and hearts. Though we’ve been warned for years that we needed to shift our way of thinking about transportation and energy, we haven’t listened, until now – when gas prices have reached $4 a gallon in many cities and are steadily rising.

The New York Times has it:

Mass transit systems around the country are seeing standing-room-only crowds on bus lines where seats were once easy to come by. Parking lots at many bus and light rail stations are suddenly overflowing, with commuters in some towns risking a ticket or tow by parking on nearby grassy areas and in vacant lots.

“In almost every transit system I talk to, we’re seeing very high rates of growth the last few months,” said William W. Millar, president of the American Public Transportation Association.

“It’s very clear that a significant portion of the increase in transit use is directly caused by people who are looking for alternatives to paying $3.50 a gallon for gas.”

This is exciting. It’s a brilliant illustration of why high gas prices are a good thing for America. With the disturbing fact that Americans are the least fired up about global warming despite being the most educated about it, it seemed as if nothing could shake us up enough to make people willing to change. Even the specter of gloom and doom in the form of food and water shortages, towns being so polluted they have to be evacuated and insanely severe natural disasters (hello, anyone remember Hurricane Katrina?) didn’t seem to be enough to spur action. Now we know for sure. It’s all about the Benjamins. Crazy, but whatever works. Now we just need local and state governments to start putting money into transit systems, so people don’t get disenchanted with them when they show their limits.

Link [New York Times]
Photo credit: Flickr user Daquela manera