The MT Position

Posted by Fred Jandt
Editor, Mass Transit

I know that the State of the Union has been dissected numerous times in numerous ways since the President presented the address, but it’s something that has been weighing on my mind and the new Mass Transit blog wasn’t ready last week.

For the few of you reading this who aren’t aware why the President’s speech would be weighing on my mind, here are the pertinent parts of the address:

“It is in our vital interest to diversify America’s energy supply — and the way forward is through technology. We must continue changing the way America generates electric power — by even greater use of clean coal technology…solar and wind energy…and clean, safe nuclear power. We need to press on with battery research for plug-in and hybrid vehicles, and expand the use of clean diesel vehicles and biodiesel fuel. We must continue investing in new methods of producing ethanol — using everything from wood chips, to grasses, to agricultural wastes.

“We have made a lot of progress, thanks to good policies in Washington and the strong response of the market. Now even more dramatic advances are within reach. Tonight, I ask Congress to join me in pursuing a great goal. Let us build on the work we have done and reduce gasoline usage in the United States by 20 percent in the next 10 years — thereby cutting our total imports by the equivalent of three-quarters of all the oil we now import from the Middle East.

“To reach this goal, we must increase the supply of alternative fuels, by setting a mandatory Fuels Standard to require 35 billion gallons of renewable and alternative fuels in 2017 — this is nearly five times the current target. At the same time, we need to reform and modernize fuel economy standards for cars the way we did for light trucks — and conserve up to 8.5 billion more gallons of gasoline by 2017.

“Achieving these ambitious goals will dramatically reduce our dependence on foreign oil, but will not eliminate it. So as we continue to diversify our fuel supply, we must also step up domestic oil production in environmentally sensitive ways. And to further protect America against severe disruptions to our oil supply, I ask Congress to double the current capacity of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

“America is on the verge of technological breakthroughs that will enable us to live our lives less dependent on oil. These technologies will help us become better stewards of the environment — and they will help us to confront the serious challenge of global climate change.”

Notice how he didn’t mention public transportation anywhere in there? APTA did and issued a statement the next day:

“The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) is disappointed that, in his State of the Union address, President Bush did not recognize public transportation usage as one of the ways Americans can reduce their dependence on foreign oil. We urge Congress and the Administration to increase investment to make public transit services available to more Americans and to include incentives that will encourage greater transit use in the energy legislation that will be developed.”

I admit, as I watched the State of the Union address, I was chanting under my breath, “Mention public transit. Mention public transit.” He didn’t and for the most part, the news media totally passed over the matter.

This is where the weighing on my mind part comes in. I was mulling over what the President said, or more to the point what he didn’t say, and I really can’t blame him. See, here’s the rub. It’s not just about whether or not the President said that public transit can help reduce reliance on foreign oil, it’s about everything transit can offer.

The President spoke about alternative fuels, but didn’t mention the numerous public transit agencies across the country that have spearheaded the use of alternative fuels — many of them mandated by law to use them. As one agency executive told me, “We can’t even sniff at using diesel fuel.” And hybrid vehicles?! Public transit agencies are leading the charge in the research and use of hybrid vehicles.

The problem typified by the President’s State of the Union address is one of image. People either see transit as their conveyance to and from their destination or (largely for those who don’t have it readily available) they have the Hollywood image of riding a bus with drunks, smelly people and criminals.

Transit is so much more than that and this is where the State of the Union address fell short. While I was disappointed that the President didn’t point out how riding transit can reduce oil consumption, I am even more disappointed that in his examples of what we should be doing as a nation to stop our reliance on foreign oil, he didn’t point out that public transit agencies are already doing it.

Thanks for reading the MT Position, our new weekly blog updated every Thursday!

Fred
fred.jandt@cygnusb2b.com <