The MT Position

Posted by Fred Jandt
Mass Transit magazine editor

It’s interesting how for some people certain concepts just go in one ear and out the other. Take the President’s recent high-speed rail plan. I am amazed by the number of people who seem to think this is a national rail network. You couldn’t get the concept of regional networks through their heads if you had a map to show them. Oh, there is a map?

Since the blog last week I’ve read numerous comments to articles about this “national” network and how the United States is way too big to sustain a high-speed rail system like this. And didn’t they learn anything from Amtrak? How is that doing? (Pretty good, actually.)

As part of my blog I posted the map of the proposed high-speed rail corridors and the one thing that sticks out to me is the fact that the West Coast really isn’t connected to the rest of the country. In fact, the two proposed corridors on the West Coast aren’t even connected to each other as part of a single high-speed network.

High-speed rail is a regional concept. It is planned on a regional scale and would be implemented as such. And, you know what, on a regional scale it would thrive. Check that, it will thrive. High-speed rail is coming because frankly it’s not just a vision from the President anymore, each day it becomes clearer and clearer it is becoming a necessity.

This past Wednesday was Earth Day. As I wandered through my house after my kids grumbling and turning off lights, I thought again about the high-speed rail network. About how much of a benefit it will be to not just the economy, but the environment. People will say that it won’t take cars off the road, but what they really mean is that it won’t take enough cars off the road for them in their specific area so they can have an empty lane to go as fast as they want in whenever they need it. That’s congestion relief to most of the grumblers out there — relief for the congestion affecting them, not anyone else.

And think about the benefits to the environment. APTA announced this week that Americans using public transportation reduce the United States’ carbon footprint by more than 35 million metric tons each year. And right now the majority of public transit’s systems are collected in our major metropolitan areas. Think about what it would mean to our nation’s carbon footprint if everyone traveling to and from those areas, as well as the people living there, could ride public transit!

The President’s high-speed rail network plan brings public transit outside of the urban metros and out to everyone living around them. It allows transit to fight sprawl on its own terms by giving the people living in those areas a real taste of public transit, and the public transit systems connected to the network a real chance to promote what their local users already know — transit works.

Check out Mass Transit’s new Top 40 Under 40 promotion on our Web site. We’re looking to recognize transit’s best and brightest under the age of 40 in an upcoming issue. Click on the link and you can read more about it and nominate yourself or any of your colleagues.

Thanks for reading the MT Position updated every Friday,

Fred
fred.jandt@cygnusb2b.com
Check out our LinkedIn page!

Posted by Fred Jandt
Mass Transit magazine editor

As I write this it’s been a few hours since the President announced his high-speed rail vision for the United States. Long enough time for stories to fill up the Internet, but I haven’t had a chance to hear the pundits come out of their holes and bash the plan or put it up on an unreachable pedestal. As my brother is fond of saying, I’m approaching this with cautious optimism. I just hope President Obama knows what he’s getting himself into.

Let me be clear on one point. I live in the Midwest. And because of this — among other reasons — I want a high-speed rail network. I want it desperately. I’ve ridden the trains in other countries. I know how convenient they — not can be — are. I also know that these countries sink a considerable amount of money into them.

Note that last sentence: present tense.

I applaud President Obama for having the vision, wherewithal and passion to make this happen. The investment of $8 billion this year and another $5 billion over the next five years will definitely get a high-speed rail network bristling with activity. And with public-private partnerships, we could see trains running on these lines in less than a decade.

But then what?

We built it. They came. Now who’s going to run those high-speed rail corridors? The $13 billion is a nice down payment to get the system built, but what about the operating costs. Make no mistake; this is a public transportation system. We can call it a national high-speed rail network and make allusions to the Interstate Highway System, but it is still public transit.

And where are our public transit systems these days? Washington, D.C.? Atlanta? Boston? New York? Seattle? San Francisco? San Diego? Chicago? Los Angeles? Dallas? All of these systems and more are facing major operating budget shortfalls in the next year. Most of them are considering (possibly drastic) service cuts and fare increases. The recent stimulus funds have helped a little, but public transit is still choking on its own success.

The creation of the high-speed rail network isn’t the only thing that needs to be planned and funded. Its management and operation needs to be as well — which may just be the most difficult part. Are individual corridors going to fall under the purview of the local public transit authorities? Is it going to the state DOTs? Or are these going to be part of Amtrak? This is the true question that needs to be answered when it comes to a high-speed rail network.

I want high-speed rail. I think it’s a wonderful idea. I think it will not only be good for the environment, but also for the Interstate System, the airline industry and public transportation agencies in particular. But consider me cautiously optimistic until I here just how it’s going to be operated.

Check out Mass Transit’s new Top 40 Under 40 promotion on our Web site. We’re looking to recognize transit’s best and brightest under the age of 40 in an upcoming issue. Click on the link and you can read more about it and nominate yourself or any of your colleagues.

Thanks for reading the MT Position updated every Friday,

Fred
fred.jandt@cygnusb2b.com
Check out our LinkedIn page!

Posted by Fred Jandt
Mass Transit magazine editor

Transit agencies across the country are struggling for operating funding. MARTA in Atlanta can’t even get the state government to give it the time of day to consider dipping into capital funding to make up operating budget deficits. And the New Jersey governor’s proposed state budget would cut more than $60 million in aid for NJ Transit. And the age old comment, “I don’t use it, why should I pay for it,” reared its ugly head in regards to the NJ governor’s decision. That has to be one of the stupidest things I’ve ever heard.

I have to say, I hate the thought some people have that since they don’t use mass transit they shouldn’t pay for it. There are about 200 million registered vehicles in the United States by recent estimates. And the current population is upwards of 300 million. Do the math — not everyone owns a car. And that’s before you stop to consider people being registered for more than one vehicle.

So if I’m not using the roads, why should I pay for them?

Doesn’t that sound ridiculous? I can already hear the rebuttals now. Everyone uses roads even if you’re not driving. Well, the food you eat was trucked to the store you bought it from, so you use those roads. And so on. Now couldn’t the same arguments be made for public transit? Everyone uses public transit even if they don’t ride a train. The empty parking spot at your local grocery store was there because someone else road the bus.

The fact of the matter is that a lot of people don’t realize just how affordable public transit is. How much is that ¼ of 1% sales tax to you really? Now compare that to a 75 cent fare increase for every ride on every rider on a transit system. The latter hurts those riders a lot more than an increase in a general tax, but for the ones not riding transit, it’s out of sight out of mind.

Transit benefits everyone, yet continually it’s expected for the ridership alone to bear the burden of funding it through fare increases and service cuts. I know the gas tax will be held up as an example for the other side. See, drivers are paying more! But the effects of a national gas tax are spread out throughout so much more. Those extra costs filter down to higher prices on many other items. Have you checked the price of a gallon of milk lately?

People are using public transit more than ever. The systems are bursting at the seams with riders. And yet states continue to slash funds from these agencies, making them force the realization of not being able to service those same riders. Really in this time of bank’s melting down for poor business practices, does it make good business sense to turn away customers rather than increasing service?

Check out Mass Transit’s new Top 40 Under 40 promotion on our Web site. We’re looking to recognize transit’s best and brightest under the age of 40 in an upcoming issue. Click on the link and you can read more about it and nominate yourself or any of your colleagues.

Thanks for reading the MT Position updated every Friday,

Fred
fred.jandt@cygnusb2b.com
Check out our LinkedIn page!

Posted by Fred Jandt
Mass Transit magazine editor

I was talking to a friend last night about the latest movie releases and we discussed how HDTV and the increased quality (and size) of televisions has made going to the movies an option, not a necessity. This might be the tip of the proverbial iceberg in the reasons why people aren’t traveling as much these days. Note I didn’t say driving.

Think about going to the movies for a minute. How much does that cost you — especially if you have a family? Just for tickets it’s an investment. And then there’s the snacks — popcorn, soda, candy — and the intangibles. Those intangibles include getting to the theater on time, getting a seat and dealing with other audience members.

Now compare that to sitting in front of a high-def TV in your living room. Most cable providers offer a variety of PPV movies these days with increasing speed from their release in the theaters. Snacks are arguably free when you compare the price to what you pay in the theater. The only audience you need to deal with is your family, and you can pause the movie if you need to use the bathroom.

That makes you think twice about dropping the money for a trip to the movies. It goes from a fun family outing to a planned “event.” More and more people are changing their minds as to what they will and will not travel for.

In 2008 vehicle miles traveled was down 3.8 percent. Okay, so people were driving less. You could say the increased gas prices caused this. But air travel was also down by 1.5 percent. So people didn’t travel as much. Economic factors can explain that. But transit saw a 4.0 percent increase in 2008. Transit’s detractors will point to the drop-off in vehicle miles as an offset to transit’s increase. But transit’s increase was actually less in urban areas than in rural ones.

Put simply, people aren’t traveling as much as they used to. And the FAA’s recently released 2009 predictions of an 8.8 percent drop in domestic travel show people really aren’t traveling like they used to.

Now the question becomes whether people, once they change their normal travel routines, will ever start traveling like they used to. The FAA says they will, predicting increases in air travel as early as 2010. But like movies, will people realize they have comparable options with less travel?

Transit is proving that people do not need to make that realization. They can still travel without needing to rely on the car. And with an increased federal desire for intercity rail networks, especially high-speed rail, the reliance on air travel may continue to lessen as well.

Check out Mass Transit’s new Top 40 Under 40 promotion on our Web site. We’re looking to recognize transit’s best and brightest under the age of 40 in an upcoming issue. Click on the link and you can read more about it and nominate yourself or any of your colleagues.

Thanks for reading the MT Position updated every Friday,

Fred
fred.jandt@cygnusb2b.com
Check out our LinkedIn page!