November « 2008 « The Transport Politic

To Save New York City Transit

November 20th, 2008 |

It’s official: to stave off the giant declines in tax revenues for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the agency will be doing the following:

Raising fares and tolls systemwide by 23% (probably means increasing base fare from $2.00 to $2.50 and a monthly pass to $100.00)
Firing 2700 people who work for New York City Transit, 173 for Long Island Rail Road, and 88 for Metro-North
Eliminating the W and Z Subway Lines (which would not involve closing any stops)
Shortening the route of the M and G Subway Lines
Lowering the frequency of letter-line trains from 8 minutes to 10 minutes on weekends
Lowering the frequency of

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Big News: Dingell Out, Waxman In

November 20th, 2008 |

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John Dingell, U.S. Representative from Michigan, has been ousted from his post at the helm of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. He’s been in that post – or at least the top Democrat on the committee – for 28 years. Replacing him is Henry Waxman of California, who won the Democratic House vote 137-122.

This is excellent news for people who care about alternative modes of travel and in pushing towards ways to prevent climate change. As a Michigan Representative, Dingell has been unilaterally opposed to forcing the automakers to improve their cars’ fuel economy. And he’s done almost nothing

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Next Steps for High-Speed Rail

November 20th, 2008 |

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We got good news today in hearing of John Kerry’s introduction of the High-Speed Rail for America Act. This proposed bill will go a long way in helping the construction of California’s high-speed rail system. The passage of Proposition 1A in California two weeks ago means $10 billion of guaranteed state-level funding for high-speed rail. The system as initially built will provide 225-mph service from Los Angeles to San Francisco; future extensions will include lines to Sacramento and San Diego.

But $10 billion in bonds isn’t nearly enough to pay for the entire project – the likely cost just for the first

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Measure B Passes; MTA in a Huge Hole; Driving Decreases Nationwide

November 20th, 2008 |

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Today’s top news:

Santa Clara County‘s Measure B, which is intended to authorize funds for the expansion of BART service to downtown San Jose, now looks almost guaranteed for passage. Unless the last few ballots to be counted go against the measure, the current 66.74% in favor of the provision (66.67% needed to pass) is enough. This would be a $6 billion, 16-mile extension of the train system.

New York City‘s Metropolitan Transportation Authority is finding itself in a bigger and bigger hole. Today, the New York Times reports that there is little funding available for the system’s next 5-year plan, which funds

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