December 31st, 2009 |
» From sea to shining sea, it’s been a newsworthy year for transit in the United States.
As 2009 fades away, recall the biggest stories from each state, ranked by importance and seriousness. It’s hard not to notice the vast differences between regions and places in support for transit and intercity rail funding.
1.
Florida
» Florida approves state funding for SunRail project, Tri-Rail commuter system, and high-speed rail. Seems likely to benefit from increased federal funding as a result. Related article on The Transport Politic: Florida Convenes Special Legislative Session for SunRail, Tri-Rail, and High-Speed Rail, 4 December 2009.
2.
Washington
» Seattle’s new Central Link light
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December 29th, 2009 |
» France will be a battleground for intercity rail travel beginning in 2012. Whether the country’s citizens will benefit is up for debate.
Last week, Le Figaro reported that Veolia Environnement will be working with Italy’s Trenitalia national rail company to compete on French high-speed rail routes beginning in 2012. The ramifications of the move are significant: it will open up existing lines to multiple operators, producing consumer choice currently not available because of a decades-old monopoly on intercity operations by French national rail corporation SNCF. This competition is mandated by European Union law, which is intended to reduce transportation costs by
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December 28th, 2009 |
» Successful implementation at huge U.K. airport could mean more interest in PRT elsewhere.
Proponents of personal rapid transit systems have frequently promoted themselves as opponents of traditional public transportation. Unlike expensive metro or light rail systems, they claimed, their PRT lines would be cheaper to construct, more convenient for passengers, and more attractive for users. Now that a new line is readying for opening in the United Kingdom, the technology may attain new prominence.
Over the years, most attempts at implementing PRT have failed due to a lack of interest from investors — and as a
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December 24th, 2009 |
» California Governor proposes cutting state support for transit to balance the budget.
The most stormy period of the recession may have passed us by, but states and cities continue to face the devastating consequences of the millions of jobs lost over the past two years. Unlike the national government, which is able to maintain a budgetary deficit, lower-level governments in the U.S. federal system have a legal requirement to produce a balanced budget each year — a difficult task to fulfill when raising taxes is political suicide even as citizens expect a minimum standard of minimum public service.
As falling tax returns
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December 21st, 2009 |
» Public-private partnerships could bring big benefits to the Motor City. But they might be sending the wrong message about governmental responsibility.
If Detroit has yet to receive the kind of huge public investment that may well be necessary to save it, it hasn’t been entirely forgotten by its natives. Over the past year, a group of individuals and corporations have donated tens of millions of dollars towards the creation of an entity that would construct a new rail line down the city’s primary corridor, Woodward Avenue. Their example of direct private involvement in a transit project for a non-profit purpose is
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December 18th, 2009 |
» New transit projects are absolutely necessary, but what’s most needed is an increase in funding, not a change in regulations.
In reviewing transit capital projects to fund with New Starts grant money, the Federal Transit Administration evaluates proposals from a variety of perspectives. Since 2005, it has placed an overwhelming focus on one criterion, requiring a medium “cost-effectiveness” rating, which values predicted overall travel time saved by commuters likely to use the new service.
Transit agencies pushing big new line expansions have argued that this specific guideline is too strict, forcing unreasonable cutbacks in project costs and valuing suburban, long-distance lines over
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