NARP Blog

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Some critics of transit, and especially rail, argue that “reducing congestion” is a main reason for building rail transit. When they see that congestion isn’t reduced, or isn’t reduced noticeably, they then attack transit as wasteful. (They ignore building new roads as a failed strategy for reducing congestion.)

The real justifications for rail transit are:

(1) to give individuals the choice of a pleasant ride instead of a nerve-wracking drive;

(2) to give developers an incentive for transit- and pedestrian-friendly development;

(3) to add substantial capacity to the transportation system—thereby facilitating economic development—with minimum use of land and minimum environmental damage.

While road congestion certainly has an economic cost, it can also be seen as indicative of a strong economy; conversely, a devastating recession would reduce congestion. The other ways to reduce congestion are: (a) severe congestion pricing on roads; (b) massive commitment to transit and transit-friendly development. The latter is probably essential before the former could be politically doable.

Conclusion: it is a classic “straw man” argument to say that eliminating or dramatically reducing congestion is a (or the) main justification for introducing rail transit. Some transit critics use this argument to get their readers to ignore transit’s real benefits.

—Ross B. Capon,
NARP Executive Director

You may register to post comments in response to NARP-generated postings on the Blog. By registering you agree 1) that all comments will be relevant to the respective posting and 2) not to post any messages that are obscene, vulgar, slanderous, hateful, threatening, or that violate any laws. We reserve the right to permanently block postings from any user who does not abide by the above terms. NARP reserves the right to remove, edit, or move any messages for any reason.

NARP blog

Congestion, Highways, and Transit

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Posted by NARP

©2010 National Association of Railroad Passengers | » NARP website

» Recent Entries

» Blogroll

» Terms of Service for Comments

» Monthly Archives