Flag Stops: Getting At the True Cost

Monday, August 16, 2010

The Federal Railroad Administration released a summary of the applications received for the next round of high(er)-speed intercity passenger train funding—$8.5 billion requested by 25 states, with only $2.3 billion available. These applications drive home the error Congress is making in reducing next year’s funding figures for the high speed rail program. Former Rep. Al Swift and the American High Speed Rail Alliance share NARP’s sense of urgency that Congress must increase the available funding if we want a train network that will help us meet our mounting energy and mobility challenges. Fortunately, it’s not too late to make your voice heard—the full Senate has yet to finish its version of the 2011 transportation spending bill, and the measure will likely go to a conference committee once the Senate acts.

Other noteworthy stories:

In many US cities, taking public transportation instead of driving saves residents between $700 and $1,000 each month, according to figures compiled by the American Public Transportation Association (a NARP partner in the OneRail Coalition) based on the average national price of gasoline and unreserved parking rate on August 10 (click to see the figure for your city). This is a good way to encapsulate the dividends each taxpayer receives when public investments are made in making trains and transit more convenient and attractive to more Americans. When you factor in what gas should cost (factoring in very real “external costs” to the public welfare that aren’t included in the price you pay at the pump) and the other costs associated with car ownership (insurance, maintenance, etc.), you save even more by switching more trips to transit.

Kudos to the Portland Press Herald for an editorial lauding the forthcoming extension of Amtrak’s Downeaster east to Brunswick, ME, which states a truth not often heard in the media: “a system of government subsidies can make a trip by car look like the cheapest way to go, even though it is costly for the whole system.” Too many editors and columnists grossly inflate the cost of improving trains, while overlooking the larger fact that public policy continues to grossly deflate the real costs associated with automobile dependence.

Kudos also to NARP member Gary Friedly, who is blending the promotion of a novel he wrote that centers on a trip on Amtrak’s former North Coast Hiawatha route with advocacy of the train’s restoration.

—Malcolm Kenton

Posted by Malcolm Kenton

Tags: al swift, american high speed rail alliance, bridge over the valley, congress, gary friedly, high-speed rail, portland press herald, public transportation, save money, take action, transportation funding, us dot
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