It's Time To Subsidize Mass Transit
I've been arguing that the United States needs to start subsidizing mass transit systems for awhile, but today I was handed another reminder. By February, northern Wisconsin will no longer have Greyhound service. Currently, the closest airport is an hour away, the closest Amtrak is close to four hours (all of the railroad tracks are being converted to snowmobile trails), and by early next year the closest bus line will be an hour away. The area will be even more isolated. This is ridiculous. With gas prices rising, talk of peak oil, and global warming no longer a debated issue, we are going backwards on transportation.
Personally, I am a big fan of railways. I have ridden the Amtrak several times across the country and had a wonderful experience. However, because of their limited stops, I often am not able to get near my final destination. Also, because they are a company trying to make a profit, their rates are often much more than the gas money I'd pay to drive. Transit systems shouldn't have to try and turn a profit, it should be a service. Our government should be trying to promote less driving by allowing for reasonable mass transit systems even if it requires subsidies. Our highways are already partly subsidized through various taxes.
This is just a quick complaint. I'm going to try and do more investigating on the popularity of railsystems in cities and other countries, as well as the subsidies other governements offer to their transit systems. To be continued......
posted by BurdockBoy @ 6:11 PM
6 comments
6 Comments:
Mass Transit is a wonderful ideal. When I was in college in Spokane I'd get bus pass for less then $20.00 and pretty well covered the city and pretty well the Spokane County.
My own question how are we going to fund Mass transit at this time.
Dubya did a major cut on taxes and our country is terrible in debt.
With in global warming we could all cut back on fossil fuels.
I'm trying to figure out how to drive less.
peppylady: with all of our spending it is tough to comprehend fitting it in the budget. Switching our spending around and reducing subsidies on other things would be a start.
Wolf and I feel the pain of no public transportation out where we live. There is absolutely none and it sucks.
I would gladly take a bus and train to and from work if the options were there. Unfortunately, there are no railways in NH, except for along our 20 mile coastline. Fat lot of good that does us here in central NH.
I think individual's people willingness to reduce their reliance on oil and driving can only go so far if alternatives are not available to them. who cares if one is willing to have a longer commute if there the distance makes biking or walking prohibitive, and public transportation is unavailable? I'm amazed, even in the urban area where I live how much more effective the public transit system could and should be--and it's great here compared to most places. This is something that is so obviously needs to become a societal priority--I just can't understand why it is not a more widely discussed and worked-on issue. Many would gladly drive less if other options were available to them. For my husband and me, using public transit (or walking/biking) is a priority and that's one reason we've always lived places where we can get by with one car, and where often neither of us has needed to drive to work. But, unfortunately, that isn't possible in many areas.
nio & wolf: I feel your pain.
m: It was nice living in Corvallis, OR where I lived close to work and they had bike lanes. I just hope that rural areas start seeing the importance of mass transit.
Post a Comment
<< Home