had two transit-related items recently:
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Editorial: A Mass Transit Mess
The Bush administration shouldn’t borrow money from public transportation to pay for highways.
"FOR THE FIRST time in 28 years, Americans are driving less…. But as people shift to buses and subways, they are encountering transit systems that are crowded and outdated. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters has put forth a plan that would make those problems worse.
Ms. Peters has proposed borrowing money from the Highway Trust Fund’s mass transit account to cover a projected $3.1 billion shortfall in highway maintenance and construction….
Increased ridership has put a strain on the finances of transit systems. Already there are reports of cities reducing services and hiking fares. Such cuts will deepen without an increase in federal funding….
Lawmakers need to work toward a sustainable solution. Increasing a gas tax that has remained unchanged for the past 15 years and has lost much of its value to inflation would certainly help…. In the meantime, the Bush administration should withdraw a proposal that would jeopardize the future of mass transit."
"…Since the end of World War II, government policy has funded and encouraged the suburban lifestyle, subsidizing highways while starving mass transit and keeping gas taxes much lower than in some other countries….
But there’s been a radical shift in recent months. Americans drove 9.6 billion fewer highway miles in May than a year earlier. Mass transit ridership is setting records. Last year, transit trips nationwide topped 10.3 billion, a 50-year high….
Home prices in the far suburbs, such as Prince William and Loudoun counties, have collapsed; those in the District and inner suburbs have stayed the same or increased. A recent survey of real estate agents by Coldwell Banker found an increased interest in urban living because of the high cost of commuting….
Katz and others said high fuel prices will increase demand for transit-oriented development, where homes, townhouses and office buildings cluster around transit hubs that link jobs with population centers."