Mass transit is often associated with limitations. People have to plan when they leave based on when their bus, streetcar, light-rail, or commuter rail line leaves. They don’t have the ‘pleasure’ of circling around a parking lot trying to find the spot closest to the front door. They can’t easily stop off at McDonald’s for a healthy bite to eat. And so on.
Well, those things may provide a little bit of limitation, but there are other factors that can give you more freedom as well.
For example, the average transit rider in the US now saves $9,242 a year by riding transit (approximately $770 a month). I could think of at least a few things to do with $9,242! Things I couldn’t do without it.
In New York, you can actually save about $1,147 a month or $13,765 a year. The top 20 US cities in average savings are listed below.
But there are more benefits to riding transit, too.
Transportation is one of the biggest parts of our lives, whether we think about it or not. How will 2010 help shape the future of transportation in the US? How should it do so?
And, more specifically, what is going on in government on this matter? With an expired (in September of 2009) and extended and extended and extended and extended (yes, four times) 6-year transportation bill, what is coming in 2010?
The following discussion goes into my own thoughts on some of the major issues with the help of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials’ (AASHTO’s) “Top Ten Transportation Topics” list and other stories.
People in North Carolina and Virginia must have seen what’s going on in China with high-speed rail and decided they wanted some of that. They are now requesting over $5 billion in funding for high-speed rail.
Actually, as a former resident of both North Carolina and Virginia professionally and personally involved in this topic, I can say they have been working on this topic and wanting better rail for quite a long time.
Now, though, with the federal government pledging $8 billion in stimulus funding for high-speed rail, they may have their chance.
However, they are not the only ones who want this money!
The world’s fastest high-speed train, averaging 217 mph, was just launched in China. It blows away the competition, but may not be so special for long.
The train will cover a distance of 663 miles (1,068 km) from Wuhan (central China) to Guangzhou (in the south). It will reduce the travel time between these cities from over 6 hours to about 2 hours and 45 minutes.
Norfolk Southern unveiled an all-electric locomotive this week at its Juniata Locomotive Shop in Altoona, PA The 1,500 horsepower locomotive gets its power from 1,080 12-volt lead-acid batteries, the same kind found under the hoods of most cars.
China just awarded Bombardier Sifang a contract to build 80 “very high speed trains” for the country.
These are super progressive trains that are energy efficient as well as lightning fast. China intends to invest a total of $300 billion in high speed trains by 2020.
May 9 is National Train Day, one of my favorite holidays. (Well, since it was created last year, at least.) I find trains to be a particularly great way to travel, for both short and long trips.
This week’s post is by Edward Burgess, coauthor of Environmental Defense Fund’s new report Reinventing Transit.
Last week, Congressman James Oberstar, chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, was slated to speak at the launch of EDF’s new report Reinventing Transit — but he got stuck in traffic! The irony was not lost on one commenter in the StarTribune.com blog who noted, “You couldn’t ask for a better footnote to the report.”
Watch our report video showing how people across the country are getting on board these innovative transit systems.
Editor’s note: Yep, that video’s changed places. Our embedding system is acting up, so here’s the video on YouTube.
Oberstar’s absence was a clear illustration of how traffic congestion is sapping time and productivity across the country. Cars stuck in traffic don’t just waste time, but they also waste fuel. This has consequences for the environment in terms of health and global warming. In fact, about a quarter of our country’s greenhouse gas emissions come from cars and trucks (see graph of breakdown of transportation sector).
Compared to most other industrialized countries, the rail infrastructure system in the United States is only in its most stunted infancy. President Obama’s stimulus package, however, is now going to help bring our nation’s transit system into the 21st century. Nine billion dollars has been allocated over the next five years to begin building a faster and cleaner high speed rail network that will not only provide many needed jobs, but will also give us more sustainable transit options and [...]
