Bush's SOTU Leaves Out Transit
Fri Jan 26, 2007 at 08:56:08 PM PDT
Of course we know that Bush called us out on our addiction to oil in last years state of the union and then this year made some suggestions on how to lower the addiction, even asking for a 20% reduction. But he only expects us to get there by alternative energy sources for our cars...the same cars that allow us to build in sprawling energy inefficient patterns and take up on average 19% of our family budgets every year. Well this is a great benefit to the auto industry and the oil moguls who are looking to break into these markets, but how about saving the American People more money by building more transit facilities?
Saving Energy
This one track mind thing has got to stop. Everyone here know's the decider decides and thats it, no more dialog. So with Bush and Pals promoting the same auto-centric society that we have seen proliferate since World War 2, working families have no other choice but to drive their cars. We know from Alan Drake's diary that we can save 10% already by Transport Electrification in 10 Years. But that is just through transportation. What about building compact development around the stations for passenger rail? This could save us even more energy.
The Family Budget
But saving energy and the environment is not the only thing that is important to people, especially the working class. They care about providing for their families and saving money. Well what better way to save money than to collectively build and use transit. According to a Brookings Institute brief called the Affordability Index, in areas that are walkable and have many transit options, 9% of a Household's budget is used for transportation while in sprawling neighborhoods that have no transit that household cost moves to 25%. This is because automobiles cost families approximately $10,000 per year per car to operate. Affordable housing is supposed to take up 30% at most so if you're spending 55% of your income on housing and transportation, that is simply too much. We know now that affordability doesn't just mean housing, but both housing and transportation.
High Costs of Commuting From Sprawl
So why does this matter in terms of the SOTU? Because Bush mentioned nothing about transit expansion (Light Rail, Heavy Rail, Bus, Etc.) and only about auto efficiencies. Only a small portion of that $10,000 is gas. And other hidden costs of driving include paying for roads, the cost of parking, policing, maintaining etc. And it doesn't all come from the gas tax. This is a huge burden to Americans. Cars are a necessary part of American Life, but so are alternatives to driving that can save working folks money.
Benefits to Cities and The Country
Transit can also be a way to revitalize communities. Portland Oregon and Congressman Earl Blumenauer have shown us that the return of Streetcars can be a beneficial tool to promote reinvestment in our cities. After building a streetcar line in 2001, the city has benefited from $2.4 billion dollars of investment along the line. Other cities are finding this too. You can read more about the revitalization coming to America due to Streetcars in a new book called Street Smart by Reconnecting America.
So while there are many things that can be done to stop global warming and reduce our energy dependence, there are things we can do that will not only help our environment, but will also help our cities and our pocketbooks.
Next time I'll write about what cities are doing in the transit space race. But until then you can catch my blog The Overhead Wire for Transit News, updates and ideas.
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