It took environmentalists years to break open the Highway Trust Fund to include some federal funds for public transportation projects. But now, according to a new report from the Sierra Club, the Bush administration wants to return to the bad old days, when asphalt -- and only asphalt -- got all the dollars.
The federal-state funding match for public transit and highway construction is currently 80:20. But under a new proposal from the Bush Administration, states would be required to pay half the cost of public transportation projects. The 80:20 ratio for new highways, however, would stay unchanged.
This tilt in the funding match would inevitably push local governments to build more highways at the expense of public transit. The Sierra Club report, Missing the Train, details why supporting public transportation makes so much more sense.
First of all, building public transportation creates more jobs than highway construction. A study this year by the Surface Transportation Policy Project found that for every $1.25 billion spent on new public transportation projects, nearly 51,300 people are employed. By contrast, only 43,200 are employed per every $1.25 billion spent on new roads and bridges. [1] That's an important reason why labor leaders around the country now support public transportation.
Public transit boosts local economies as well. The Sierra Club report cites examples from around the country -- including Washington, D.C., Dallas/Ft. Worth, St. Louis, and Tampa Bay -- where public transportation projects have revitalized neighborhoods and invigorated business districts. In many areas, business and labor leaders have teamed up to push for new projects.
Moreover, commuting by car is stressful: businesses suffer when workers are burned out before they even arrive. HR Magazine quotes Steve Stephenson, a senior manager at the Boeing Commercial Airplane Company in Greenbank, Washington. He notes that "people come to work jangled," and that "a 15-second episode can cause hormonal changes that last for six hours. That infects the whole day." [2]
Building new roads isn't the answer, the report argues, since new roads only generate more sprawl development and more traffic. In fact, only three years after new roadways open, traffic fills road capacity between 50 and 100 percent. [3]
The Bush Administration's new funding proposal for transportation projects is a gift to the highway lobby. It will create more sprawl, more air pollution, more accidents, and more stress. Commuters deserve better.
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SOURCES:
[1] STTP Decoder.
[2] "What Sets Us Off," HR Magazine, Society for Human Resource Management, May 2003.
[3] American Public Transportation Association.
