No News = No Money
Posted by Fred Jandt
Mass Transit magazine editor
Have you ever heard the saying if a tree falls in the woods and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? Lately I feel that way about transit. If a transit-related story happens and it’s not where you live do you pay attention to it?
This week another tragedy befell the public transportation industry with the rail accident in Washington, D.C. First, our thoughts are with those who lost loved ones in the wreck. You never want to see something like this happen anywhere.
Strangely enough, here in the Midwest it almost seems like it didn’t happen. I asked a few friends about the accident and they seemed to recall something about some train crash, but they couldn’t go into specifics. Now, I know I am tuned into the transit industry, but to not know about what happened?
Then I thought about the Metrolink accident from a few months ago. Have you heard about that lately? I am sure on the West Coast it was brought up again in the wake of the Metro accident in Washington, but for most other parts of the country life has moved on. It’s just another blip on the news radar.
Why is this? When the I-35 bridge in Minnesota collapsed it was national news for weeks. There was a national cry for immediate funding to fix bridges and the words “crumbling infrastructure†became an instant part of the public conscience. Is it because so many more people use cars than take transit? I don’t buy that. Is it media hype? That is more likely. It is easier to spin a story about a bridge collapse locally (our one bridge into town is in dire peril!) than a train crash when you don’t have rail lines in town.
Looking back at the I-35 bridge collapse, the federal government moved swiftly to ensure $195 million for Minnesota to replace the fallen bridge and $1 billion nationwide to repair others in just six weeks. There are already urgings to get Metro money to improve its system — improvements the NTSB says should have been done years ago — to prevent future accidents from happening.
Here’s the crux of this. When will transit ever get a fair shake when it comes to funding? After the I-35 bridge collapse a nationwide call goes out to improve bridge infrastructure, yet two rail accidents happen within months of each other and officials are arguing to be sure to put restrictions on any aid Metro gets so it doesn’t use it to pay off old debts. Huh?
Metro is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg here. There are plenty of other agencies out there that could benefit from a federal investment into positive train control systems rather than using systems that are decades old. But, you know, those have worked pretty good so far, so we could squeeze another 20-30 years out of them.
Think on that for a minute. We cry about our crumbling infrastructure and how we need to repair it. Now consider being told it hasn’t failed yet, so you won’t get any funding until it does. That’s what transit faces. No money until something goes wrong.
Thanks for reading the MT Position updated every Friday,
Fred
fred.jandt@cygnusb2b.com
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June 26th, 2009 at 11:37 am
I was with WMATA during the twenty-fifth anniversary of its inception, and was part of a team with a mission to convince the appropriate people in and out of the agency that the system was wearing out and needed a massive injection of capital funds. We had little success.
June 26th, 2009 at 11:59 am
The whole funding process needs to be changed. Everybody wants to fund the building of it but nobody wants to pay to operate it…which includes the continued upgrade and maintenance of it. I beleive CTA is a good example of what happens when you don’t get or have the money to invest in your infrastructure. There is nothing on this planet that you can build and forget. Funding should include both capital and operating funds so agencies will have the assurrance that money is set aside for upkeep of their shiney new government funded project.
June 27th, 2009 at 10:56 pm
How we relate to a news story is, is it useful or dangerous to us? If you don’t take transit, you don’t even give it a second thought, until the price of gasoline hits over $4 a gallon. Then you want that alternative avenue to go places available and safe. The way you paint the story also makes a difference. You said for instance, when to we in transit get a fair break? This is the “us vs. them” and it shouldn’t be painted like that. Everyone is affected by transit but can you paint it like that where everyone wins, not just transit.
Bridges? Everyone uses them, including mass transit. But mass transit? Who uses it? Depends on where you are and what your image is mass transit is. Some feel it’s the elderly that uses them to go visit their deceased upon boot hill. Or maybe for the kids to get to their playgrounds. Others use it to get to work, but busses remain mostly unused they feel. I recall a city council member was taken to a major drop-off point of transit and she was amazed just how many were using it. She had no idea! She witnessed a half dozen busses unload passengers as well as several van pool vehicles discharge passengers. This council person was overwhelmed and changed her mind of just how serious she should consider fund requests for transit.
Getting passengers to their destinations is not a issue for me as I have yet to turn down anyone waiting for the bus to ride. But, getting to their destination on time is the real issue due to heavy ridership, frequent stops both outbound and inbound on the same trip, traffic and traffic lights, construction delays, etc. It’s really discouraging not to be able to do this like we did years ago.
June 29th, 2009 at 9:02 pm
Today I am picking on you. Mr. Fred Jandt and MT Magazine:
The USDOE has an annual report, called the World Energy Outlook. Each year an included line item has to do with the DOE estimated time when oil supply maxes, or Peaks. A few years ago it was 2030. Then 2020. Last year they called it circa 2015. Now, 2010-2012. Is it a big deal?
The world now has about a Billion motor(highway) vehicles. This number of rubber tire vehicles is projected to double in about 15 years or less. Let’s see, DOE has put fuel plateau a couple of years out, and motor fuel consumption is on a steady climb right on through. But wait. Annual oilfield depletion is now over 5%. Man, if anyone in public transit is not INTIMATELY on top of oilfield issues by now, they are just lazy & derelict in their duty. There is such a thing as situational awareness, motormen and drivers are constantly reminded… What about the suits? Ladies too, I know some of you are at least aware there is an enrgy crisis looming.
Is it better for everyone to be ignorant about Peak Oil in absolute harmony? Some know more about it than others, but they don’t want to rock the boat? Anyone listening to Boone Pickens? Richard Heinberg has some best-selling books on energy limits. James Howard Kunstler even calls his best-selling book “The Long Emergency”; some say we are at the leading edge. Gerald Celente is another author on this subject of lack of preparedness. Type “Michael T. Klare” on the search line.
Fred, how about some book reviews in the magazine? Christopher C. Swan’s ELECTRIC WATER is upbeat and mentions public transportation in several particulars. Someone at APTA can do the motor fuel research, and put out a report to Transit Directors TMA’s and Highway department officials. Gas rationing? Let’s find out before the Federal Executive Orders are in the sealed envelopes. We need some research at leadership level, and some transparency from Washington. We KNOW rep. Bartlett (R-Md)has been giving Peaking powerpoint program to legislative and executive branch officials for years now. We know Dick Cheney knows, and knew aboutit circa 911DAY.
Sleepwalking into the mother of energy crises, sez Jim Kunstler.
September 3rd, 2009 at 1:06 am
Gunnar: America has what are probably the largest oil reserves in the world. I am talking about millions of miles of asphalt roads. The main constituents of asphalt are tar (heavy oil) and rock. Many of these miles have been paved over 2 to 5 times, so we are talking about a lot of tar. A road eating machine could ingest the tar, separate out the rock and be followed by a concrete laying machine. There’s your spare oil.