For health reasons, I cannot drive. Fortunately for me, Portland has one of the best, if not the best, public transit systems in the country. For $30/month, I can go almost anywhere almost anytime. If I lived in an area without mass transit, I would have to choose to be a shut-in or to put myself and others at risk, by driving. So mass transit is great for me, and it turns out that that it’s great for America too.
One of the odder conceits in transportation policy debates is the widespread view that somehow transportation alternatives are the exclusive province of fancy yuppies, while poor people are all cruising around enjoying parking subsidies. The truth, of course, is that both cars and gasoline are expensive:
According to the report, the average cost of owning a car is just shy of $9,500. That may not sound like much until you realize the federal poverty level is $22,350 for a family of four. One-third of low-income African-American households do not have access to an automobile. That figure is 25 percent among low-income Latino families and 12.1 percent for whites. Racial minorities are four times more likely than whites to use public transit to get to work.
Yet the federal government allocates 80 percent of its transportation funding to highways.
… [emphasis original]
Inserted from <Think Progress>
Based on the above estimate, owning a car, on average costs $791.67, far less that the $60 it costs most people for unlimited use Portland’s public transit system. Every person who rides causes no wear and tear to our highways, almost no pollution, and cuts down road congestion. Everything about it is a plus. Therefore, government ought to allocate a greater portion of federal resources to mass transit.
Just FYI, the train pictured above is Portland’s MAX, at the stop in my neighborhood where I usually board it.
24 Responses to “Mass Transit Is Good For America”
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Mass transit in Detroit is two dysfunctional bus systems, one for the burbs and one for the city and neither one of them can get their shit together enough to merge to receive X amount of federal dollars to begin a light rail system. Thank you auto makers.
That’s a shame Mark.
Denver has a terrific mass transit system. Nashville is still back in the horse and buggy days. It only makes sense to embrace it . I shared this on FB.
Thanks Leslie.
I think mass transport would be very good for America, if the obstructionists would leave it to the transportation experts to design and implement it. Two years ago, President Barack Obama pledged $8 billion for high speed rail. But, noooo, all the obstructionists that were hollering, “Where’s the jobs?”, blocked it every which way they could. I guess they can’t see the “forest for the trees”. But, I think it was their “make this President fail”, program, that they used to stop it. But I digress………….!
In Memphis, we have an excellent transportation system, that is well integrated with the downtown and midtown streetcar lines, has a terminal at the Amtrak Depot and crosses the Mississippi River into West Memphis Arkansas. They have bicycle racks and you can take your bike on the streetcars, also. It’s a cheap way to go to work. I only use my car on official business and for trips out of town. 😎
Johnny, I fully agree.
Watch out what you wish for! Here in Manhattan – of course we have mass transit – hardly cheap!!!!! Going up every year and getting out of reach! Unfortunately, Bloomberg (our semi-good mayor) has a fleet of natural gas buses – great for the environment, not bad for price – all “seemingly” – however, if you’re an environmentalist, an appreciator of wildlife, air, water and life – hydraulic fracturing isn’t exactly what the “clean energy” it’s so touted to be – it not only costs more, but ends up being far more invasive to society than fossil fuels, and if Cuomo and Bloomberg win out – reserve some space in Oregon for me! I don’t want to ignite my tap water, nor do I want to suffer the slow death that fracking brings on to its customers!
So I’m not for Mass Transit per se!!!!!
We have the diesel-electric hybrid buses and our transportation fees are cheap in Memphis, but I agree with you that the utilization of natural gas is not right.
Johnny, as a bridge fuel, it burns much cleaner than gasoline. Gas is not the problem. Companies who use FRACKING to get it are.
Lee, NYC’s problem is not it;s mass transit system. It has ten pounds of humanity in a one pound bag.
When I lived in NYC, it wasn’t that bad, but I’ll date myself. When I left, the Staten Island Ferry was still a nickel.
Unfortunately we have no mass transit in my rural area.
I’m sorry Patty.
No mass transit in my rural area ; I grew up tho in a city with great bus service—-my family did not have a vehicle (except our bikes) and we did not need one– bus stop was a short block away- and buses were every 10 minutes , on time– schools had no parking lots full of cars- kids took the bus– everything was not paved over because there was no need , Yes families had cars , and yes kids had their status symbol vehicles— lol– something that would run -!!-It was not of course ideal– but I do remember it as pretty darn convenient –It was cheap and efficient ,
Much better indeed.
The city I live in has a well used mass transit because of the sheer number of poor people who live here. It runs pretty much on time. It’s not expensive compared to other places — just $48 for a regular monthly pass. But it hasn’t kept pace with area expansion. There are great gaps of the city that are not accessible by the system. This may be by design since those gaps tend to include some of the pricier neighborhoods.
Some ride bikes for 2 or 3 miles to get to the nearest stop. This isn’t very practical for elders or disabled as neither can lift the bike into the racks. The short buses only pick up 3/4 of a mile either side of the bus routes. So it doesn’t end up serving the needs of all the people who would potentially use it.
All this adds up to my incredulity at the fact they were ranked the number 5 best bus system in the nation. When I compare it to some of the other places I’ve lived I wouldn’t rank this one in the top 10. It may have a larger proportion of riders but it’s nowhere near the top in terms of convenience.
Blue, I hope they improve it.
There are only 2 seasons in Chicago – winter and construction, as we like to say. One year, the entire route I traveled was under construction. On the Kennedy, the traffic was so bad, I got to know some of the construction guys names! I started taking the train because all the construction was making me insane.
Our train system is great if you work downtown – otherwise it’s planes, trains and autos to get to where you’re going. Supposedly the bus system is very good, but I never learned it. It’s also really good at mowing people down because it has those flexy buses that hold twice as many people but don’t turn like a normal bus, and they will cut you off without even thinking about it. 😉
When I was going to school in Chicago I remember the CTA boasting that no one lived more than two blocks from a bus or an “L” stop – and I found that to be true.
Now that I’m in KCMO, I’d say public transportation is decent in the core area – but not so much in the burbs.
I always thought that a true “urban” city (excluding the ‘burbs) was one where you absolutely did NOT need a car at all to get around. My list would include New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston and Washington. Any others?
Portland service to the burbs is great. We have our downtown hub, and several outling hubs called transit centers. It’s pretty sparse way way out though.
Lisa, I think that bigger cities bring bigger problems.
Nice TOWN, and Country needs interstate bullet trains, too! 🙂
Thanks, Bruce. I agree.
TomCat,
I am glad you have access to such a wonderful system. We Americans are SO stupid sometimes! We drive almost everywhere we go, most of the time with no passengers in the car with us, and we are cutting our own throat wasting billions on imported oil. If people would even car pool, it would be much better, but few do.I, too, avail myself of public transport often. It is the only common sense way to travel.
Jack I agree. I used mass transit exclusively from several years before it became a medical necessity.