The price of gas fell precipitously today. In the short term, that's good news for consumers. But in terms of reaching a public opinion tipping point in favor of mass transit, this is a danger point, especially as Congress considers how much federal funding transit deserves in the upcoming years. There have been some hopeful portents. As I reported in Minneapolis, the ranking Republican on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, John Mica, is publicly supporting more funding, saying, "I can't just continue to pave over every metro area. Our goal is to reduce the negative impact on the environment." Today the Wall Street Journal reports the the Senate, too, is amenable to change, and will likely include $2 billion of new public transportation funding in the energy bill to be voted on next week. The House has already approved a similar measure.
Nationwide, use of mass transit is up about 5 percent. But that's actually bad news for mass transit budgets, according to a new survey of 115 public transit systems nationwide. About 60 percent are considering fare increases and 35 percent are considering service cuts to deal with rising energy costs and increased demand. That's why public transit is both more necessary and more in need of federal support than ever before.
--Dana Goldstein
