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Over at The Mothership, Robert Reich takes on the "public transit paradox." On the one hand, he says, high gas prices are pushing millions to ditch their cars and take the bus. On the other, transit funding is getting stripped by the downturn. Reich explains:
Problem is, the nation doesn't have nearly enough public transportation to handle the new demand. Even more absurdly, right now when it's needed the most, public transportation across the land is being cut back. This is because transit costs are soaring by the same skyrocketing fuel prices that are forcing people out of their cars, at the same time transit revenues are shrinking because most transit systems depend largely on sales taxes, now dwindling as consumer purchases decline in this recession. A survey of the nation's public transit agencies released last Friday showed 21 percent of rail operators now cutting back and 19 percent of bus operators.Even though it's a hundred times more efficient for each of us to stop driving and use trains and buses, there's not enough money in the public kitty for us to do so.Reich suggests making transit funding a major part of the next economic stimulus package, which is a terrific idea. When you're dealing with an economic downturn heavily related to skyrocketing energy costs, countercyclical spending on transportation alternatives is about the world's most perfectly tailored policy response. It addresses both the short-term pain and the long-term cause. Incidentally, I keep forgetting to point out that though millions of Americans have switched to public transit in response to rising fuel costs, the number who have is almost certainly a very small fraction of the number who would like to. If all you've got in the pantry is a cookie, you're not going to an apple. There's a tendency to look at the relatively small proportion of the country that uses public transit and assume that those numbers accurately express consumer preferences. But consumer preferences are governed by viable options, and in most areas of the country, public transit isn't a very viable option. Indeed, it doesn't even exist. But as you see from Portland, DC, New York, Boston, and others, when folks can take the train, they often do. And given that we all agree that taking the trains is environmentally and economically preferable, we should give them that option.
