I'm admittedly conflicted about these global warming bills that seem likely to pass in Washington state. One bill calls for sharp state-wide reductions in greenhouse gases by 2050 and measures to reduce the number of miles vehicles in the state drive each year by half. A second bill calls for tolls to be used to reach those goals, which would vary in price based on the time of day -- i.e., they'd be set higher at rush hour -- and are somewhat similar to the congestion pricing already in place in London. The theory is, if it costs more to drive on the highways, more people will carpool or take public transit. Both bills passed the House and are now in the Senate, and if Washington takes this initiative, they'll become the first state to directly tie such measures to fighting climate change, setting a precedent for the rest of the county.
Environmental groups back the plans because they help reach the goal of getting cars off the road, and the estimated $36 billion the tolls would raise over the next 20 years could be invested in improving public transit. Which, of course, would be swell. I'm pretty rabidly anti-car, but I have the ability to be since I live in a dense urban area with good public transit. But part of me is concerned that this is similar to the individual carbon allowances method of dealing with global warming -- vulnerable sectors of the populace would the most affected by these increased costs. And those with the financial means would probably still choose to stay in their cars -- we've already seen that skyrocketing gas prices haven't done much to curb America's love of personal transit.
Then of course there's the chicken and egg question – what comes first, good public transit, or folks willing to use it? It's a fair question in Washington, where the major metropolitan area is Seattle, and their main public transit is their bus system. The bus system is decent, but currently only about 17 percent of the population uses it, compared to 55 and 38 percent in places like New York and Washington, D.C., respectively, which have really strong bus and subway systems. Those who do use public transit in Seattle are the folks who have accepted that while it's not the always the fastest way to get to work, it is cheaper and better for the planet. But unless we make improvements to public transit to make it easier and more efficient for more people, many are going to remain disinclined to take it. It would be most helpful to have that investment in public transit on the front end of measures like this, rather than waiting for the revenues from the tolls to start kicking in.
--Kate Sheppard
