Occupy Wall Street’s Poorly Targeted Transit Action
Occupy Wall Street is getting active in the transit discussion, but sometimes its efforts can seem a little misdirected. There was last week's fare-jumping incident in New York, something that didn't win them a lot of friends in the transit industry. Occupy Boston has organized a National Day of Action for Public Transportation for Wednesday.
This group might fumble again, warns Steve Vance at Grid Chicago. The Chicago protest is being organized by the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization and Citizens Taking Action. The problem, Vance says, is the setting they've chosen, the headquarters of the Chicago Transit Authority:
They should be rallying at locations where there are people who can do something about underfunded transit: the offices of elected officials, like at City Hall and those of state and federal Congresspersons scattered around town.
Transit in Chicago is funded by in large part by the farebox (CTA’s “recovery ratio” is greater than the 50% required by law) as well as local sales taxes, matching tax grants from the state, and semi-competitive grants from the federal government. We’ve covered a lot about transit funding: August 2011, December 2011, value capture, and Congress’s grandstanding on the surface transportation bill.
Those who are joining in the protests on Wednesday should direct their attention to elected politicians that aren’t working on new ideas to fund transit, but also to reducing current local transportation [planners'] ignorance of public transit.
Elsewhere on the Network today: Riding in Riverside says the new, reduced-cost plan for California High Speed Rail is a smart move. This Big City takes inspiration from Tokyo on building child-friendly urban spaces. And Baltimore Spokes explains that the state of Maryland is starting to fund cycling at a fair level.
Stay in touch
Sign up for our free newsletter
More from Streetsblog USA
Monday’s Headlines Get On the Bus
The New York Times has declared bus rapid transit the transportation mode of the future.
Feds One Step Closer to Requiring Safety Standards for Lithium-ion Batteries
Safety standards are fine, but the responsibility for securing better power packs will still fall on the lowest-paid workers in our city.
Op-Ed: Why It’s So Hard to Get a Simple Red Light Camera
A Los Angeles advocate requested automated enforcement on a street near her home. It wasn't easy.
Latest White House Grants Show Promise for a Real Interstate Rail System
It's more than just high speed rail.
Funding for Calif. Rail Projects: An Incomplete Roundup
Various federal, state, and local funding sources are lining up.
