Transit

For the first time in four years, a smaller share of Americans are driving to work alone.

Let's say you're a Rust Belt city trying to dust off your stale image and compete in the 21st century. You would think the last thing you would want to do is prevent able-bodied people in your region from working, especially those who are most economically vulnerable.

Martin Kelly Jones makes his living suing transit agencies and other entities for violating his patents on real-time tracking technology. His lawsuits have been an expensive nuisance for the companies and agencies he sues, usually settling for $50,000 to $75,000. But a movement to stop him is gaining traction.

The Republicans have retreated from their insistence on cutting transportation spending by 35 percent to match Highway Trust Fund revenues -- for now. But the problem is far from solved. As a reminder of the dangers such a policy presents, the Bipartisan Policy Center and the Eno Center for Transportation put out a new report yesterday on the potential consequences of a 35 percent cut in transportation spending.

When asked what would solve traffic problems in their community, 42 percent of Americans say more transit. Only 20 percent say more roads. And 21 percent would like to see communities developed that don’t require so much driving. Two-thirds support local planning that guides new development into existing cities and near public transportation.

Professional innovation guru Dominic Basalt wondered aloud in yesterday's Washington Post, "Has the new golden age of transportation arrived?"

The failure of Atlanta’s transportation ballot measure late last month led to speculation among many analysts about what the vote meant for other regions across the country looking for ways to fund infrastructure projects. But though the Atlanta vote captured the lion’s share of media attention, another vote cast in July could hold as much – if not more – importance in coming years.

Transit agencies can have a hard time finding the money to expand rail lines and busways. While federal grants for road projects require a 20 percent local match, transit projects need to get 50 percent or more from local funding sources. The byzantine federal funding bureaucracy creates high hurdles, especially for smaller agencies without on-staff expertise in applying for and managing these grants. Loans and private sources of funds are also difficult, since they need to be paid back, and transit tends not to make back its capital outlays from the farebox.

We mentioned last week that transit advocates were losing one supporter in Congress: Russ Carnahan of Missouri. They'll be suffering another grave loss come January: Ohio Republican Steve LaTourette.