Overview

California loves the automobile. But with our love affair comes problems. Our roads are too congested and pollution spewing from tailpipes is worsening global warming. The oil burned costs us dearly, and not just from our wallets. To complicate matters, thirty-five million people call California home, and that number will grow to forty-eight million by 2030.

Sure, most Californians will never give up their cars altogether. But with the right improvements, more commuters will want to choose public transit over gridlock. As just one example, Los Angeles subway ridership jumped 12.2 percent last year. What we need now is the political will and adequate funding to invest in a world-class transit system. 

Unfortunately, powerful developers and contractors that profit from road and highway construction and maintenance have a long history of advocating for transportation funds to go to roads and highways, and not to public transit. California currently spends less than one-fifth of statewide transportation funds on public transit, and transit funding is vulnerable to frequent budget cuts.

CALPIRG is working to make sure California invests in its future by:

1. Fully funding public transit in the budget. We're working now to ensure that the budget Governor Schwarzenegger crafts this fall enables public transit to expand services.

2. Funding the best new transit projects. We're working to make sure that the best local transit proposals move forward quickly – projects like new subways in Los Angeles, new light rail in San Diego, and faster bus lines in the Bay Area.

3. Moving forward with high-speed rail. Imagine being able to get from the Bay Area to Los Angeles in two and a half hours – without the hassle of the airport. A high speed rail line currently in the planning stages would emit less pollution than car or plane trips, and also cost less than the highway and airport expansions California will need without it.