Transit News

Findings Make a Compelling Case for Expanding Local Rail and Rapid Bus Lines, and Building High-Speed Rail to Connect California Cities

As oil prices hit a record $105 a barrel and gas prices hover just under $4 a gallon, CALPIRG Education Fund held events at throughout the state to release a new report calculating oil savings, gas cost savings, and other benefits from public transportation across the country. The CALPIRG Education Fund report, A Better Way to Go: Meeting America’s 21st Century Transportation Challenges with Modern Public Transit examines the challenges faced by America’s transportation system and the benefits of existing rail and bus projects.   

“The recent spike in gas prices is just one of many compelling reasons why convenient, fast, and reliable bus and rail service need to be expanded throughout our cities,” said Emily Rusch, Transportation Advocate with CALPIRG Education Fund. “Let’s face it: the era of cheap oil is over.”   

Many experts predict that gas prices will exceed $4 a gallon in southern California in the coming weeks and months. Thanks to public transit, California saved more than 486 million gallons of oil, roughly equivalent to taking more than 800,000 cars off the road. That has made California far less dependent on oil than we otherwise would be, and has made consumers less susceptible to gas price spikes. In fact, the report estimates that existing public transit results in more than $1.2 billion dollars in gasoline cost savings annually for consumers. 

A few highlights from California:

• The Bay Area’s BART system is the third best system in the country in oil savings, behind only MTA in New York and Washington D.C.’s Metro. BART cut the Bay Area’s oil use by 199 million gallons.
• The Los Angeles Metro bus system is the number one bus system in the country in oil savings, cutting Los Angeles’ oil use by more than 56 million gallons.
• Stockton and Bakersfield were recognized as having the most oil savings from public transit out of all urbanized areas with populations under 500,000.

Reduced oil dependence and insulation from gas price spikes aren’t the only benefits. California has also committed to reducing our global warming pollution by 25% by 2020, a commitment that will be difficult to reach unless we reduce our dependence on cars. Public transit prevents almost 3.6 million metric tons of carbon dioxide pollution annually.

The CALPIRG Education Fund report also found that every dollar invested in public transit reaps more than two dollars in benefits. Last year the California state legislature cut more than $1.26 billion from public transit agencies to balance the state budget. 

“California’s budget was balanced last year with unacceptably high cuts to public transit agencies,” said Rusch. “We’re calling on Governor Schwarzenegger to ensure public transit gets its fair share of funding this year, so that we can invest in local transit and reduce California’s dependence on oil.”

The report recommends that California leaders commit the vision and the resources necessary – from federal, state, and local funding – to build a world-class public transit system in California:

• Expand rapid transit networks in every American city with a metropolitan population of 1 million or more by 2020.
• Improve the transit experience through upgraded amenities on trains and buses, including on-board wireless Internet service; technology to provide real-time information about pickup times; giving transit vehicles priority in mixed traffic and creating more dedicated lanes for transit vehicles; and providing on-time service and clean, comfortable vehicles.
• Keep fares affordable, match transit investments with appropriate land use planning, and promote other transportation alternatives, such as bicycling, walking, carpooling and telecommuting.
• Link California’s cities via the proposed high-speed rail line. A bond measure to fund construction is on the November 2008 ballot. 

“In the 1950s the federal government committed to building the interstate highway system. Taxpayers have spent more than $400 billion to make that vision a reality. Now, we need a similar national vision for public transit,” concluded Rusch.

Supplementary Data for Top Ten California Agencies

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