And there is no real help in sight, according to the The New York Times.
Wow.
And in Wisconsin, we are expanding freeways instead of preserving transit. It is a really sick philosophy: transit riders can wait forever in the heat or cold for their bus; car drivers in their temperature-controlled vehicles should never be delayed at all on the freeway.
What would a basic ethics class make out of that one?
State Rep. David Cullen (D-Milwaukee) just offered an RTA amendment that would require the funding raised in Milwaukee County to stay with the Milwaukee County Transit System for buses. The amendment would also require a binding referendum and the approval of the county executive and the County Board to take effect.
The full Assembly tabled his amendment. Cullen represents the district that includes Story Hill.
Transit NOW wants everyone to know about this:
Monday: Sen. Sullivan Town Hall-Urge Support for Transit
Senator Sullivan is holding a Town Hall Meeting on Monday evening.
Because you are a constituent of his, we wanted to let you know about this opportunity to
thank him for his support of transit and urge his help in passing the RTA legislation.
There is just a few weeks lift in the legislative session to get an RTA bill passed. Action is needed now! Senator Sullivan has said that he has not heard enough from his constituents in support of the RTA.
Senator Sullivan Town Hall Meeting
Monday, March 29, 5:30 PM
Wauwatosa Library
North Avenue at 76th Street
(Apologies for the short notice—we just found out)
What is at stake?
See a recent article in the Wauwatosa NOW:
County needs more transit options if economy to thrive, business leaders say
http://www.wauwatosanow.com/news/89055262.html
See a recent op ed by two Wauwatosa leaders:
RTA will spur Economic Growth
http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/84809982.html
Visit www.TransitNOW.org, and www.southeasternrta.wordpress.com for more info.
The Joint Finance Committee early this morning approved the creation of a Regional Transit Authority, but limited it to Milwaukee County.
The committee also approved a new authority and a $16 per car rental car fee, which will automatically rise with inflation, to fund the expansion of the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee commuter line. The KRM is a much needed development, but having it run by a non-elected body using automoatically increasing taxes is far, far from ideal.
The Milwaukee County proposal would allow a 1% sales tax to support Milwaukee County transit. That’s good news for transit (if not for sales tax payers) and bad news for transit. It’s good because it would get some desperately-needed money to the Milwaukee County Transit System. It’s bad because it would get money only to the Milwaukee County Transit System and would seem to pretty much gut chances that suburban counties will extend transit within their borders.
On the other hand, if this measure holds, a more developed transit system in Milwaukee County could prompt business leaders to look more favorably at locating in Milwaukee city or county, rather than in places where workers don’t have a good way to get to their jobs.
There is a lot of room for mischief and funding diversion in the measure, though. As Wispolitics.com reports, “The motion also specifies that revenues from the RTA’s sales and use tax can be used to fund transit, parks, cultural, and emergecy medical service programs in Milwaukee Co. Milwaukee Co. will be the fiscal agent for the RTA.” Fifteen percent of the revenue will be earmarked for the city of Milwaukee.
Wow! Feds finally get it!
Thursday, June 3rd, 2010It’s amazing, but perhaps true: the importance of transit is beginning to dawn on federal officials an d.
This isn’t about high-speed rail or big new capital projects. Someone’s actually paying serious attention to the nuts and bolts of buses and (existing) urban rail lines!
From the Dedham Transcript:
“It’s been a challenge for mid-size systems in Cleveland to rural systems in the Dakotas to the big systems in the urban areas,” Therese McMillan, second in command of the Federal Transit Administration, told the News Service after delivering remarks at a meeting of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council. “Everyone is really struggling.”
McMillan cited the national recession as a cause for stress of transit systems nationwide, and she noted that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 permitted 10 percent of capital transportation spending to be used for operating expenses, such as running trains and paying employees.
But McMillan remained mum on a proposal that would permit large urban transit systems to regularly spend more federal dollars on transportation operations, acknowledging the proposal, supported by Rep. Michael Capuano, but saying the Obama administration has yet to take a position.
On the other hand, McMillan pointed to a transportation authorization bill pending in Congress that would provide $2 billion to cover operating costs for transit systems, a proposal supporters say would stave off fare increases and service cuts. According to the bill’s preamble, 84 percent of federal transit systems have raised fares, cut services or have considered one of those actions since January 2009.
Under the bill, sponsored by Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), federal transportation funds may be used to transit systems’ operating expenses in order to “restore a reduction in public transportation service and related workforce reductions” or to “rescind all or a portion of a fare increase.”
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