The Formula for Change

Have you ever wondered why we don't have the level of mass transit such as... lets say Europe? An obvious answer may be that we are an auto oriented society and we like it that way because we have an American Dream centered around individuality and horsepower. Eisenhower. Or maybe it was just pure dumb luck that certain things happened in history all at the right time to put us in a situation where roads extremely out number passenger rail. Ford. World War II. Modernism. GM.

But what if you looked at the economic incentives of developing mass transit? You would have found yourself climbing up Mt. Everest for all the hoops an agency had to jump through while the road guys had a bunny slope to climb with the American Dream pushing. Not really fair especially now as metro areas become more and more land locked and sprawl is everywhere with climbing VMT's. Something must be done and it has to come from the incentive side of the formula.

The Obama Administration announced a new transportation policy this Wednesday that will actually change that formula on how mass transit projects are evaluated for funding. Livability has risen to the top and will finally be considered instead of just cost and commuting times.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who announced the policy change at a conference in Washington, said the shift would determine how the Federal Transit Administration awards some $2 billion a year in transit-construction funds. This money, awarded under a program known as "New Starts and Small Starts," is intended to help state and regional agencies build commuter rail, light rail, heavy rail and bus rapid-transit projects.

Mr. LaHood said the administration would immediately rescind the "budget restrictions" enacted by the Bush administration and focus on evaluating projects based on the environmental, community and economic-development benefits, as well as on congestion relief.

For more information, take a look at this Wall Street Journal article.

~ Dave Keiser