09-06-2023, 01:31 PM
By JEFF McMURRAY and ADAM BEAM
15 minutes ago
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The agencies running the public transit systems, particularly in San Francisco and Oakland, California ...... have been living off billions of dollars in federal aid that will soon expire.
Ridership plummeted by as much as 94% during the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving a gaping budget deficit.
......
The transit agencies have asked Democrats who control California’s government to rescue them, much like Democrats in New York recently did with a US$227 billion spending plan. The request is proving to be a much tougher sell in the nation’s most populous state, where majestic mountain highways and seas of suburban single-family homes have made it far more automobile-reliant than much of the Northeast.
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“If there were any sort of major changes, that would definitely affect my ability to get to work,” said Zahoor, 36, who figures she would have to team up with friends to buy a group car because she couldn’t afford one on her own.
......
The California Transit Association says transit agencies will have a collective shortfall of about US$6 billion over the next five years. The state, which relies heavily on taxes paid by wealthy people, is projected to have a US$31.5 billion budget deficit this year
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Instead of bailing out public transit agencies, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed slashing US$2 billion from their infrastructure funding to help balance the books.
......
“It’s kind of like the chicken and the egg,” said Stephanie Lotshaw, acting executive director at TransitCenter, an advocacy group for public transportation systems across the U.S. “If you disinvest in it, then people won’t use it. But if you invest in it, arguably more people will use it because it actually becomes a service that’s usable.”
......
states have flexibility to redirect some of the federal money typically used for road construction and repairs to transit operations, but many drivers call that a non-starter.
“We have the highest gas tax in the nation, and our roads are still in very poor condition,” said Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, a California group opposing tax hikes. “If we’re looking at transportation generally, the money is better spent on those systems that people actually use, which in California is roads and highways.”
Transit officials are making their pitch by appealing not just to regular riders but also to drivers who could face much more congested traffic if other options are gone. According to Bay Area Rapid Transit, almost twice as many people travel at rush hour under the Bay Bridge by train than over it by car.
......
“In every community in California, there are people who rely on the bus, and they are not the most powerful people. They tend to be lower income. They tend to be nonwhite. They tend to be disproportionately seniors or students,” Wiener said. “Why on Earth we would for a minute contemplate allowing these systems to fall apart is beyond me.”
https://apnews.com/article/california-pu...5a85c2ccb0
15 minutes ago
......
The agencies running the public transit systems, particularly in San Francisco and Oakland, California ...... have been living off billions of dollars in federal aid that will soon expire.
Ridership plummeted by as much as 94% during the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving a gaping budget deficit.
......
The transit agencies have asked Democrats who control California’s government to rescue them, much like Democrats in New York recently did with a US$227 billion spending plan. The request is proving to be a much tougher sell in the nation’s most populous state, where majestic mountain highways and seas of suburban single-family homes have made it far more automobile-reliant than much of the Northeast.
......
“If there were any sort of major changes, that would definitely affect my ability to get to work,” said Zahoor, 36, who figures she would have to team up with friends to buy a group car because she couldn’t afford one on her own.
......
The California Transit Association says transit agencies will have a collective shortfall of about US$6 billion over the next five years. The state, which relies heavily on taxes paid by wealthy people, is projected to have a US$31.5 billion budget deficit this year
......
Instead of bailing out public transit agencies, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed slashing US$2 billion from their infrastructure funding to help balance the books.
......
“It’s kind of like the chicken and the egg,” said Stephanie Lotshaw, acting executive director at TransitCenter, an advocacy group for public transportation systems across the U.S. “If you disinvest in it, then people won’t use it. But if you invest in it, arguably more people will use it because it actually becomes a service that’s usable.”
......
states have flexibility to redirect some of the federal money typically used for road construction and repairs to transit operations, but many drivers call that a non-starter.
“We have the highest gas tax in the nation, and our roads are still in very poor condition,” said Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, a California group opposing tax hikes. “If we’re looking at transportation generally, the money is better spent on those systems that people actually use, which in California is roads and highways.”
Transit officials are making their pitch by appealing not just to regular riders but also to drivers who could face much more congested traffic if other options are gone. According to Bay Area Rapid Transit, almost twice as many people travel at rush hour under the Bay Bridge by train than over it by car.
......
“In every community in California, there are people who rely on the bus, and they are not the most powerful people. They tend to be lower income. They tend to be nonwhite. They tend to be disproportionately seniors or students,” Wiener said. “Why on Earth we would for a minute contemplate allowing these systems to fall apart is beyond me.”
https://apnews.com/article/california-pu...5a85c2ccb0