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Michael Chiacos: Why Are We Cutting Public Transit Funding?
American public transit ridership hit a modern record of almost 10.7 billion trips in 2008, the highest ridership since the authorization of the Interstate Highway System in 1956. Public transit reduces congestion by taking cars off the road, saves fuel by efficiently moving people, and is 26 times safer than traveling in a car, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. So with all these benefits to society, why are we now cutting public transit funding?
California’s recent woeful budget eliminated all state funding for public transit for the next few years. While California transit agencies were bracing for a hit, this funding termination was seen as an unlikely “Armageddon scenario” by the California Transit Association, or CTA. Is a 100 percent cut anyone’s idea of a “fair share?”
As a result, transit agencies all over the state are paring back routes, raising fares and taking emergency measures to shore up their budgets. Thousands of employees are out of jobs and forced into a rough economic climate. According to the CTA, the $1.7 billion already cut this year could have generated 80,750 jobs.
For our local Metropolitan Transit District, this means a loss on average of $1 million a year, and this was after the state transit budget had already been reduced by $3 billion in the last two years alone. According to MTD assistant general manager Jerry Estrada, “the actual allocation (to MTD), if no funds were diverted by the state, would be closer to $2.5 million.” This is $2.5 million that isn’t being spent on local jobs and supplies.
Prior funding cuts and increased fuel costs recently caused MTD to cut service and increase fares to $1.75 from $1.25 for cash-paying riders, with 10-ride and monthly passes rising by a smaller amount. These increased fares and service reductions disproportionately hit hardest on those who can least afford it. Service cuts and fare increases could also lead to a drop in ridership. How much more congested will our streets and highways become if some of these transit trips revert back to more cars on the road?
MTD has seen steady ridership growth over the past years, to record levels of 8.1 million trips in 2008. In fact, some routes during peak times unfortunately leave people at the curb. Chances are, once a person is left behind a couple of times he or she will give up the bus and hop back in a car during peak traffic hours. We should be expanding our transit service right now, not cutting back.
As a native son of Santa Barbara, I’ve personally witnessed the increase in congestion on both Highway 101 and our city streets. While 101 will be under construction for the next decade as we widen the freeway, it is often impossible to widen city streets and even if we could, street widening will not solve our problems. Los Angeles is testament to the reality that we can’t build our way out of the situation. Instead, we need to use our current infrastructure in a smarter way than one lonely driver per car. Public transit, as well as carpooling, bicycling, trains, telecommuting and other alternative transportation can help us use existing infrastructure better.
Public transit also helps us save an immense amount of fossil fuels and drastically reduces our greenhouse gas emissions. President Obama has made it clear that reducing our reliance on fossil fuels is now a national priority as a result of issues like foreign oil dependency, climate change, peak oil, and air pollution concerns.
MTD alone saves our region more than a half-million gallons of fuel. Longer distance commuter buses serving our region are even more efficient in bringing employees from Ventura, Santa Maria, Lompoc, and the Santa Ynez Valley. The Clean Air Express, which comes from Santa Maria and Lompoc, eliminates around 200,000 highway trips per year. Each commuter on that bus would have burned eight times more fuel per trip if they had driven alone.
Public transit helps us meet many varied societal goals. In these tough economic times of budget cuts and layoffs, we should not be cutting public transit funding. We should continue funding this vital resource that safely improves our citizens’ mobility, reduces congestion and decreases energy use and greenhouse gases.
What can you do personally? Give your local elected officials a call or send them a note asking their opinion on this important matter. Vote for politicians who understand the importance of public transportation in our society. And try riding the bus more frequently, particularly during off-peak hours. This Sunday is an excellent time to try the bus as, in honor of Earth Day, you can “Ride Free on MTD” on any bus, all day. If the bus doesn’t work for your personal situation, click here to learn more about all of our other local alternative transportation options offered through Traffic Solutions.
— Michael Chiacos is the Community Environmental Council’s transportation specialist and primary author of its Transportation Energy Plan, part of the Fossil Free By ’33 program.
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» on 04.17.09 @ 05:14 AM
The problem with SB MTD service is that it is too inefficient for most people. In SF, NY or DC you take public transit because it is the fastest way to get around. Driving a car would take 2 or 3 times as long and then you have to deal with the extreme expense of parking and even just finding parking. Here you can get ANYWHERE by car in 5-15 minutes, but you could wait that long or more just for a bus to show up at your stop for you to get on and start your trip.
As a kid I would travel daily, during the summer, from Modoc/Hollister to the Zoo and back, that is a 2-bus trip that took about an hour and a half (or about 12 min by car). That is fine for a high school kid who can’t drive and has nothing else to do but go to a summer job, but that is a huge waste of time for an adult going to work.
People will only use public transit if it makes sense, but I fail to see how it will ever make sense in cities like SB to anyone but those that either can’t afford a car, don’t have a license (the bus was a god send when I was a kid) or have lots of extra time.
I think buses in SB are a good idea and they need to stay, but I don’t see them ever gaining appreciably in ridership percentage (you said that the author said ridership numbers went up, but how about as a percentage and how that relates to population growth?).
» on 04.17.09 @ 05:35 AM
MTD has public meetings for the public to comment about changes to bus service routes in consideration of how the State funds have evaporated.
Main meeting early evening of 06th May, with prior sessions to see the stuff:
http://sbmtd.gov/GRAPHIC ELEMENTS/Images/Web Button/May_meeting_flyer_both.pdf
CEC should join STUC, Sustainable Transit Users Coalition.
» on 04.17.09 @ 05:41 AM
Public transit costs a huge subsidy.
It does not come even close to paying for itself.
We don’t need it as everyone has a car.—-Far more convenient.
» on 04.17.09 @ 05:45 AM
MTD has public meetings for the public to comment about changes to bus service routes in consideration of how the State funds have evaporated.
Main meeting early evening of 06th May, with prior sessions to see the stuff:
http://sbmtd.gov/GRAPHIC ELEMENTS/Images/Web Button/May_meeting_flyer_both.pdf
CEC should join STUC, Sustainable Transit Users Coalition.
» on 04.17.09 @ 05:50 AM
Wait, this makes no sense. Obama’s blathering on about mass transit and building high-speed rail. Where’s the porkulus spending for these commuter programs that actually can prove some benefit to the community?
I AM looking forward to a high-speed rail ride to downtown Santa Barbara from Goleta in about a minute and a half. I can’t wait. Praise be Obama.
» on 04.17.09 @ 06:21 AM
In times like this when our community shares an unequivocal consensus towards environmental protection and green living, it is a shame to see our transit systems go underfunded and the transportation policies that promote sprawl go unchallenged.
» on 04.17.09 @ 07:48 AM
Roads don’t come close to paying for themselves either, and the subsidies we pay for those dwarf the ones we pay for transit service. MTD is one of the most efficient small city transit services in the country in terms of paying for itself.
As for the argument that transit can’t compete with cars in a city like Santa Barbara, we now have some bus lines that run every 10 minutes, and, as the number of riders grows, there is demand to run them even more often, and that will attract even more riders, etc. But, if funding is cut, the spiral can go in the other direction… service is cut, ridership goes down, revenues go down, service is cut even more, etc. That is happening all over the country, just when we need good transit service the most. Even Schwartzeneger understands this. Even after taking all those steroids, he’s still twice as smart as the rest of the CA Republican legislators.
» on 04.17.09 @ 01:42 PM
Roads more than pay for themselves with the gasoline tax!
And roads are needed to move commerce.
Without roads the entire U.S. economy would come to a standstill.
Without roads and cars many citizens would not be able to get to their job and would have no job. Roads and cars double the average standard of living in the U.S. and, whether you like cars or not, that’s an inconvenient fact!
I love my car, and nobody is going to take it away, unless it’s over my dead body!
» on 04.17.09 @ 01:43 PM
The link I entered for MTD is incomplete. Just see the “upcoming meetings” notice atop the SBMTD homepage:
http://www.sbmtd.gov/
That is a BIG HINT that the Nooz should cover this on May 6th.
Some of us are promoting the option for efficient bus transport so others can benefit by being able to take those quick driving trips. Not so sure public policy for Santa Barbara should let the streets get clogged with traffic like San Fernando Valley before riding a bus becomes a quicker option.
We are not in a traffic congestion race to the bottom as a way to justify bus transit.
» on 04.17.09 @ 03:10 PM
charge the full $3.00 cost to ride the bus and see how many ride it.
The answer will be NONE!
Anything that is not successful without a subsidy is NOT a success.
A great many of us don’t want to subsidize the bus system so others, including illegal aliens, can ride it at less than the cost.
Do away with the MTD.
» on 04.18.09 @ 07:54 AM
Wrong - The gasoline tax doesn’t come anywhere near to paying for roads. Most of the Measure A local sales tax will go to road maintenance and expansion, and still the road funds at the federal, state and local levels are running dry.
If you had to pay the true cost of driving your car, it would cost you about as much as it does in Europe - about twice as much as here. We are subsidizing car use at all levels of government and commerce in dozens of ways - most of which you aren’t even aware of.
Nobody is trying to take your car away from you, but the pollution from cars is slowly killing us all, so it will be over your dead body just the same.
» on 04.18.09 @ 09:53 AM
Mark,
Well aren’t you the little “know it all”.
You don’t know what you are talking about, buckwheat.
The roads add far far more to our economic system then they cost. Without roads our economy ( and standard of living) would come to a standstill and be cut in half.
They are building roads like crazy in china and this is significantly raising their economy and standard of living. While you want us to go backwards. What an uninformed idiot!
You say the pollution from cars is killing us all. Actually it’s the gross pollution from Diesel Busses that is killing us all.
In just a few years cars will run on hydrogen or electricity with zero pollution.
So then what excuse will you idiot and uninformed car haters use to try and get rid of our cars!
» on 04.18.09 @ 01:33 PM
I was under the impression that comments to Noozhawk were moderated, and ‘ad hominem’ attacks would be not be posted. Please enforce these rules because allowing someone to call Mark Bradley ‘buckwheat’ and ‘uninformed idiot’ without addressing the argument or using his own name discourages the rest of us from participating in this forum. Thank you!
» on 04.18.09 @ 04:42 PM
Per Alex Pujo’s reasonable request I revised my remarks to show due respect for Mark Bradley:
Mark,
Well aren’t you the little “know it all”.
Mark, with all due respect, you really don’t know what you are talking about.
The roads add far far more to our economic system then they cost. Without roads our economy ( and standard of living) would come to a standstill and be cut in half.
They are building roads like crazy in china and this is significantly raising their economy and standard of living. While you want us to go backwards. What uninformed thinking on our part, my friend!
You say the pollution from cars is killing us all. Actually it’s the gross pollution from Diesel Busses that is killing us all.
In just a few years, cars will run on hydrogen or electricity with zero pollution.
So then what excuse will you uninformed car haters use to try and get rid of our cars?
» on 04.19.09 @ 02:52 AM
Because the auto/sprawl/fossil-fuel industry controls the government. The good news is, there is an international movement for free public transit: http://freepublictransit.org
» on 04.19.09 @ 07:12 AM
It would be nice to know where the idea that roads and cars pay for themselves. Are there any factoids around? Also, no one has talked about “taking away my car” only doing “away with the MTD”. Let’s not muddy the waters.
» on 04.19.09 @ 09:33 AM
It would be in everyone best interest if those who are opposed to public transit realize that many different types of people ride transit not just “illegal aliens ” which by the way is a tired response, and judging by many of your responses are very individualistic which is detrimental to a society. Many of the working class poor use transit. Who do you think are doing these minimum wage jobs. Not you. so how do you expect them to get around? Get a car? With what money?They have just as much rights to the road as you do. I don’t care if you like that but you will respect that.
For those who have a problem with public transit what have you done to improve it? Other than criticize it work with those to improve if.
» on 04.19.09 @ 11:02 AM
If you move to los angeles you can have your needs met by obama!!!
» on 04.19.09 @ 01:37 PM
“Public transit reduces congestion by taking cars off the road, saves fuel by efficiently moving people”
Really? Maybe this will keep the buses off the road that I see running around inefficiently with two or three passengers.
» on 04.20.09 @ 09:04 AM
Government wages and staff size are out of control..Servants of the people—Ha HA..
» on 04.21.09 @ 05:00 AM
Busses get caught in traffic congestion too.
I don’t take the bus because it is a 15 minute one mile uphill walk from my house—sometimes in the rain or the dark and then when I get to my bus destination, often requiring a transfer downtown to a different bus, I have to walk to my final destination. and on the way back I often have heavy or bulky packages to carry one mile walk back home, again often in the rain or in the dark, and with no sidewalks.
So don’t take away parking spaces, city council, or we voters will replace you!
» on 04.28.09 @ 10:28 AM
I might be a little late commenting, but we need both good roads and good public transit. MTD is amateur hour, there has been no real professional leadership since Gleason was given the boot. So the public ends up with a district that glad hands free rides on Earth Day, pays for advertising when it already has clear visibility all over town to the point that one can only assume that it’s simply being done to buy off negative publicity, and fails to make no changes but those the chronic whiners want. How can they not see the point of closing the botanic garden run and adding the capacity to 6/11 or 1/2? Why are busses constantly allowed to deadhead back and forth from Goleta? What’s the point of answering the phone when they have no idea whatsoever where buses are and whether or not they are running on schedule? Why isn’t there an effort to keep on schedule and not have lines 6 and 11 constantly competing for the same stop space on State Street when they are supposed to be running at 10 or 15 minute intervals. Ad Nauseum.
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