Freeway interchange near the port of Yokohama, Honshu, Japan (35°27’ N, 139°41’ E)
As the U.S. auto manufacturing industry slows to a halt, the evidence seems clear that car-centered transportation models are economically and environmentally unsustainable systems. However, the downfall of the traditional car industry presents us with exciting opportunities to re-envision cost effective transportation systems that move people on-time and provide economic growth opportunities while also minimizing negative impacts on Earth’s limited natural resource base.
In order to realize the exciting new opportunities that lay ahead, what we need most are entrepreneurs and policy makers who are willing to create an innovative and compelling vision for alternative modes of transportation. Most importantly, what we need is a leader that can engage the public in being a part of creating and supporting a new way forward.
There is a worldwide need to stabilize global carbon dioxide emissions, prepare for decreased oil production, alleviate traffic congestion and reduce air pollution. The truth is, we don’t have to look very far for transportation systems that accomplish all of these goals. A potential leader to look towards is Japan and the country’s high-speed bullet trains that travel up to 190 miles per hour, carrying almost one million people each day. As a pioneer in this arena, Japan’s high-speed rail network spans over 1, 350 miles, linking the nation’s major cities with trains that depart roughly every three minutes.
Indicators for progress on this issue in the United States include California’s 2008 passage of Proposition 1A which will provide a statewide high speed passenger train system and President Obama’s vision for a national high-speed rail system in the U.S. Ultimately, an impactful solution will require unprecedented partnerships between land use and transportation planners who have the knowledge and tools required to construct housing centers that are located within proximity to centers of employment and adequate transportation routes.
It will be some time before these types of partnerships are realized and the resulting solutions become available to passengers. In the meantime, the best solutions happen to be our own two feet.
Take Action Today:
1. Call for Big, Bold Change
2. Learn More about Alternative Transportation Systems
3. Get Started with Bike Commuting
• I use public transportation for trips and my commute to work to lower my carbon foot print. I very much enjoy listening to podcasts, checking emails and facebook using Richmond, VA’s busses with WiFi to check email and facebook or talking to other commuters. I would like to see a greater range of places that I could reach with public transportation in a convenient time frame. I would like to see high speed rail to New York. I would like for more people to find pubic transportation to be useful for a low use of fossil fuels nationwide. I would like for mass transit to be always available to those with disabilities and low incomes. In Richmond public transit is very available to all in the city limits but there are very limited options in Chesterfield County where I live.
• We need storm water capture from federally funded highways. This highway run off is very toxic to the Chesapeake Bay and Virginia’s Southern Rivers. I devote a lot of time locally to protecting water quality in Chesterfield County and we need better controls of road run off in Virginia.
• We need funding more available for options other than just roads. Virginia’s State Budget breaks on highway funding but public transportation moves people at much less public cost per person than building more roads. I pay the cost of car drivers with my state and federal taxes since the gas tax has not been raised high enough to cover the cost of roads. But my Rail Tickets pay Amtrak which must pay the cost of the rails. My public transportation costs are much cheaper to the public. I cause less pollution, and traffic congestion, need less roads. Please pass the saving on to me by charging more gas tax and making public transit cheaper. Public transit never broke a budget. If gas purchasers had to pay the full cost of repairing roads then people would demand more rails.
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