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Is This the End of the Age of the Automobile?

As a dominant form of transportation, the automobile is dead. So is GM, which now stands for Gone Mad.

But the larger picture says that the financial crisis now enveloping the world is grounded in the transition from the automobile---and the fossils that fuel it---to a brave renewable world of reborn mass transit and green power.

If GM lives in any form, it must be owned and operated by its workers and the public.

Posted in green energy, transportation

Public Transit 2008 Ridership Highest in 52 Years

A morning commuter walks out of the subway in New York's Times Square March 2, 2009. (REUTERS/Brendan McDermid)

WASHINGTON - Facing volatile energy prices and a major economic downturn, Americans turned to public transportation more in 2008 than they have in over 50 years, a transit group said on Monday.

Americans took 10.7 billion trips on public transit last year, up 4 percent from 2007, the American Public Transportation Association said. This is the highest level of ridership in 52 years.

"Where many of the other indicators in our economy are down, public transit is up," APTA Vice President Rosemary Sheridan told Reuters.

Posted in Economy/Trade, transportation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 19, 2009
11:58 AM

CONTACT: Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER)
Kyla Bennett (508) 230-9933; Luke Eshleman (202) 265-7337

Ridership for Stoughton Line Falls as Costs Rise

Worst Eco-Alternative Rail Line Will Cost Massachusetts $800,000 per Commuter

BOSTON - February 19 - The state's official estimates of ridership for the controversial Fall River/New Bedford rail line to Boston have fallen by nearly a fifth since 2002 while costs continue to swell, according to figures released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). As a result, construction costs for the state's preferred alternative transit plan, which would plow through Massachusetts' largest freshwater wetland, the Hockomock Swamp, will be approximately $800,000 per commuter

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Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) is a national alliance of local state and federal resource professionals. PEER's environmental work is solely directed by the needs of its members. As a consequence, we have the distinct honor of serving resource professionals who daily cast profiles in courage in cubicles across the country.

Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) Links:
Posted in stimulus, transportation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 17, 2009
4:00 PM

CONTACT: Institute for Public Accuracy (IPA)
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167

Auto Industry and the Environment

WASHINGTON - February 17 -

SUSAN HELPER
Professor of regional economic development at Case Western University in Ohio, Helper focuses on the auto industry. She recently co-wrote a piece in the New Republic magazine: "Better Than a Bailout: Here's how to rescue Detroit without forcing them into bankruptcy."
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A nationwide consortium, the Institute for Public Accuracy (IPA) represents an unprecedented effort to bring other voices to the mass-media table often dominated by a few major think tanks. IPA works to broaden public discourse in mainstream media, while building communication with alternative media outlets and grassroots activists.

Institute for Public Accuracy (IPA) Links:
Posted in stimulus, transportation

Rider Paradox: Surge in Mass, Drop in Transit

St. Louis is girding itself for some of the most drastic service cuts in the country. (Dilip Vishwanat for The New York Times)

ST. LOUIS - Buses will no longer stop at some 2,300 stops in and around this city at the end of next month because, despite rising ridership, the struggling transit system plans to balance its books with layoffs and drastic service cuts.

Posted in transportation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 3, 2009
12:27 PM

CONTACT: Consumer Federation of America (CFA)
Jack Gillis, 202-737-0766

Despite $1.90 Pump Price, a Large Majority Americans Remain Concerned About Gas Prices and Oil Import Dependence

New Survey Shows Intention to Purchase Cars with Much Higher Fuel Economy

WASHINGTON - February 3 - According to the latest Consumer Federation of America (CFA) energy survey, despite the decline of pump prices from $3.50 in April 2008 to $1.90 today, a large majority of Americans remain concerned, most greatly so, about gas prices (76%) and dependence on Middle-Eastern oil (76%). Moreover, in their next car purchase, they intend to buy a vehicle with fuel economy averaging five miles per gallon greater than the mileage of their current vehicle.
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CFA is a nonprofit association of some 300 consumer groups that, since 1968, has sought to advance the consumer interest through research, advocacy, and education.
Posted in Energy, transportation

Missing the Train on the Recovery Package

Our new President and Vice President rode the rails to D.C., echoes of history in the air. Obama's deliberate choice of a train for his inaugural journey and Biden's famed love for Amtrak raise hopes that the new Administration will make public transportation a priority.  Unfortunately, the current recovery bill heads directly down the opposite track.

Posted in stimulus, transportation

A Bicycle Evangelist With the Wind Now at His Back

Representative Earl Blumenauer of Oregon. (photo: Stirling Elmendorf)

PORTLAND, Ore. - For years, Earl Blumenauer has been on a mission, and now his work is paying off. He can tell by the way some things are deteriorating around here.

"People are flying through stop signs on bikes," Mr. Blumenauer said. "We are seeing in Portland bike congestion. You'll see people biking across the river on a pedestrian bridge. They are just chock-a-block."

Posted in Politics, Sustainability, transportation

A $15 Billion Jumpstart for the Big Three?

After digesting an abysmal November unemployment report, House Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is a "car czar" away from working out the kinks for a $15 billion auto Hail Mary, less than half the amount requested by the Detroit Three. This bridge loan will supposedly keep the auto industry running on fumes until March, when Obama's pit crew can step in.

Posted in bailout, labor, transportation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 9, 2008
12:46 PM

CONTACT: Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)
Aaron Huertas, 202-331-5458

Science Group Releases First-Of-Its-Kind Guide to Low-Carbon Vacation Transportation

Motor Coaches, Trains Are Often Greenest; Best Options Shift With Number of Travelers and Distance

WASHINGTON - December 9 - Vacationers looking to reduce their contribution to global warming now have a new tool to help them choose their greenest travel option. The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) today released a first-of-its-kind consumer guide that compares the carbon footprints of a range of domestic travel options, including motor coaches (intercity buses), trains, planes, cars, and SUVs.  

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The Union of Concerned Scientists is the leading U.S. science-based nonprofit organization working for a healthy environment and a safer world. Founded in 1969, UCS is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and also has offices in Berkeley, Chicago and Washington, D.C. For more information, go to www.ucsusa.org.

Posted in Sustainability, transportation
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