Recent Streetsblog LA posts about Transit Advocacy

New Report: Feds Subsidizing Parking Six Times as Much as Transit

By Elana Schor | Sep 29, 2009 | 2 Comments

Both Images: Subsidyscope "Subsidy" is a word used quite often in transportation policy-making circles, whether by road acolytes who claim (falsely) that highways are not federally subsidized because of the gas tax or by transit boosters who lament Washington’s unceasing focus on paying for more local asphalt. But the subsidy debate often overlooks the government […]

New Report: 10% Transit Growth Would Help Meet House Climate Target

By Elana Schor | Sep 23, 2009 | No Comments

(Image: U.S. EIA via Climate Progress) A 10 percent annual increase in U.S. transit ridership would reduce CO2 emissions by 180 million tons each year, taking the nation halfway to the target set by the House climate change bill within three years, according to a report [PDF] released today by Environment America and the Coalition […]

Pro-Tea Party Republican’s Angry Letter to D.C. Metro: Read it in Full

By Elana Schor | Sep 18, 2009 | 7 Comments

Apparently unfamiliar with the concept of irony, Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) has drafted an angry letter to the chief of Washington D.C.’s Metro, complaining that protesters at last weekend’s 9/12 "tea party" had difficulty traveling by transit — the very transit system that Brady voted against aiding, and the epitome of government spending that the […]

McCain’s List of Wasteful Transit Includes Wilshire Bus-Only Lanes and Gold Line Extension

By Elana Schor | Sep 14, 2009 | 16 Comments

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), a self-styled foe of what he labels wasteful government spending, has launched a broadside against transit projects in the U.S. DOT’s 2010 spending bill, which is slated for a vote this week in the upper chamber of Congress. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) (Photo: Scrape TV) McCain had proposed more than 20 […]

Feds Still Forcing Transit Agencies to Bow to Private Charter Buses

By Elana Schor | Sep 3, 2009 | 3 Comments

Streetsblog Capitol Hill reported yesterday that the U.S. DOT would end a Bush-era mandate to reward new transit projects for using private contractors — but a similar pro-privatization rule for bus service remains in effect, preventing local transit agencies from competing with private charter companies. Fairgoers in Minnesota depart a private charter bus that benefited […]

Transit Cuts Report Underscores Cities’ Congressional Influence Gap

By Elana Schor | Aug 18, 2009 | No Comments

In a report released this morning, Transportation for America (T4A) expands on its months-long effort to map transit cutbacks across the nation and concludes that 10 of the largest 25 local agencies are being forced to hike fares by more than 13 percent. (Photo: T4A) T4A’s report illustrates the punishing effect of such cuts on […]

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