TransitTales

BusMania

OK--Over 2 years between posts. Maybe a new record in the blogosphere. Might as well return on Super Duper Fat Tuesday.

But this Strib article got me thinking about linking again.

The article references high gas prices and a desire to go green as reasons for the surge in ridership. Probably true, and fine reasons. Surely the bridge collapse and need for alternate routes and means of commuting is playing a role too.

At any rate, welcome aboard, new transit riders. Clearly we need our elected officials to support the demand. And clearly I've got some work to do to update this site. The race is on.

Amtrak's Gunn Fired

Couldn't resist the Gunn pun.

Alert reader and friend Sarah (I honestly didn't think I had any readers left, after months of very intermittent posting. And as for friends....) requests my incisive commentary on the story of the firing of Amtrak President David Gunn.

Incisive? The pressure's on. But here goes:

This seems like scapegoating, and more of the same habit of hurting Amtrak in the name of helping it.

Amtrak has never been adequately funded. Anti-transit types have always wanted it to fail, and the survivalist budget crumbs tossed its way have assured that.

The Bush administration wants to privatize Amtrak. Surprise, surpise. Privatization has worked so well with telecom (isn't Ma Bell being basically reassembled as SBC and Verizon?) and energy (Enron/California/pick your scandal), might as well try it with trains.

Maybe we should privatize the Interstate Highway system. Oh wait--that gets sufficient federal subsidies so that it actually works--in its inefficient, polluting, sprawl-inducing way. Hmmmm. Maybe highway privatization is an idea whose time has come....

Our Transportation System Has No Clothes

Somebody calling himself the Naked Economist has an article that lays bare the underpriced cost of driving in the U.S.. That's right--underpriced, even at $3.00 per gallon.

Don't know about "Congestion-pricing" as the be-all and end-all of traffic jams, however. For instance, replace his hypothetical $14.00 an hour plumbing assistant with a a $5.15 per hour retail worker, and the math for Lexus Lanes isn't as compelling.

Bush Apparently Possessed: Calls For Gas Conservation

Well, this seems like a good reason to emerge from my late-summer hiatus and post again.

The President has asked Americans to drive less. This is the Oil Industry's Man, a President who's Press Secretary once called energy conservation "a big no."

And there's this quote from an AP article:

" 'If it makes sense for the citizen out there to curtail nonessential travel, it darn sure makes sense for federal employees,' Bush said. 'We can encourage employees to car pool or use mass transit, and we can shift peak electricity use to off-peak hours. There's ways for the federal government to lead when it comes to conservation.' "

This is un-American. How can we ever be an Ownership Society if our President is asking us to Own less gas?

Shrink-wrap on Wheels

The Strib explains how to shrink-wrap a bus in blueberries and ipod dancers.

As the article mentions, those ads really do diminish riders' views outisde the train. From inside, the images are a bunch of annoying black dots that make me never want to buy an ipod or blueberries (I'll pick my berries up north, thanks very much). Come to think of it, annoying-black-dots-that-diminish-one's-perspective is an apt metaphor for advertising generally.

One of the ironies in the article:

Tom Black of 3M, which makes the shrink-wrap ads, thinks that "the bus and train wraps have become popular because they get ads out where people can see them from their cars. Said Black: 'People are spending so much more time in their cars.'"

"So much more time in their cars?" Not if they're riding the train--but then they're enveloped within a giant moving tube of vinyl film advertisement. Transit riders become marketing tools for the car-captive crowd, helping sell widgets (and blueberries) to drivers in their cars waiting at train crossings.

As Chaucer's Wife of Bath famously said, "Alle is for to selle."

Car Sharing: Another Blow for the Ownership Society

What will the right wing say? Surely it's un-American not to own a car (it's mostly blue-state types in big cities in the coasts who don't. after all--in part because they live near where they work, because it's expensive [market forces] and because there are real transit options). But what about when entrepeneurs find a way to make money off of it?

HOURCAR is a new option in the Twin Cites for people who don't want (or need) to own a car, but would find one useful now and then.

This sort of thing could spark a wider revolution: instead of every exurban acreage owning a riding mower, a group of neighbors could share one. (OK, that's pretty radical).

This already happens informally with snowblowers in our neighborhood: Most homes don't have enough in the way of sidewalks and driveways to justify an emissions-heavy snowblower, but one or two people per block who do own one (often on a corner lot), and have so have so much fun revving the thing up two or three times per winter that they oftern clear the sidewalk on the whole block.

Sharing, rather than ownership, creates a society.

New High Speed Japanese Train

Japan is serious.

Where's the U.S. leadership in mass transit innovation? (Sorry, Hummers don't count.)

Oil at $60+

Maybe it's time this country got serious about alternatives to cars.

Tinklenberg: Transit Preacher for the DFL?

The strib reports that former Ventura administration's transportation honcho Elwyn Tinklenberg is seeking DFL endorsement to run for the open 6th Congressional District seat (Mark ["Yessir Mr. President!") Kennedy's the incumbent, but he's running for Mark ["Money can't Buy Me Re-election"] Dayton's Senate seat).

First of all, you've gotta like the guy's name: "Elwyn Tinklenberg" is pure poetry.

Second, you've gotta admit he's probably conservative enough to get elected in the most conservative of Minnesota districts: he's pro-life, pro-conceal/carry, and would support a gay marraige ban--so in what way is he a Democrat?

For one, he's pro-transit: He was the main man in Ventura' push for Light Rail, the best (maybe the only good) outcome of the no-time-to-bleed administration. Among the many uber-conservatives Tinklenberg might face if he were the DFL nominee: Phil Krinkie, the anti-transit Fury himself.

Tinklenberg's other Democratic credibility would seem to be his willingness to take on the religious right, aka Theocrcay Now:

"...[H}e's got some credentials in the increasingly important faith-and-values arena. He's a former minister for the United Methodist Church. Tinklenberg said he wanted to 'take the language of faith back from those who have hijacked it,' and he delivered a scorching critique of fundamentalist Christian conservatives. He described their politics as a 'disingenuous commandeering of religious rhetoric. ... They use religion to judge the lives of others while forgetting what is said about acceptance and forgiveness and their own sinfulness.'"

So I'd be curious to hear his reasons for supporting the gay marriage ban and for being anti-choice--presumably they wouldn't be couched in SantorumDobsonSpeak. Those reasons would seem to defuse attacks from Michele Bachmann, who likes to hide behind bushes at GLBT rallies.

So would a Tinklenberg candidacy likely be a train to nowhere, or the best hope that Democrats have against the Krinkie/Bachmann Humvee?

Just What the US Needs: A Romanian SUV

DuVernois Blog has found it.

Sounds like the only ones interested may be Ceausescu nostalgia-buffs and hunters with a death wish.

Bad News for Gas Guzzlers; Hybrids Looking Better

The AP is reporting that oil prices are back up above $54 per barrel after falling as "low" as $47 per barrel a couple of weeks ago.

A key quote from the article:

"John Kilduff, a senior oil analyst at FImat USA said, '$60 a barrel, which looked highly unlikely just last week, is now once again within the realm of reason.'"

This cuts at least two ways in the stock market, of course. Some investors get spooked by possible inflationary drag on the economy; others (or some of the same ones) turn speculative and hope to profit at the expense of oil consumers.

But it only cuts one way at the pump.

The article closes with the reminder that oil is 24% more pricey than it was a year ago. That would seem to be a trendline.

Fares Go Up--How About a User Fee instead?

As reported in the Strib, the Metropolitan Council, constrained by the governor's veto of transportation bill, voted yesterday to increase fares; in order to balance their budget the Council will also reduce service. Of course, the net result will be a loss of riders. It's a vicious cycle, sprialing downward. This is the second across the board fare increase in four years.

More details from the Strib:

"Legislators meeting in special session may yet include money for transit in a bill that appropriates operating money for the Minnesota Department of Transportation, said Rep. Ron Erhardt, R-Edina, chairman of the House Transportation Committee.

"In the regular session, Erhardt sponsored a transportation bill that he said would have added money for improved roads and expanded transit service -- including enough to avoid service cuts.

"The bill was passed by the House and Senate and vetoed by Gov. Tim Pawlenty because it included a 10-cent gas tax increase, and Pawlenty has taken a vow not to raise taxes."

We know that the vow has already been broken. Maybe the governor would agreee to a user fee on gas to fund roads and transit?

No New User Fees?

Update: I see Jim at Oil is for Sissies was only an hour-and-a-half or so more timely than I in getting around to commenting on the gubernatorial word-play.

It's not news to anyone around these parts that Governor Pawlenty vetoed the transportation bill that would have filled potholes, built roads AND funded transit at an operable level--in the name of having sold his soul to the Taxpayer's League--I mean holding to his No New Taxes pledge. But hey, i've been on hiatus for a week.

And it's not news that he then turned around and proposed a cigarette tax--I mean user fee--though not to fund anything related to smokers, as you'd expect a cigarette user's fee to do.

We deserve much better leadership than accounting gimmicks and word games. How about investing in the state's infrastructure (and K-12 schools, while we're at it)?

No Night Buses on Nicollet Mall

As a summer experiment, according to the Strib:

"Affected routes: 10, 11, 17, 18, 25, 675 and 466, which make 200 bus trips between 6:30 and 11 p.m. and which carry about 3,500 riders. At 11 p.m. the buses will return to Nicollet Mall for late-evening trips from downtown." those routes will run on Hennepin Ave. instead.

All of those riders will instead be moved over to Hennepin Ave. "in an effort to make the downtown Minneapolis mall more pleasant for walking, biking, and outdoor dining."

That will certainly mean less diesel exhaust hanging over the sidewalk cafes. As a trade-off, transit users will have some extra walking to do in extra fumes on the Hennepin Avenue detour.

Transit Victory in the MN House

From today's STrib

Key transit related points in the bill (from the Strib article):
"• A near doubling, to 40 percent, of the portion of vehicle sales taxes going to transit, if voters approve it in a constitutional amendment referendum next year. The move could shift $100 million a year from the state general fund to bus and rail transit.
• Transfer of $95 million a year in sales taxes collected in the seven-county metropolitan area to transit -- 80 percent to the metro area, 20 percent to outstate -- also at the expense of the state general fund."

There has been great work on this by Transit for Livable Communities (from the Strib article):

"Sacha Peterson of Transit for Livable Communities said the bill would eliminate planned Metro Transit fare increases, route cuts and a projected loss of 2 million riders, as well as fund $85 million in service upgrades over two years. 'We're ecstatic,' she said. 'This is a historic day and a package that works for everyone. It will absolutely address congestion.'"

Of course, the one-note anti-taxers are shrieking their one-note song (from the Strib):

"...David Strom, president of the Taxpayers League of Minnesota, scoffed that the House bill is 'running on fumes ... Neither the governor nor the voters will allow this to pass.'"

But ten (!) House Republicans voted for this bill--because their constituents are tired of gridlock, legislatively and on the roads. The Senate will pass something similar. Is Pawlenty's next ride going to be an override?

No Groping on the Trains

Some male riders in Tokyo apparently get a little more for their fare than just a trip to the office.

I can already hear the newest announcement by the dulcet-toned electronic hostess on the LRT here:

"You may be asked to show proof of payment--for your trip, nothing else. Gentlemen, keep your grimy paws to yourselves. If you can't, you'll have to ride in a separate train. Next stop, Metrodome East. Exit right."

Memo to Metro Transit

Safety over speed, please. That, and driver training. And careful maintenance.

Derailing Amtrak--and Great Link

Check this out. It's a fabulous special feature by the Christian Science Monitor called "All Aboard? Amtrak and the Future of Passenger Rail in America."

You'll need a high speed connection. The section called "A Business Wreck" contains a fabulous intreactive map on which you can click on the various Amtrak routes (and also notice how much of hte country isn't served) for comparisons of time and cost among Train, Car, Air and Bus options. You can also see the profitability (or, more accurately, the lack thereof).

The data, and this whole peiece are actually a few years old. But it's sure timely right now.

Chicken and Egg: Transit and Development Density

Like LA, much of Minneapolis developed along streetcar lines (my neighborhood of modest bungalows originated as a working-class, ride-the-trolley place to live). In that "LA Rails" post, Atrios references the necessity of significant population density in order to have a viable urban transit system. But developing the system can help develop the density.

When the Twin Cities' streetcar system was dismantled in the interest of cars, the Twin Cities were stuck in car-mode.

It has taken the Twin Cities 50-some years to start to recover. The new Hiawatha light rail line and impending Northstar commuter rail line are the start of re-building a lost rail transit infrastructure that is already starting to encourage more dense re-development. Early predictions called for "7,150 new housing units" and millions of feet of new retail space along the Hiawatha LRT coridor. I haven't seen any figures, but I have already seen new condo/apartment developments near the 46th St. and 38th St. stations. Also new small-scale retail developments nearby.

If you build it, they will come--if you can get government to make a long-term investment.

Energy Efficiency: Rail vs. Air

According to the National Association of Rail Passengers "Intercity (Amtrak) trains are far more efficient than airlines (2441 Btu's per passenger-mile vs. 3999 for airlines in 1998, according to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory)."

But of course, most people choose their travel mode based on speed, convenience, and comfort--underfunded as it is, passenger rail service in this country typically is a third or fourth option at best.

I intentionally didn't include "cost" in my list of what people consider when choosing a travel mode, because if Americans ever stopped to consider how much we spend, as individuals and a society, on our cars, the financing, fuel, maintenance, insurance, roads, licenses, tabs--not to mention environmental and social costs--we'd see that cars are a very expensive way to get around.

End of sermon.

Amtrak's Acela Hits the Brakes

Another setback for Amtrak.

But credit someone for noticing the problem and acting before something terrible happened. I mean, it's how maintenance is supposed to work, but it wouldn't have been surprising if thye'd missed it, being seriously underfunded and all.

My Comment on Transit Cuts

Here is the text of an e-mail that I just sent to the Met Council:
_______________________________

I have been a Metro Transit rider for the nearly eight years that I have worked at the University of Minnesota.

In that time, I have endured numerous cuts to bus service, as well as fare increases.

I used to take the 20 from my home in the Longfellow neighborhood to the West Bank. First, stops were eliminated every other block on 34th St., where I would catch the bus and disembark. Then stops were eliminated on 25th St. near my kids' school, where I would also sometimes get off the bus.

With the coming of LRT (which has otherwise been fabulous), the 20 route was eliminated, and "replaced" by the 24, which doesn't go to campus. So, I now take a 21 or 53 to the Lake St. LRT station, and then a 50 or 16 from the Metrodome to campus. I now have two connections to get to campus when I used to have none.

I'm sure that these inconveniences pale in comparison to the hardships faced by other transit riders. But the general trend of less convenient service at greater cost is not an encouraging one.

I urge the state to fund transit so that it can grow rather than shrink. With gas at $2.30 per gallon, air quality alerts where there used to be none, and road congestion increasing, no to do so is short-sighted. In particular, please support the Transportation Choices 2020 bill.

Thank you.

Sprawl-O-Rama

How long until I-94 east of the Cities becomes as thoroughly clogged as it is northwest of the Cities?

Looks like the Met Council doesn't have any clout across the St. Croix, nor do they have a designated "transit corridor" identified in that direction.

Sprawl is like air pollution: it's no respecter of state or other political boundaries.

Transit Cut Hearings

The Strib reports that Metro Transit is getting an earful.

Here's an excerpt:

"So far, riders have made more than 1,000 comments in the public record about the proposed changes. In Hopkins Tuesday, 169 people attended the first hearing.

St. Paul Mayor Randy Kelly and the City Council sent word opposing the cuts and the fare increase.

Tom Triplett, Kelly's senior policy adviser, said 50 percent of the cuts affect Minneapolis and St. Paul, hitting 'the seniors, the disabled, the students and the poor.'

The proposed transit cuts have generated more calls and letters to City Hall than any other issue facing the city right now, Triplett said."

Of course, it's the anti-transit crowd in the government that ultimately needs to get the message. Send those calls and letters to that other center of power in St. Paul.

Transit for Livable Communities

One of the best things I learned at the Transit Cuts meeting is that an organization called Transit for Livable Communities exists.

These are the folks behind the Transportation Choices 2020 bill that recently passed a Senate commitee. This bill would give stable funding to transit, so that it can expand rather than contract. Passage of this bill would mean, among other things no fare increases.

The centerpiece is a .5 cent sales tax increase. yes, that's right--a tax increase. Soem things that are in the common interest just have to be paid for.

This is exciting news for Minnesota--if we can put enough pressure on the no-new-taxes governor and his legislative allies.

Comment on Proposed Transit Cuts

Over the lunch hour, I attended a Metro Transit Informational meeting on campus about the proposed cuts.

Some of the people in the audience didn't understand that Metro Transit doesn't want to make these cuts--they have to because transit is underfunded by the state government.

At any rate, if you'll be impacted by any of the proposed cuts (one very angry woman at the meeting said she would need to leave home at 6:15 am rather than 6:49 am, plus make a transfer downtown in order to get to the U by 7:30 if her express bus were ut as proposed), the thing to do is tell the Met Council and tell your legislature how the cuts will make it harder for you to get where your going--or how the fare increase might drive you away from transit.

To comment online:

By email: data.center@metc.state.mn.us

By phone: 651-602-1500 (leave a message).

By fax: 651-602-1464

This is our chance to be heard. The squeaky wheel gets the grease--and might not get cut.

Living Green: 10 Transportation Ideas

This Top Ten List doesn't save the best for last:

Item #1 on the list of how to reduce air pollution: Get out of your car and onto your feet/bike/bus/train.

This year's Living Green Expo will happen:
Saturday & Sunday, April 30 & May 1, 2005.
10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Minnesota State Fair Grounds, Grandstand Building

Admission is free.

More from their Press Release:

The 2005 Living Green Expo will feature over 200 businesses, food organizations, state and local agencies, and environmental groups showcasing environmentally sound products, technologies, information, and practices. You'll find many ideas for how Minnesotans can reduce their environmental impact.

The Expo will also include workshops on everything from how to compost and reduce toxicity in your home to using the latest energy-saving technology and cooking with organic, locally grown food. This family-friendly event features art displays, children's activities, food, and musical entertainment.

Parking is free, secure bike storage is available, and the Expo is accessible by bus.

Twins and Trains--Free Rides

Metro Transit is offering free rides home from the April 10th Twins game

Last summer, when the LRT started up, there would be huge crowds on the Metrodome East platform, waiting for trains after the games.

By the end of the season, they seemd to be doing a better job of having extra trains queued up for the end of the games. Will they have extra buses ready as well?

You'd hope they're planning well for this event.

Duluth-Twin Cities Bus Running

Jefferson Lines has started a daily bus run between Coffman Union and UMD.

This is a good thing. The Minnesota Daily's article about it yesterday suggests a large potential student ridership.

Now imagine a high speed rail line between the two campuses/metro areas.

Speak Up About Transit Cuts

Here's a chance for U of M transit riders to tell Metro Transit how the proposed cuts might affect your ability to get to and from campus.

From the U's Parking and Transportation Services:

"PTS invites you to attend a Metro Transit Fare and Service Proposal information meeting. Metropolitan Council staff will give a presentation on the proposed plan and be available to answer questions afterwards. Here are the details:

TUESDAY, APRIL 12
NOON  1:30 PM
COWLES AUDITORIUM at the HH HUMPHREY INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS
WEST BANK

This meeting is NOT an official public hearing and will not be recorded. Attendees can fill out written comment cards at the informational meeting which will be collected and made part of the public record before the Metropolitan Council as it considers proposed fare increases and service adjustments."

Whoops

Just when Amtrak could use some good PR, this happens. It's not exactly what I had in mind when I was talking about creating the political will for a decent national rail service.

This is a train wreck.

Here's hoping the injured are OK.

Crude Above $57 a Barrel

And gas is heading for $2.25 a gallon.

This is getting serious folks. Serious profit for the Haliburtons of the world, at least.

Cars Just Don't Make Economic Sense

According to the AP, there are a lot of car-owners out there who are upside down on their loans. Cars depreciate so fast, and loan terms are getting so long, that more and more cars are worth less at trade-in than their owners are still on the hook for on their loan.

Transit, anyone?

Red State Rail Plans

Looks like Georgia, that bright red state, has some pretty big commuter rail and other transit ideas.

Of course, ideas don't become tangible reality without potical support and money, so who knows what chance such ideas have of being enacted.

Northstar Route Maps

Here's a map of the entire Northstar Commuter Rail route (only the first 40 miles are at stake in the recent legistative action--St. Cloud will need to wait).

And here's another map showing where the Northstar and Hiawatha lines will meet in downtown Minneapolis.

When this first leg of the line is done, people from Elk River and Anoka won't need a car at all to get to and from work in downtown Minneapolis, to and from the Minneapolis St. Paul airport. or even the Inferno of America.

Train a-Comin': Northstar Line gets Funded

The bonding bill that finally emerged from the state capitol includes $37.5 for the Northstar commuter rail line. See the Strib article.

That's $27.5 million more that the anti-transit House had grudgingly put forward in their version of the bill.

We're starting to get a real regional transit system, here. That's good for workers, for jobs, for traffic congestion, and for air quality. But if MetroTransit really has to cut $10 million, it's one step forward and two steps back.

Slots on the Train, Baby

The Boston Globe reports that Boston will soon have TVs on trains and at stations, subjecting transit riders to news and ads. Atlanta, according to The Globe will soon have a similar system: about 66% of the closed circuit programming will be news, with 33% devoted to ads.

As with commercial TV, the news will exist as an excuse for the ads, not vice-versa. Boston's MBTA hopes to raise $3.5 million in ad revenues. Numbers like that will surely get the attention of Minnesota's transit authorities, who are proposing 10% cuts in service to plug a budget gap.

Anyway, how's this for targeted marketing (from The Globe article):

"In Orlando, Chicago, and Milwaukee, the technology is advanced enough that advertising for businesses along the route can pop up as the bus passes, such as a McDonald's restaurant, with a commercial featuring directions for walkers."

It seems like half the buses and trains in this town are already shrinkwrapped in ads. And given that most of the print ads inside the buses are MetroTransit's own announcements rather than revenue-generating ads from external companies, maybe--just maybe--there's already ad saturation on the system? It sounds like the case in Boston (again from The Globe article):

"Said Darrell Murphy, 37, of East Boston, 'I'm too busy resting my eyes in the morning going to work, and I'm too busy sleeping on the way home to notice.'"

But why make people walk or wake up to spend their money, and why gamble that advertisers would want to pitch their wares at a sleepy audience? With Minnesota's governor and Republican legislators enamored of gambling revenues to fund the state, although tribal elders aren't as thrilled, here's an idea to solve that problem and set us apart from the crowd: Why not put slot machines on the buses and trains?

Other states have riverboat gambling.

But in Minnesota, people could lose their shirts on the way to work, while pulling a lever for the public good. Or maybe there could be games of Texas Hold 'Em. Ouch--this is starting to sound like a 70's country-western song.

A trus? A brain? April Fool's.

The Skyway News has a funny front page story in their April Fool's issue about the next big thing in transit: LRTT, Light Rail Tranist on Tires. "LRTT cars are not confined to fixed routes, and indeed can run on paved streets already prevalent in the Twin Cities." It includes a fun photo of an LRT car with bus wheels.

There's also the story of a bike courier who discovers the automobile.

Unfortunately, the issue is not up online, so you'll need to grab a hard copy. It's not The Onion, but it has its moments.

It makes me wonder: What sort of April Fool's pranks will UThink bloggers devise?

It's Only Money (and Particulates, and Smog, and Oil Wars...)

Jim over at Oil Is For Sissies asks this question about $75 per tank fill-ups.

When Satire is All Too True

From this week's Onion:

EPA To Drop 'E,' 'P' From Name

WASHINGTON, DC—Days after unveiling new power-plant pollution regulations that rely on an industry-favored market-trading approach to cutting mercury emissions, EPA Acting Administrator Stephen Johnson announced that the agency will remove the "E" and "P" from its name. "We're not really 'environmental' anymore, and we certainly aren't 'protecting' anything," Johnson said. "'The Agency' is a name that reflects our current agenda and encapsulates our new function as a government-funded body devoted to handling documents, scheduling meetings, and fielding phone calls." The change comes on the heels of the Department of Health and Human Services' January decision to shorten its name to the Department of Services.

________

Sadly, I don't feel all that bad about classifying this under "News."

Proposed Bus Cuts of 10%

According to the Skyway News Metro Transit needs to cut 10% to plug a budget shortfall.

This follows shortly after a big re-organization of (i.e, cuts to) bus lines with the advent of the Hiawatha line, fare increases, and numerous service cuts in the eight years that I've been riding Metro Transit (stops eliminated, longer waits between buses, etc.).

This state needs to make transit a priority, and fund it properly.

[Update: 3:32 pm I left out a crucial piece of markup, which resulted in the follwoing not showing up in my initial attempt at posting this at 10:57 am:]

Tell your elected officals.

Transit riders can comment on the proposed cuts at meetings or as follows (from the article):

E-mail to data.center@metc.state.mn.us
Fax to 651-602-1464
Mail to: Regional Data Center, Metropolitan Council, 230 E. 5th St., St. Paul, MN 55101

If your route is being cut, let'em know that it will hurt. They probably won't make all of these cuts, so the squeaky wheel will get any grease they happen to have left.

Find Local Polluters--and then what?

Check out MPCA's Environmental Data Access Tool, created by the state Legislature in 2001.

Currently, you can use it, among other things, to locate facilities that emit air pollution on a large scale (with the ability to locate smaller offenders and vehicle emissions soon to be added). You can also search for measured outdoor concentrations and emissions data by location.

This means that, if you really want to know who's putting nasty things into the air in your neighborhood, you can find out.

A quick search turned up eight firms in Minneapolis in the category of Industrial Machinery and Equipment

One firm for example emitted 6.3 tons of volatile organic compunds in 2003. And it's ranked only 457th in that category in MN. Scary. Another, which makes pumps and pumping equipment. put out more than 14.5 tons of particulate and particulate matter of <10 microns into the air, though only .01 tons of sulfur dioxide that same year.

Meanwhile, a less obvious suspect for air pollution, Abbot Northwestern Hospital, released 67.3 tons of sulfur dioxide in 2003, giving it a ranking of 56th.

Scary. But potentiall empowering. We're paying for this all of this data, so we should make use of it. Besides publicizing it, what are some good ways?

Air Pollution Reports

See an MPCA News releasefor information on two reports about Minnesota's air quality.

There are some good things happening: Metro Transit is trying to buy low-sulfur diesel; also something called the Metropolitan Emissions Reduction Project will (over several years, of course) reduce sulfur and nitorgen dioxides from three metro power plants.

But also according to the news release:

"The reports are timely. Minnesota's recent air alert beginning on January 29th, lasted six days and was the most severe alert since the MPCA began monitoring fine particle pollution in 1999. AQI levels were above 150 (unhealthy for all groups) for fine particles on three days.

Fine particles from the combustion of fossil fuels have emerged as a major health concern. They are associated with increased hospitalizations and deaths due to respiratory and heart disease and can worsen the symptoms of asthma. Ozone (smog) is the other pollutant that activates air alerts. It is linked to respiratory problems including asthma attacks."

Raiding the Bus

Evan over at Coffee Grounds is a bigger man than I, as he concedes that Phil (the Gas Tank) Krinkie may be capable of a good transit idea.

I just don't believe it. Krinkie, after all, is in league with Pawlenty on the so-called "turbo-charged truth in taxation" proposal, a thinly veiled attempt to give anti-tax groups an advantage over local governments in setting property tax rates.

Krinkie knows one thing: a strident anti-tax, anti-city stand gets him re-elected in his conservative suburban district.

What Would NASCAR Nation Drive?

From an article by Shawn Langlois, on MarketWatch.com

"Two out of three Americans now consider buying a fuel-efficient vehicle a patriotic act, according to a study "backed by the Civil Society Institute."

More:

"...Autos that go easier on the gas tank, led by the Japanese manufacturers, are flying off of lots. The Prius, along with Honda's Accord and Civic, can't get to dealers fast enough."

The kicker:

"Three out of five people who consider themselves conservatives and two out of three Nascar fans agreed that buying a car that stretches its fuel mileage is also a vote for America."

Even if it means buying Japanese? There's some cognitive dissonance there, but we could certainly do with a redefinition of patriotism in this age of Patriotic Correctness.

Oil Closer To $60 per barrel

Will it hit the big Six-Oh?

Sure glad we have oilmen as Prez and VP.

Transit is Part of the Solution

Kudos to the City of Minneapolis for using the municipal consent process to force MNDOT and Carol Molnau to include rapid bus transit in the plan to rebuild the 35W/62 commons area..

Key points from the Strib article:

"The recommendations released Thursday ensure that the [bus rapid transit] station [at E. 46th st.] will be included in the project. They also promise coordination of environmental planning and permit issuance, and following best practices to enhance water quality."

and

"I-35W buses already carry 15,000 commuter trips a day. Minneapolis wants fast, frequent bus service that could handle double that number by 2020. The city wants low-floor buses, attractive stations and exclusive lanes that give buses an advantage during rush hour.

The recommendations also would configure roadway and bridge reconstructions to accommodate bike lanes.

The project will now include a new Minnehaha Creek bridge consistent with the environmental and historical character of the area."

and

"[Minneapolis mayor R.T. ] Rybak couldn't resist the opportunity to push a case for transit in the face of proposed reductions in bus routes. 'Adding mass transit on 35W is the only way we can address the congestion and gridlock, but it can't be met with a radical cut in bus service,' he said."

This line cracked me up, for its journalistic understatement:

"DFLers tend to be more supportive of mass transit than Republicans are."

And the pope tends to be more Catholic than atheists are.

Oil to $60 a Barrel Sooner Rather than Later?

It could be.

Will Hummers and Hummer-wanna-be's be parked more than driven then? I suppose not. If you've got the 40K or whatever those things sell for, you've surely got the liquidity to keep the pricey liquid in the fuel tank. Or not.

If you're in over your head on a vanity vehicle purchase, don't count on using personal bankruptcy to bail yourself out--or even if you're in over your head because of catastrophic medical bills.

There's a Railroad Club at the U

Look it over here

These guys are into trains in a big way.

They have models.

See their section on the Hiawatha Line

And who knew that there was such a thing as "railfanning"--or so many places to practice it locally?

Got Gas?

Oil prices have been in the mid-$50's per barrel recently. Soon enough, drivers will really feel the pinch.

A key 'graph from the AP article:

"But for many drivers, it soon will be difficult to find any gas stations across America selling regular unleaded for less than $2 a gallon, analysts said. That's because gasoline prices on futures markets have soared 20 percent in the past week alone," says Brad Foss, The AP Business writer.

And the effect could reverberate throughout the global economy: "I believe oil prices and the economy are on a collision course and that it's only a matter of time" according to one petroleum market analyst quoted in the story.

But who needs transit options?

More and more people, at $2+ per gallon.

There's Been A Study

Little did I know when I posted on Feb.11th, wistfully advocating for high-speed rail lines to Rochester and Duluth, that there had already been a MNDOT-commisioned feasibility study from Jan. 2003 on the possiblity. The study concluded that there is "clearly a prima facie case for the development of a multi-modal corridor that would connect the Twin Cities and the city of Rochester by high-speed rail."

Such a line between Duluth and the Twin Cities has not, apparently, been studied.

People Want--And Will Pay For--Transit Options

See the light rail advocacy site LightRailNow for a different perspective than organizations like the Taxpayers' League and Highways, Inc. would have you believe.

Bad Air Days--redux

(Image from the MPCA Haze Cam, downtown St. Paul )

Come on everybody: walk, bike, or take transit instead of driving.
It's starting to feel like I'm living in LA.

A Victory for the Northstar Commuter Line

What a difference an election makes.

The StarTribune reports that after blocking state funding for the proposed Northstar Line for five years, the Minnesota House overwhelmingly approved a bonding measure that includes $10 million for the first phase of the commuter rail line from Minneapolis to St. Cloud. Only 12 legislators voted against it.

Why the sudden change of heart?

In part because the governor himself reversed hs opposition to it a couple of years ago (see the STrib article). It's the one progressive policy Pawlenty has endorsed in his term (not that it will win him any progressive votes--instead it will probably cost him some of his base: see the quote from a disgruntled Republican voter at the end of the STrib story ).

But the other reason is that 13 House Republicans lost their seats last November, largely because they had failed to get a bonding bill done last year. Combine the message that sends to Republican obstructionists still employed as legislators with 13 new DFLers who replaced the ousted bunch, and you've got a very different environment for transit funding.

Anti-transit king Phil Krinkie, chairman of the House Taxes Committee, is reduced to quoting Yogi Bera (4th graf from the end)--and he'll probably try to block it or slow it down, because he's an obstructionist, after all--but the Northstar Line will happen. It will reduce traffic and pollution in a very congested corridor, and will join with the Hiawatha LRT to form the start of a true rail transit system in Minnesota.

Snow means...

...it's another good day not to be driving.

It doesn't look like too much fun on I-94 near HuronBoulevard:

Phil Krinkie, Are You Listening?

That loud sound you've been hearing for 6 months now is the sound of thunderous applause
from Twin Cities transit riders. The LRT is cool, it's fast, it's on time. Yes, there have been problems due to back-ordered train cars, and the traffic flow on and across Hiawatha can be improved.

What are needed are more lines, to make a full rail system, reducing car traffic and demand for more and more roads.

Taxpayers League, are you listening? Or are you just griping about "social engineering" (as though building more highways isn't "social engineering")?