2005 Reports and News
DECEMBER 2005
New Plan for Federal Infrastructure Investment. Investment
Banker Felix Rohatyn and former U.S. Senator Warren Rudman are co-chairing
the Commission on Public Infrastructure of the Center for Strategic
and International Studies. The two have offered up a plan for overhauling
the federal role in infrastructuring financing by establishing a
National Investment Corporation to issue bonds and oversee funding.
Read
More: "It's Time to Rebuild America", by Felix Rohaytn and Warren
Rudman in the Washington Post.
Survey: Seniors Worry About Mobility; Support Public Transportation.
A new Harris Interactive survey conducted for the American Public
Transportation Association offer stark findings regarding mobility
worries among the nation's senior citizens. The survey also notes
striking support for public transportation among seniors. Previous
studies suggest the senior population will eclipse 70 million by
2030 and and a growing number of communities are already struggling
with senior isolation due to a lack of transportation options.
Get
the complete survey results.
NOVEMBER 2005
CFTE Advisory Board member and American Public Transportation Association
Policy Director Art Guzzetti appears on On Point from Energy and
Environment TV to discuss transit ballot measures and other local
efforts to pay for subway, bus and light rail systems. Guzzetti
also discusses the transportation reauthorization bill Congress
passed last summer, the effect of high gasoline prices on ridership
and whether transit is expanding.
Click here
to view the episode (flash required)
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has released a new
report on financing transportation projects. The study
outlines new options to fund the nation’s transportation system,
including switching from the motor fuel tax to a vehicle mile tax
or expanding the use of tolling by state and local governments.
OCTOBER 2005
Transit & Katrina. Increasing public transportation
options and planning strategies for enhanced mobility and improved
evacation have emerged as key themes in recent policy recommendations
for the recovery and redevelopment of the Gulf Coast region. The
Victoria Transport Policy Institute has released a new study on
planning for transportation mobility in hazard mitigation, Lessons
From Katrina and Rita: What Major Disasters Can Teach Transportation
Planners.
In Mississippi, Governor Haley Barbour's Commission
on Recovery, Rebuilding and Renewal has issued its
first report on redevelopment of the stricken region. Among the
report's recommendations is a plan to develop an east-west light
rail line along the coast.
New
Study Links Transit Use & Health. A new study published
in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine suggests
that walking to and from public transportation can help people reach
healthy physical activity targets set by the U.S. Surgeon General.
According to the report, authored by experts from the CDC and the
National Center for Environmental Health, access to public transportation
helps promote and maintain active lifestyles that improve overall
health.
SEPTEMBER 2005
CFTE has developed a short piece entitled "Public
Transportation at the Ballot Box" (doc). This
paper is intended to provde an overview of trends in recent years,
focusing on the strong support for transportation choices at the
local level.
JULY 2005
Terrorism, Transit
and Public Safety: Evaluating the Risks (PDF).
This paper from the Victoria Transport Policy Institute evaluates
the overall safety of public transit, taking into account all risks,
including recent terrorist attacks. It indicates that transit is
an extremely safe mode, with total fatality rates per passenger-mile
approximately one-tenth that of automobile travel.
JUNE 2005
Evaluating Rail Transit
Criticism (PDF)
This paper from the Victoria Transport
Policy Institute evaluates criticism of rail transit, including
the recent report, "Rail Disasters 2005: The Impact Of Rail Transit
On Transit Ridership." It examines claims that rail transit is ineffective
at increasing public transit ridership and improving transportation
system performance, that rail transit investments are not cost effective,
and that transit is an outdated form of transportation. It finds
that critics often misrepresent issues and use biased and inaccurate
analysis
STPP
Releases "Driven To Spend" Report
A new report by the Surface Transportation Policy Project
shows that in metropolitan areas that have large public transportation
systems, households spend less money on cars, gasoline, repairs,
and transit than their counterparts in metropolitan areas reliant
on automobiles alone.
MAY 2005
Texas
Transportation Institute 2005 Urban Mobility Study
Released annually, the TTI Urban Mobility Study shows quantitative
analysis of how transportation systems in 85 US cities measure up
in terms of relieving congestion, time delay savings, and the costs
associated with them. For the third year in a row, the report also
measures the benefits of public transportation.
MARCH 2005
Public
Transportation Ridership Up By 2.11% In 2004
The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) announced
that 9.6 billion trips were taken on U.S. local public transportation
systems in 2004, an increase of 2.11 percent over the previous year.
This growth rate was faster than highway vehicle travel, which grew
by 1.14 percent in 2004.
FEBRUARY 2005
FTA
Releases Annual New Starts Report
The Federal Transit Administration released their Annual
New Starts Report that offers funding recommendations for rail transit
projects. The report
evaluates major transit capital projects around the country that
are proposed for federal New Starts funding, and makes recommendations
to Congress regarding the allocation of $1.5 billion in New Starts
funds for FY 2006.
JANUARY 2005
GAO
Proposes Refinement of Alternatives Analysis Process
(PDF)
A new report from the General Accounting Office titled “Highway
and Transit Investments: Options for Improving Information on Projects'
Benefits and Costs and Increasing Accountability for Results Report”
examines (1) the categories of benefits and costs that can be attributed
to new highway and transit investments and the challenges in measuring
them; (2) how state, local, and regional decision makers consider
the benefits and costs of new highway and transit investments when
comparing alternatives; (3) the extent to which investments meet
their projected outcomes; and (4) options to improve the information
available to decision makers.
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