After a stand-up continental breakfast, APTA president Bill Millar opened the general session to a packed ballroom at the conference hotel here in Vancouver. He provided a lively “state of the rail industry” address, noting that it was a challenging year – but that it was full of successes to balance it out. For one example, he pointed to the number of commuter rail line extensions around the US, and he praised President Obama for supporting high-speed and inter-city rail. “It’s very important to build links among the urban and industrialized areas,” he said.
He noted that transit ridership is down overall, but not by much. Sixty percent of commuter rides are work-related, and with the economy in trouble, there are fewer jobs. A recent APTA survey showed that 59% of responding businesses had to cut jobs, and that even more were still planning to do so.
Interestingly, Canada is having the opposite trend – transit ridership is up. I personally don’t know why that is so, but I sense that the Canadians haven’t built their economy on the automobile as much as Americans have. So in a time of energy conservation, they already have the transit infrastructure to carry them through. But if anyone has other thoughts, please feel free to post them here.
Bill also mentioned a new Senate bill (S3412) that will provide emergency funding for transit operations. However, it has a long way to go through the legislative process, and if it is passed, it may not end up as originally written.
In the end, APTA’s “Holy Grail” is another transportation authorization to follow the now-expired SAFETEA-LU. “It expired in September and then was extended until December 2010,” he said. “I really don’t expect any movement on a new authorization until next year.”
He would like to see $123 billion invested in public transit to expand and improve systems and to make it easier for people to use.
Mattie “MP” Carter, APTA board chair and commissioner of the Memphis transit authority, emphasized the importance of workforce development so new leaders can replace those who are set to retire in the next few years.
She also noted that British Columbia and the state of Washington have signed a memo of understanding (MOU) to create a cross-border high-speed rail (HSR) system. Already, Canada has expanded its commitment to rail, as evidenced by the cities of Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary (which has a wind-powered transit), and Vancouver (with its driverless SkyTrain).
Peter Rogoff, administrator of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), said that the key to HSR success is to connect the links so it becomes part of an integrated system, along with commuter rail, bus rapid transit, and other modes. “But we must ensure good maintenance as well as expansion of new systems,” he said. “We must provide good transit especially for those who must use it because they have no cars, they don’t know how to drive, they aren’t able to drive, or for other reasons. Without good transit, these people may lose their jobs, their places at day care centers, their schooling, and other necessities.”
He noted that there is a prevalence of transit-dependent populations in central urban areas. Will we respect all those citizens and their right to mobility?
Tomorrow, I'll ride the SkyTrain and report back.
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