Are They Walking the Walk or Just Talking a Good Game?

It’s hard not to call it hypocrisy but reading Lena Sun’s article in the Washington Post on Sunday was a real eye-opener. I mean, how in the world can people who sit on the board of directors admit that they never or rarely make use of the nation’s second-largest transit system? How can they make comments that it’s inconvenient to their schedules?

Some of these are the same board members who pushed former General Manager, CEO Dick White out of office. One of their reasons was that he preferred to drive the SUV that Metro leased for him more than he rode the system and that he only road the system when press attention demanded it. Flash forward a few years and long-time board member and current chairman, Jim Graham, is telling the Washington Post that he intends to start riding Metro to board meetings. He might be surprised to learn that there are not one, but two Metro stops (Gallery Place-Chinatown-Verizon Center and Judiciary Square) within a short walk to Metro’s headquarters building. That means no longer driving the little orangish VW Bug with the fake flower in the car’s bud vase on the dash to get to the meetings. Of course, Graham, like so many other board members forgot or didn’t know that he was supposed to pay to park in the garage under the Metro building. It doesn’t cost much but, as he and the others should know, one of the other perks of board membership is that they can ride the rails or the buses for free. Of course, that makes it more difficult for them to relate to what regular passengers experience when the fares go up.

These board members get passes for free rides on Metro bus and rail and some of them aren’t using the system. It’s really amazing that these are the people in charge of overseeing what goes on. They might have a better appreciation for what passengers want and need if they would ride more frequently. They might be able to see the cracks in the walls where water has leaked through. They might experience the difference in the hurky-jerky ride when the operators do the job instead of the train’s internal braking system. They might be able to see the way that the bus drivers interact with the passengers and smell those wonderful smells. They might get to see the homeless guys sleeping in the back row and have a chance to pick up some of the newspapers that have been left behind. They might actually become a part of the whole world that they oversee without, to this point, ever knowing.

+++++++++++

A couple of local rail and transit organizations are singing the praises of the economic recovery plan. Ross Capon, President of the National Association of Railroad Passengers said: "President Obama and the U.S. Congress deserve high praise for producing legislation that—by properly recognizing the value of passenger and freight trains—finally begins to move transportation policy in a genuinely new direction. With passenger rail a conspicuous beneficiary of the House-Senate conference, we are especially pleased to acknowledge reports that this was partly due to the personal involvement of President Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.”

William Millar, President of the American Public Transportation Association highlighted just what is in the plan for transit: "The economic recovery legislation provides $8.4 billion for investments in public transportation projects.

"Of the $8.4 billion provided for public transit, $6.9 billion will be distributed to public transit systems through the Federal Transit Administration’s formula program that is already in place. The remaining $1.5 billion will be available as grants for new major projects and modernizing the nation’s urban rail systems.

"The legislation also includes for the first time, a significant investment of $9.3 billion for intercity passenger rail, including $8 billion for high speed rail corridors and $1.3 billion for Amtrak. Additionally, there is $1.5 billion for a new, intermodal discretionary program that can be used for public transportation, highways, bridges, freight rail, and ports. Separately, an additional $150 million for rail and transit security grants is provided to help make our public transportation systems more secure."

Millar added: "We are very pleased that Congress, for the first time, has made the transit commute benefit equal to the parking benefit, which is currently $230 per month.  This action will provide a tax-free way for employers to encourage their employees to use energy-efficient, fuel-saving public transportation."

Now all they have to do is raise the gas tax in order to pay for it.

---

Steve Eldridge is a long-time reporter, observer and commentator on the Washington region's transportation issues. You can contact him directly by writing to: Steve@SprawlandCrawl.com. Unless otherwise requested, letters or portions of letters can be used within future columns. Letter writers will be identified by their first name and city/neighborhood.

Comments

[Sprawl and Crawl Steve]

Every one and a half people who are on transit mean one less car on the road. Why is that not a good thing for drivers? Besides, the government already taking taxes out of the gasoline tax for the use of transit. My point was and is that the tax needs to be increased for the first time in many years to build/repair roads and to add transit. (see previous posts)

[Commter 182]

"Millar added: "We are very pleased that Congress, for the first time, has made the transit commute benefit equal to the parking benefit..."

Now all they have to do is raise the gas tax in order to pay for it."

Forget you, Steve. Pay your own way instead of demanding other people subsidize you.

If transit is really that critical to the public well being, as important as say, police/fire/EMS or public education, then perhaps everyone should chip in by raising general taxes. It's unfair to demand that one particular group of people (auto commuters) subsidize the costs for another group (transit commuters), especially if it's something that doesn't directly benefit the former group.

[Matt]

Amen to the first part of your post. I'd like to see them ride my bus, transfer to my train and climb my broken escalator.