In August, the U.S. House approved $1.7 billion
in additional public transportation funds
that would expand service for commuters.
Earlier in the summer, Congress approved
another $15 billion in funding for Amtrak and
intercity rail, including a new generation of
high-speed rail.
These NMPIRG-backed measures are part of
our ongoing work to provide a 21st century
transportation system for America. As consumers
faced previously unthinkable gas prices this
summer, NMPIRG joined U.S. PIRG in a full-tilt
effort to dramatically improve and expand public
transportation across the country—including
speaking to half-a-million people.
We released a report, “A Better Way to Go:
Meeting America’s 21st Century Transportation
Challenges with Modern Public Transit,”
the first-ever state-by-state accounting of how
transit saves oil and reduces global warming
pollution, which was covered by more than 120
media outlets around the country.
Forcing a shift in our transportation spending
away from massive new highway projects
that generate lucrative contracts for roadbuilders
won’t be easy. But with more and
more people seeing the need to reduce oil
consumption, and record numbers riding
public transportation all across the country,
it’s getting harder for Congress to ignore the
benefits of better public transportation.
