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.