DSA Madison supports #freepublictransit

@DSAMadison

Advocate for #freepublictransit running for re-election to Dane County board

https://www.friendsofheidi.org/

Should All Public Transit Be Free?

Big Think : "A way to realign these incentives and increase public transit use is to make all public transportation free to passengers, Erik Olin Wright, a professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, told Big Think. According to Wright, the benefits of free public transit are broader than are apparent with strict financial bookkeeping. The full value comes in a range of ancillary economic, health and ecological benefits, including:

"Reduced air pollution, including especially reduced greenhouse gases, which would help mitigate global warming."
"More efficient labor markets since it is easier for poor people to get to jobs. This is a benefit to employers for it makes it easier to hire people and it is a benefit to the people without cars who now find it easier to get jobs. But it is also a benefit to the society at large because it contributes to a long-term reduction in poverty."
"Health benefits: reduced asthma and other illnesses linked to automobile generated pollution." 
"Less congestion on the highways for those who do need to drive."
These "positive externalities" need to be highlighted to gain public support for free transit, says Wright."

Kathy Stenehjem: Fund public transport, not highways | Opinion | host.madison.com

Opinion | host.madison.com: "Last week a plan to expand three miles of the I-94 highway is Milwaukee was cancelled. If you’d asked what I thought about this decision before I’d moved to Madison I would have had no opinion, but now I am glad that the project was halted. The community would be much better served by a whole-scale expansion of public transportation options than by wasting $1 billion to expand just three miles of road. Not only would this reduce transit times, but it would also make transportation less expensive and more accessible to everyone regardless of socioeconomic class, age, or physical ability."

Won't invest in buses, can't afford cars-- Wisconsin #autosprawl collapse continues

Wisconsin Public Radio: "The decision by state lawmakers to set aside Gov. Scott Walker's transportation budget has left county, city and town government leaders wondering what's next, especially since they would have been among the biggest winners in the governor’s proposal."

La Crosse, WI, considers ways to move besides cars... "even walking" (!)

weau : "Next week, the Sustainable La Crosse Commission is planning to hold an "Alternative Transportation Forum."

Its members are looking for the public's input on different kinds of transportation throughout all of La Crosse County -- everything from cars, to buses, to bicycles, and even walking.

"It appears from what's happening elsewhere in the world and also with the changes of technology that it's not going to be same old highways and private automobiles," said Mike Giese, Chair of the Sustainable La Crosse Commission. "We're going to have to look at alternatives that are more efficient and cost effective ways of providing transportation services.""

Wisconsin #autosprawl meltdown continues

Wisconsin Transportation Secretary Quits Amid Road Funding Budget Fight | WNIJ and WNIU: "Gottlieb's departure comes as the transportation budget faces a $1 billion shortfall. Walker has proposed delaying major projects and borrowing to pay for maintenance.

Assembly Republicans have said everything should be considered, including raising the state' gas tax."

Milwaukee car culture heavy on the backs of poor workers

WUWM: ""Just to remember, 151,000 rides every day, 40% of our rides on transit are people who need the bus to get to work. The last thing I want to do is make it more expensive for them to get to work," says Abele. "Because if they're at $10-11/hr, then the first hour of work is paying for the ride there and back, and that is regressive.""

Autosprawl draining America, car culture leaves people stranded

Transportation forum to focus on transit, highway alternatives: ""We want to show that there are a lot of local needs that are not being met," said Peter Skopec, director of WISPIRG. "There really isn't enough being done at the local level. Roads aren't being fixed. Bridges aren't being fixed."

Steiner said transportation alternatives will take on added importance as the elderly population is expected to nearly double over the next two to three decades.

"That's a lot of folks who will be probably unable to drive and will need to get to things like health care appointments or to the grocery store or even out and socializing," Steiner said. "Isolation is a huge issue for this aging population."

Van Maren said the forum is all the more relevant in light of the Department of Transportation's decision to focus on new pavement as the long-term solution to La Crosse's north-south transportation needs.

"It sort of plops right into this hole that's been created by the DOT," she said."

Madison, Wisconsin, bus ridership up 40 percent in last 8 years

Channel3000.com: ""Ridership is up 40 percent in the last eight years because we make more efficient use of our bicycle ways, our trails, our lanes," Soglin said.
...
Paul Moore, a principal professional engineer for the consulting firm behind the master plan, said the plan is designed to help create a walkable, bikeable, transit-oriented city.

Madison has steadily made progress toward this goal. According to Moore, the work by the metro bus system and other larger entities like the University of Wisconsin-Madison has increased bus ridership in Madison since 2000."

Senior free pass cost $8 million a year. Ok. But how much did it save? No word on that.

Milwaukee County Executive Proposes Annual $60 Vehicle Registration Fee | Wisconsin Public Radio: "Abele is also recommending an end to free bus passes for the eligible seniors and people with disabilities. Under his plan they would pay a one-time $5 fee for a pass plus 25 cents per ride. He said over the past three years, the pass has caused a $12 million dollar deficit."

Do you want seniors on the highways? One fatal accident costs the government about $6 million. How many jams and fender benders were prevented? In the US, it is very hard to get the whole picture when it comes to public transit. But we can show that fare-free pays for itself. #freeischeaper

Wisconsin #publictransit funding does not match needs

wisconsingazette : "Consider that the average Wisconsinite drove 500 fewer miles in 2010 than in 2004. Also, nationwide between 2001 and 2009, reliance on public transportation increased 40 percent among young people.

Yet, said Skopec, “there’s more and more evidence that the transit system is not serving many people in Wisconsin. The system has been set up for people who drive. … And local priorities aren’t being met.”"

The bill is due for #autosprawl, oops, nobody wants to pay it

Wisconsin has been taken over by the oil trolls. Now they are gridlocked and broke. And, of course, having the wrong debate. Public transportation actually returns more money than it costs. How? Simply account for the true costs of cars and sprawl. As these costs are reduced, even fare-free public transit is easy to pay for.

Wisconsin Public Radio: "Wisconsin's transportation budget is facing a $939 million shortfall in the next biennium. And, earlier this month, a Marquette University Law School Poll found a third of Wisconsin residents favor cutting road project funding – not adding to it."

Business needs people. People need #publictransit.

Public transit is vital to Wausau area's future: "Local businesses in towns without current bus service, such as Rib Mountain, are also speaking up. They tell us that transit service is needed so job applicants can get to interviews and so current employees can get to work. In addition, municipalities that previously had bus service but no longer do are realizing the impact of its loss. The Rothschild Village President recently reported that residents are moving out of Rothschild due to the lack of bus service."

Wis. has increasing number of repeat OWI offenders

"LA CROSSE, Wis. (WKBT) -
A new investigation finds Wisconsin has a growing problem with getting repeat operating while intoxicated offenders off the road."

With cars, if it's not one thing, it's two things. Time to admit that the system just does not work. If all the violations were aggressively prosecuted, there would be few people left able to go to work. Implementing free transit would reduce and eventually eliminate this problem.

Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, car culture harmful to young people

Channel3000.com: "“We've got to address it before it gets locked into place, and the real issue is gangs are created because there are needs that are not being met for children in the community,” Esser said. “And we want to get at those needs.”

Many youths in the community feel access to public transportation is a way for them to get to jobs and stay out of trouble."

Business wants #publictransit, but has to fight the oil industry to get it

jsonline : ""This is an investment," said Michael Schipper, deputy general manager for engineering and project management at the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority. "We invested in our community."

Schipper said investing in a bus rapid transit route allowed the Euclid Ave. corridor to experience an economic revival in the past seven years. The project, which cost $200 million, has spurred $6.3 billion in investment, according to his department's estimates. And compared with its predecessor, more people are using the line by choice rather than necessity, he said.

While Minneapolis has experienced a resurgence due in part to its investment in rail and bus infrastructure, the progress did not come without resistance, said David Frank, the city's director of economic development.

"As we talk about transit investments, there's no place where it's a walk in the park," he said. "You have to persevere."

Both Frank and Schipper said businesses are often the ones pushing for these projects because it helps attract a younger generation of workers who want the choice to use public transit instead of a car for commuting."



'via Blog this'

City of Brookfield and company to take a closer look at public transportation options

brookfieldnow.com: "The city of Brookfield is joining forces with allies to explore the possibility of increasing the community's public transportation options.

Last month, city and county officials expressed concern with the lack of convenient ways for potential employees from outside the Brookfield area to get to and from retail and restaurant jobs along the Bluemound Road Corridor.

Now, the city plans to meet with Visit Brookfield officials as well as local businesses in order to discuss rising concerns about the lack of ample public transportation for bringing employees to the area."

The Greater Milwaukee Foundation Offers Free MCTS Rides for EVERYONE on April 28th

ridemcts.com : "Rides on all MCTS buses will be free for everyone on April 28, 2015 thanks to the Greater Milwaukee Foundation. The rides are part of the Greater Milwaukee Foundation’s centennial Gift to the Community.

As part of celebrating 100 years of service, the Greater Milwaukee Foundation is providing Gifts to the Community to showcase resources that contribute to greater Milwaukee’s vitality. April’s gift recognizes the value of transit to the region’s economy and quality of life."

Support public transportation this Earth Day

John Finkler : Wsj: "Public transportation operators and advocates from throughout Wisconsin will lobby at the state Capitol on Wednesday. They couldn't have picked a better day to visit their legislators. Not coincidentally, Wednesday also is the 45th anniversary of Earth Day.

Former Wisconsin Gov. Gaylord Nelson is the founder of Earth Day. If only Nelson was still governor, public transportation representatives would have a much easier day of lobbying. Public transportation would not only have a friend in high places, it would have a forceful advocate for the environmental-friendly work they do every day.

The 2015-17 state budget proposed by Gov. Scott Walker is 180 degrees opposite from the plan Gov. Nelson would have given the Legislature.

Walker has held down funding of public transportation despite increased demand for it.

The state that gave us the founder of Earth Day can do much better. Making funding for public transportation a priority would be a great place to start.

-- John Finkler, Middleton"