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Expanding Transit Will Help Americans in Tough Economy, Cut Dependence on Foreign Oil, Green Transportation Expert Tells Senate Banking Committee

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Expanding Transit Will Help Americans in Tough Economy, Cut Dependence on Foreign Oil, Green Transportation Expert Tells Senate Banking Committee

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
Contact:
Sean Crowley – (202) 572-3331-o, scrowley@edf.org
Andy Darrell – (917) 912-3605-c, adarrell@edf.org 
 
(Washington, DC – September 9, 2008)  Expanding transit now will help Americans get through tough economic times and cut our dependence on foreign oil, according to hearing testimony by a green transportation expert today before the Senate Banking Committee.
 
“Expanding transit now is just the right tonic to help get through tough economic times,” testified Andrew Darrell, Vice President for Living Cities Program at Environmental Defense Fund during a Senate Banking Committee hearing entitled: Strengthening the Ability of Public Transportation to Reduce Our Dependence on Foreign Oil.  “It is also a key solution to tackle climate change, reduce dependence on foreign oil, and boost the economic competitiveness of our population centers.”
 
A member of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Sustainability Advisory Board and a former member of the New York City Traffic Mitigation Commission, Darrell noted that during the first quarter of 2008, public transit ridership rose by 88 million trips compared to 2007 (see local ridership increases at www.climateatlas.org/transit.html). However, despite the resulting increase in revenue, transit networks can barely keep with increased operating costs and those increased revenues are certainly not enough to allow for capital investment in expansion.
 
“When Americans turn to transit, we believe it is essential to meet them at the subway station, at the bus stop, at the light rail stop with good and expanded service,” added Darrell. “Ac