AMERICA MISTAKENLY KICKED PASSENGER TRAINS AND STREETCARS TO THE CURB

A lot more rapid transit and buses can eliminate 0.8-0.9 billion barrels of oil/year. Here's how we can do it. But first, historical perspective will explain why its more expensive that it could have been.

Anyone born 1950 or earlier remembers our major cities having busy train stations and extensive streetcar systems. Then America's Baby Boom began after World War II and continued through the 1950s. America's Commercial Jet Age began in 1958, when pressurized cabins permitted passenger jets to fly higher, faster and longer to attract more passengers. When traveling over 200 miles, increasingly more passengers switched to planes. In response to new public sentiment, states petitioned the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) to help fund larger airports.

With increasing travel demand triggered by the Baby Boom, middle class population expanded from cities to the nearby suburbs for larger homes and new malls. Instead of upgrading Streetcar routes by extending stops from every 1-2 blocks to every 4-5 blocks and extending to the suburbs, our political leaders removed tracks for wider, longer boulevards. Beginning 1956, construction of the Interstate Highway System enabled sprawl even deeper into virgin land outside the suburbs, where demand for 2- and 3-car households, larger malls and new business parks skyrocketed.

In older core cities, the situation was quite the reverse. Housing density declined. Streetcars went extinct. Slow bus service could not compete the speed or personal convenience of cars. Thus, America's use of rail and bus transit crippled to percentages seen on the Major U.S. City Commute Patterns 2008 chart.


Since America did not upgrade train routes to 130 mph like Japan, passenger trains got squeezed at both ends of the travel market. They were unable to compete with planes based on door-to-door time covering 200+ miles. Simultaneously, new Interstate Freeways enabling drivers to average 75 mph for 3 hours killed most remaining intercity train demand. With quickly evaporating passenger demand, many classic architecture train stations were torn down.

The NYC-Philadelphia-Baltimore-Washington train route only survived because that 237-mile corridor has high population density and turnpike tollways limiting average driving speed. New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and DC also built overpasses enabling train speeds that well exceeded automobiles. Of all our big cities, only New York City withstood the super-highway and boulevard challenge to stay above 50% transit usage due to having America's largest concentration of skyscraper offices & residences, the world's 2nd largest subway system, expensive parking, tunnel and bridge tolls.

Although 'dissing streetcars across America is partly due to a conspiracy by the oil, tire and automotive companies, the biggest culprit was found in the mirror. The public fell in love with personal mobility and the car as a status symbol. Politicians merely reflected the public's sentiments when they shifted transportation investment to super-highways and airports, as we kicked streetcars and intercity passenger trains to the curb.

Another mega-trend layered on top of suburban sprawl. Americans are moving from rural areas to the Top 100 Metro Areas, where the vast majority of economic activity and travel originates. Residents dispersed many miles away from destinations force more single drivers to commute longer distances. Traffic congestion skyrocketed on our metro area freeways. Every several years, drivers clamor for more freeway lanes to relieve congestion, but its not working. Maxed-out freeways in the Top 25 Metro Areas over 2 million population are slowing to 25 mph or less for 2-5 commute hours per day.

Our largest metro areas are running out of super-highway space. No community wants double-decked freeways, nor do they want homes and businesses removed to widen urban super-highways. The sentiment against super-highway widening will only intensify by 2030, as the Top 35 Metro Areas over 2 million population experience longer freeway congestion and significantly higher gasoline prices.

AMERICA DRIFTING BACK TO RAPID TRANSIT AND PASSENGER TRAINS

Electric-powered Rapid Transit and HSR takes less land than super-highways while countering the Big Sticks by transporting huge numbers of people per ton of CO2 and smog emissions and drawing energy from the electricity grid. As the electricity grid moves from dirty coal to clean energy sources, CO2 and smog further reduce. Those promising traits for Rapid Transit and HSR are leading cities to enhance multimodal transportation centers, like Grand Central Terminal, to conveniently interconnect different modes of transportation.


Armed with the truth and introspection about the type of future we want, citizens need to demand that politicians fund more transit and multimodal transportation centers to cut 1.0-1.1 billion barrels of oil/year from non-North American oil. We can do this by tripling transit investment in our top metro areas and picking the appropriate transit applications to meet the forecast 2030 traffic density of each metro area and routes within them.

In response to freeway congestion, more commuters want subways, commuter trains, light rail and rapid buses, but don't understand the cost and benefits for each mode. Here are some "rule-of-thumb" costs per mile, passenger cabin capacity, service frequency speed benefits of Rapid Transit being proposed and built by transportation agencies:

Heavy Rail Transit (HRT): $250-500 million/mile, 45-86 mph, 70 seats/car, 4-8 cars
Light Rail Transit (LRT): $60-200 million/mile, 35-55 mph, 70 seats/car, 2-5 cars
Commuter Rail Transit (CRT): $25-100 million/mile, 40-90 mph, 70-110 seats/car, 3-8 cars
Bus Rapid Transit (BRT): $25-40 million/mile, 35-45 mph, 50-75 seats/bus
Streetcars: $5-20 million/mile, 7-20 mph, 40-50 seats/car

The cost and speed of each transit route depends on existing trackage and how many tunnels, bridges, dedicated guideway, electrical wires, adjacent real estate, fencing and train frequency must be purchased or built. If we hadn't mistakenly ripped out so many tracks, the cost would be significantly cheaper.

Given the cost to taxpayers and lengthy construction times, transit applications must be carefully matched with each route to generate the most benefits:

(a) highest patronage per dollar of construction cost
(b) highest average speed
(c) highest passenger capacity
(d) lowest oil consumption and CO2 per passenger mile
(e) adjacent Transit Oriented Development

Well-planned HRT, also called "Metro" or "Subway", involves the most expensive construction factors and takes the most years to build, but delivers the highest (a), (b), (c), (d) and (e) benefits. For example, an HRT called BART runs up to 86 mph while traveling 7 miles under the bay from San Francisco to Oakland during rush-hour. Another example, most Washington DC Metro cars have 68 seats, a standing capacity of 175 passengers per car. If DC Metro runs at 26 trains per hour (tph) capacity on a single line through downtown (175 x 8 cars x 26 tph), it can transport 36,500 passengers. That's more passengers than a 14-lane freeway during rush hour.

LRT service level varies depending on how its built. The highest service has dedicated guideway, short tunnels and overpasses at all intersections to deliver the 2nd highest benefit bundle. At 75% the cost of HRT, the highest service-level 5-car LRT can transport the equivalent passengers of a 8-lane freeway during rush hour. But most LRT is built at 25-33% the cost of HRT. Autos cross tracks in many places, forcing trains to run slower and transport 1/10th to 1/5th the capacity of HRT.

World-class CRT systems have train control systems, overpasses for all road crossings, electric-engines for faster acceleration and high train frequency to transport the same passenger capacity as HRT. But for lower costs, few CRT have train control systems and most utilize crossing arms at roads, diesel-engines, and lower train frequency. Consequently, a typical CRT system transports 1/8th to 1/6th the passenger capacity of HRT.


BRT delivers the 4th highest benefit bundle because it runs as fast as LRT on a dedicated guideway. BRT is cheaper to build than LRT because it does not require steel tracks and electric catenaries overhead. But LRT can add more cars that each have higher capacity than a bus, without adding drivers to keep operational costs lower. Thus, LRT is a better long term transit solution than BRT.

Streetcars are not Rapid Transit, but their low-cost connections to all modes of Rapid Transit and promotion of Transit Oriented Development are leading to a resurgence in both old and new flavors. Vintage Streetcars from 50 to over 100 years old average 7-10 mph and attract tourists who pay a premium to ride them for nostalgia and views. Great examples are vintage streetcars in New Orleans, Memphis, San Francisco, Charlotte, Dallas, Philadelphia, Savannah and the world-famous Cable Cars of San Francisco. Modern Streetcars featuring two cabins, slightly faster speed and longer spacing between stops as in Portland, Seattle and Denver, are proving just as potent attracting patrons and Transit Oriented Development. For these reasons, Los Angeles, Washington, Albuquerque, Atlanta, Baltimore, Austin, Cincinnati, Ft. Lauderdale, Hampton Roads, Milwaukee, San Antonio and Sacramento plan to add streetcar lines in the next 5 years or so.

FEDERAL LEADERSHIP VACUUM INVITED STATES & CITIES TO TAKE THE LEAD ON RAPID TRANSIT

In 2010, America had roughly as many high population metro areas and corridors as Europe had in 1990, when Europe got serious about HSR and Rapid Transit. By 2030, America will have as many dense population corridors as Europe had in 2010. Based on population growth alone, America has a compelling reason to ramp up both Rapid Transit and HSR construction.


After the USDOT, state departments of transportation have the largest source of funds and responsibility to keep people and commerce moving. Consequently, states took the lead transforming underused train stations in their largest cities into vibrant multimodal transportation centers where passengers conveniently interconnect between Amtrak, HRT, LRT, CRT, BRT, Greyhound, Megabus, BoltBus, airport shuttles, regular buses, taxis and rental cars. Within Multimodal Transportation Centers, HSR, CRT, HRT, and LRT feed each other patronage by locating on or near the same platform for convenient luggage transport between modes.

Showcase multimodal transportation centers are destinations in their own right. They feature any combination of dazzling architecture, attractive public spaces, restaurants, boutiques, meeting space and small business services that bubble with activity from dawn to midnight. One even has a cineplex. Grand Central Terminal in New York City, South Station in Boston, 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, and Union Station in Washington are currently America's best multimodal transportation centers.

Since California, which has the world's greatest freeway system and busiest regional flight corridor under 500 miles (San Francisco-Los Angeles) awakened to the Big Sticks, plans to add new runways to SFO and LAX airports and add lanes to I-5 Freeway ground to a halt. Instead, Californians passed a $9.9 billion bond measure to help fund a California HSR system that will feature 2 hour 38 minute Los Angeles-San Francisco trip times. Both cities will feature spectacular new or upgraded multimodal transportation centers.

Freeway-loving Los Angeles, our nation's 2nd most populous and 3rd densest metro area, historically requested less than its fair share of federal rail transit funding. In the 1990s, Los Angeles became so rail transit-averse it outlawed subway construction. As a result, Los Angeles raced to the Freeway End Game. Though it has the world's best freeway system, LA suffers the nation's worst traffic congestion from 5:30am-10am and 2:30pm-7:30pm. No matter how many lanes are added to existing 10, 12 and 14-lane freeways, average speed during commute hours is sinking below 20 mph and weekends are congested too. Yet having underinvested in transit for so long, only 12% of commuters use transit.

Recognizing the futility of freeway congestion relief projects, Los Angeles County finally saw the light in 2008, when voters approved additional tax for vastly more rapid transit projects than roadway projects. Los Angeles Union Station is now a transportation beehive for Amtrak, HRT, LRT, CRT, BRT, airport shuttles, regular buses and taxis. Rail transit has quickly boosted to 340,000 daily commuters, 6th highest in the nation. Recently, the LA mayor garnered overwhelming local and state support for his proposal to add 30 years of HRT, LRT, CRT and BRT projects in 10 years. Los Angeles now has solid rapid transit and California HSR plans that can help it approach federal clean air standards. Those are key factors why the USDOT is awarding LA more transit funding.


San Francisco Bay Area, our nation's 4th most populous combined metro area (San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose-Santa Rosa-Vallejo), chose a more transit-centric path than Los Angeles years ago. It now transports over 610,000 rapid transit commuters daily -- 5th highest in the nation. San Francisco has over 800,000 weekday workers and that's before major HSR, CRT, HRT, LRT and BRT projects complete and the Transbay Transit Center (opening 2017) interconnects them with Streetcars, Amtrak buses, Greyhound, city buses, taxis, car rentals, and the ferry system (3 blocks distant). Passengers catching California HSR and Caltrain CRT from Transbay Transit Center will also have a convenient stop at SFO International Airport. Hence, locals are already giving the Transbay Transit Center a nickname, "Grand Central Station of the West." In other words, California HSR is a success story that can't open soon enough between San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Chicago, our nation's 3rd most populous metro area, stands to significantly increase rapid transit and HSR patronage by 2020-30. HSR lines will extend from Chicago in a fan-like pattern connecting with Milwaukee, St. Louis, Detroit, Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Louisville, Cleveland and Pittsburgh. The City of Chicago is proposing to connect Union Station with an existing transit center to form a massive underground multimodal transportation center called, West Loop Transportation Center. When complete it would host HSR, HRT, CRT, LRT or BRT, Megabus, airport trains, shuttle buses, city buses, taxis and rivertaxis. West Loop Transportation Center promises to be a vibrant showcase that triggers more transit oriented development in the Near West of downtown Chicago.

By 2020, freeway-sprawled Dallas-Ft. Worth, Atlanta, Houston and Miami-Ft. Lauderdale-Palm Beach will become our 5th, 6th, 7th and 10th most populous metro areas, respectively. All four metro areas are on the U.S. High Speed Rail Corridors map for additional federal funding. Dallas opened its first rail transit line in 1996 and converted its downtown Union Station into a multimodal transportation center for Amtrak, LRT, CRT, BRT, buses and taxis. More LRT routes are coming in the next 5 years, including a Downtown-DFW Airport Line.

To its HRT (MARTA) system, Atlanta plans to add a Downtown-Midtown Streetcar, CRT lines and a LRT line that circles the metro area. Momentum is building to break ground on Atlanta Intermodal Transportation Center in downtown that will intersect HSR, HRT, CRT, BRT, regular buses and taxis.

Houston built its first LRT line just a few years ago. Actual patronage blew away forecasts when it nearly hit 40,000 riders/day -- 2nd highest in the nation for a single LRT line. Houston voters were so impressed, they authorized 5 more LRT lines and more BRT lines. The main LRT has a stop near the Amtrak station. Once the new LRT lines start opening in 2013, anticipate downtown Houston leaders proposing an multimodal transportation center that interconnects a future HSR line with the LRT system.

Miami made two mistakes that limit rapid transit patronage today. In 2003, they completed a HRT line in a low-density route coupled to an Automated People Mover located downtown. For the same construction funds, Miami should have built two LRT lines transporting 50-75% more patrons. With two successful lines under their belt, public appetite would have ginned up to complete a 3rd LRT line, forming a network by 2011. Much wiser now, Miami is constructing a multimodal transportation center at MIA Airport that by 2015, will host an extension of the HRT system, CRT lines between Ft. Lauderdale, Miami and the Florida Keys, and eventually, HSR trains. More LRT lines will be built as well.

Now San Diego, Portland, Phoenix, Ft. Lauderdale, Detroit, Seattle, Minneapolis, Tampa, Denver, Orlando, Las Vegas, St. Louis, Kansas City, Charlotte, Raleigh, Richmond, Memphis, Norfolk, Buffalo, Austin, San Antonio, Portland, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Salt Lake City and Sacramento are building or planning multimodal transportation centers. Furthermore, 17 cities have HRT, LRT or CRT projects under construction. Over 35 cities now request nearly as much federal funding for rapid transit as for super-highways. Transportation development priority is shifting in ways unthinkable 10 years ago.

America has had so much sprawl over the last 55 years that only New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington, San Francisco Bay Area, Philadelphia, Boston and Baltimore have enough core population and employment density to justify HRT expansion. The rest of our Top 35 Metro Areas should get a heavy dose of LRT, CRT and BRT expansion, while our Top 36-100 Metro Areas are best served with more CRT and BRT expansion. And everyone could use more regular buses and bike lanes.

PROOF POINTS FOR RAPID TRANSIT AND HIGH SPEED RAIL SUCCESS IN AMERICA

Cities in the Northeast Corridor demonstrate proof points that robust rapid transit, buses and multimodal transportation centers help transform a modest HSR line (Amtrak Acela in New York City-Newark-Philadelphia-Baltimore-Washington) into a patronage success. Though population increased in the Northeast Corridor since 1970, Acela trains reduced congestion growth on I-95 Freeway and New Jersey Turnpike compared to other parts of the nation. Imagine how many more patrons it will attract once the speeds and train frequencies are significantly upgraded.


America has many dense population corridors with over-burdened super-highways and airports. The more HSR lines and multimodal transportation centers we build, the easier for our Interstate HSR System to eliminate 50% of long drives and 80% of short flights between corridors of major metro areas. Having the Interstate HSR option cutting another 0.4 billion barrels of oil/year from Transportation -- thats 1/6th of the needed oil savings and gets us to 3.5 billion barrels of oil/year overall by 2030. HSR saves us even more oil by 2050.

I've given examples of tepid HSR support by Congress, fumbles by the Federal Railroad Administration, and why HSR should be complimented with beefier rapid transit. Read the next part to see how new leadership and a supporting cast are elevating the status of HSR in America.

Tags: Interstate High Speed Rail