Election 2008 - Where Obama and McCain Stand on Transit

Continuing our series on the 2008 Presidental Primary, it's time to look at the other major candidates: Democratic candidate Barack Obama and Republican candidate John McCain. For the position of Hillary Clinton and Mike Huckabee on transit, see my previous post.

And a note for any supporters of any of these candidates that may visit this site: if you believe I have portrayed a candidate incorrectly, please contact me with a quote or link to the candidate's website that states otherwise.

Barack Obama

Barack Obama, as an Illinois State Senator, has some history fighting for fair transit in his home of Chicago, for example this 2003 letter about conditions on a Metra commuter line serving black neighborhoods.

In his Energy platform, Obama discusses how to promote transit by offering the same tax breaks drivers have "to make benefits for driving and public transit or ridesharing equal." In addition, he states he wishes to "re-commit federal resources to public mass transportation projects across the country." In his specific Transportation plan recently released, he states the following objectives:

• Support Amtrak Funding
• Support Development of High-Speed Freight and Passenger Rail
• Improve Transportation Access to Jobs

The final one seems to be the most emphasized part of Obama's plan for transit, which will "ensure that additional federal public transportation dollars flow to the highest-need communities." He also supports a $60 Billion National Infrastructure Bank, similar to a Senate bill proposed earlier this year.

Overall, Obama's plan has more of a social-justice bent to it, making sure that everyone can access a job no matter where they live or whether they can afford a car. Pushing this point further is Obama's Gulf Coast plan that involves improving bus and rail transit in New Orleans and Baton Rouge. The idea of a infrastructure bank is shared by Clinton, who claimed Obama stole her idea. Oh well, I'd rather have stolen good ideas than bad novel ones. He does not give the concrete $1.5B number that Clinton gives to improve transit, but overall it appears he is dedicated to making transit and rail part of the infrastructure improvements this nation desperately needs.

John McCain

I keep searching, but I cannot find anything on his website John McCain has planned for improving mass transportation. The only significant thing I can present is John McCain's record on Amtrak: for privatization and against expansion. The "pork" McCain pledges to cut may be referring to federal funding for transportation projects.

Election 2008 - Where Clinton and Huckabee Stand on Transit

Tonight I want to finally begin my series of posts on Presidential candidates and where they stand on transit. Is transit a federal issue? It sure is: federal funding for transit projects is $9 billion dollars a year. So I searched around for what the candidates on both sides have to say about the role the federal government should play in mass transit and the role mass transit plays in our society. Note that this is based purely on the candidates' speeches, interviews, and platforms. Feasibility or sincereness of these plans is outside of my realm.

And a note for any supporters of any of these candidates that may visit this site: if you believe I have portrayed a candidate incorrectly, please contact me with a quote or link to the candidate's website that states otherwise.

Our first post is about Hillary Clinton, Democratic candidate for president and Mike Huckabee, Republican candidate for president. (To see my post about Obama and McCain, click here.)

Hillary Clinton

Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton has the most direct mention of transit on her website:

Increase federal funding for public transit by $1.5 billion per year. Increased public transit usage is arguably the best strategy for ameliorating the energy and environmental costs of transportation. As energy costs rise, more people will rely on public transportation. Today, only 5% of Americans commute by public transit, but doubling that figure could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 25%. Public transit is also critically important to people who live in urban areas and rely on buses and trains for travel to work and school. Moreover, as the population ages, an increasing number of people will need public transit as their ability to drive diminishes. Hillary will increase federal investment in public transit by $1.5 billion per year to ensure needed capacity expansions and service level improvements.

In addition, she proposes an investment of "an additional $1 billion in intercity passenger rail systems" such as Amtrak. This is all part of her "Rebuild America Plan" that was promoted in the aftermath of the Minnesota Bridge Collapse. This plan appears to be very ambitious, but I personally am glad to see mass transportation being mentioned in our infrastructure crisis.

Other links:

• LAist blog post of Hillary on LA public transit

• Trains for America discusses Hillary's vote for the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2007, a bill which sadly appears to be stalled

Mike Huckabee

Mike Huckabee also has a plan for renewing our infrastructure. Personally, I'll state I'm a Democratic voter, but his emphasis on the need for our infrastructure to be rebuilt caught me by surprise in a a recent interview. He makes the connection between jobs and economic stimulus with infrastructure expansion. For example, he has a plan to expand I-95 on the East Coast by adding two lanes. Unfortunately, I was watching the video and was waiting for any mention of transit as part of the solution. He does not seem to emphasize that as much as airport and highway expansion.

However, Huckabee does have a plan on his website for infrastructure, and does mention transit:

So we must also look at longer-term ways to grow local economies and our national economy by: first, easing congestion by emphasizing road expansion and mass-transit investment; second, funding strategic capital improvement projects to make more localities attractive to new businesses and workers; and third, rebuilding the infrastructure of our "tools for trade" such as improvements to and expansions of our seaports and airports.

We must link land use and transportation planning. It is folly, for example, to provide rail service to places that don't have the density to make it work.

Properly used, public transportation can reduce congestion and emissions, lower our demand for oil, and improve accessibility.

See also his statement on infrastructure from another debate. Further details on his transit plan are sketchy, but I see he does have some part of his vision for transit. I just personally think adding lanes to highways just leads to more congestion and does not solve any problems relating to the environment. Expanding high speed train service to all parts of the east coast? Now that would be something.

Amtrak in Pittsburgh and The Amazing Chris Guenzler

If you live in Pittsburgh, you might never think about taking a train. Yes, there still are Amtrak trains that serve Pittsburgh. Two departures and two arrivals daily:

Pennsylvanian to Philadelphia and New York
Capitol Limited to Chicago or Washington D.C.

Sounds pretty useful, right? Maybe not. The Pennsylvanian leaves once a day at 7:20am to get to Philadelphia by 3:25pm and NYC by 4:54pm. And that's if it's on time. The railroad from Pittsburgh to Harrisburg is not owned by Amtrak, so freight trains hundreds of cars long can slow down the route. And going to D.C.? Train leaves at 5:45am to get there at 1:30pm. Going the other way to Chicago means an 11:55pm departure to get there at 8:40am. According to Amtrak, last night's train departed at 1:03am. and arrived 25 minutes late, probably due to the same concerns over freight.

But even with its delays and longer travel times, there's something alluring about rail. Maybe its the history. Maybe it's the enormity. Maybe it's a link between old and new. Whatever it is, railfans make a hobby out of spotting, photographing, and collecting everything there is to know about trains.

Chris Guenzler takes it one step further. He has ridden every mile of Amtrak at least twice. Including historic trains and commuter rail, he has totaled over 1,000,000 miles. He rides one train by his home out and back nightly. He has kept track of every train he rides and keeps a box in his room of timetables and tickets from his travels. His website includes pictures and stories of every trip he's made. What cars were on the train, what he ate, what he listened to, everything.

The stories also tell of Chris's other obsession. A story from 1993 tells of Chris being thrown off of the train in New Orleans due to drunkenness. Experiences like that one led Chris to go sober in 1995 and use his train riding as a way to stay on the wagon.

It's really an amazing story for those who love alternative transportation, and his travelogues are concise but interesting journeys of America and beyond. His stories might even make you get up early to catch that 5:45am train to D.C.

Here's to the railfans! [raises a Coca-Cola in the air]

At least 5 seriously hurt as trains collide in Chicago

At least 5 seriously hurt as trains collide - CNN.com

Breaking news now of an Amtrak Grand Rapids - Chicago train collision with the rear Norfolk Southern train. Reportedly 10 have been taken to a trauma unit while 100-150 are walking away. Amtrak has a 3pm update on their site.