So here’s a follow-up to my previous post about the need for public transit in Austin. Today, I’m going to focus on some more broad aspects of this issue: feasibility and budgeting. Before I can get down into the nitty-gritty of what public transit in Austin should look like, I feel it’s important to lay a good foundation for my overall perspective in this discussion.
In the days and weeks since my last post on transit, I’ve heard from many fellow Austinites, government and pseudo-government officials and public transit supporters and detractors. These are the main three questions I’ve been asked: 1) Why light rail?, 2) Do you think this could work in Austin?, and 3) Who’s budget responsibility is this?
My answers are fairly simple. Not because I’m not informed enough to make more complex conclusions. Not because “I haven’t been in those discussions” with Cap Metro and city government, etc., to know what’s really going on. And certainly not because I’m not being realistic about what is possible.
My answers are simple because I’m certain they are the right ones to get us where we need to be.
For starters, let’s acknowledge that light rail is the only scalable solution, and by scale I mean large and expansive, to Austin’s current and future transit issues. Buses can’t get the job done. Cap Metro’s bus system is lackluster today and not only is there no template for success within their current system, but there is no real reason to support its growth after years upon years of inadequacy to the city’s larger transportation issue. The likelihood of buses being the answer to our future public transit issue is two-fold.
1) Socially speaking, buses will not go west of Exposition. I’m not going to dive too deeply into this from a racial or socio-economic standpoint, but if you’ve lived in Austin long enough you know that there’s an isolated, but strong, base of wealthy, neighborhood-centric people in West Austin that would not allow Cap Metro’s footprint to be expanded in that part of town via buses.
Light rail, on the other hand, doesn’t have such a social stigma and – in cities like D.C. and Boston – has been able to play up its functionality for young professional commuters, creatives (how do musicians get around in Manhattan?) and students to keep a steady base of rail supporters.
2) Financially speaking, public transit is not cheap. At least not up-front. The ticket price for a full-scale deployment of trains and tracks is going to be an expensive pill to swallow for Austinites who look more like Dallasites the second any project budget is discussed. But it’s far cheaper than the next-best alternative. I’m being loose with the numbers here, but I don’t think it’s much of a stretch to project light rail being a billion dollar project up-front (with anywhere from 60 to 80 percent of that coming directly from state and federal funding) that becomes self-sustaining – meaning the ridership pays for the upkeep and staffing – within three to five years (if done correctly).
Improvements to I-35 and Mopac, along with other major roads in Austin, will not only cost plenty more over, say, 30 or 40 years, but they’ll also require much more human capital and environmental damage. It takes one bus driver to ride dozens people compared to one train driver for hundreds not to mention the impact of thousands of cars on the road and our environment. It’s also worth noting that it takes hundreds of millions of dollars to create an HOV- or bus-only lane that is still subject to traffic and accidents and we’ve yet to determine the space to do so on I-35 where it’s most needed.
Yes, this can work in Austin. The main factors that convince me of this are as follows:
1) Our traffic is already terrible. We’re not trying to get light rail implemented to solve a problem that doesn’t exist…we’re trying to solve a problem that exist today and will be even more of a problem in the years to come.
2) The population of our city is growing tremendously. That means our tax base will increase, which means we’ll have the funds to pay back light rail’s high up-front costs over several years through a small tax (oh, not that word!) and increased ridership over time. Do this math: [120,000 weekly riders x $2.00 per ride (each way) x 52 weeks] + [80,000 daily riders x $2.00 per ride (each way) x 250 days] + [200,000 riders (special events such as SXSW) x $2.00 per ride (each way)] = ???
3) We have an established college and young professional community. These people are prime targets for a ridership campaign. Lower DUI rates (APD should be involved). Decrease the need for parking on campus (UT and St. Edward’s should be involved). And better position our city for 22-to-29 year olds who are comparing Austin to cities like San Francisco, Chicago, New York, D.C. and other cities with known public transportation infrastructure.
4) Austin’s heritage is one that involves public transit. Our voting base may have short memory, but I’m certain we can remind them of Austin’s history – from the late 1870s through the ‘40s – that did in fact involve rail.
5) It’s cheaper! I can’t say this enough. And I’m not just talking about the price tag for trains and tracks vs. highway improvements and buses. I’m also talking about the additional cost on our environment.
It’s everyone’s responsibility. Here’s how it starts.
1) With City leadership. Our elected officials have a responsibility to the future of this city to support public transit that addresses our future transportation issues.
2) With State & Federal funding. With local support in tact, Austin should be able to get a very high match from federal funding – not quite to Detroit levels, but close enough. Why? Because Rick Perry should push for as much federal money to Texas as possible (which will require some state contributions as well) and Barack Obama should push for as much federal money to Austin as possible (perhaps somewhere in the next decade the Texas Democratic Party will have a respectable statewide candidate).
3) With verbal and rider support from Austinites. We all like to convince ourselves that we care about how taxpayer dollars are spent and the harm cars do to our environment, but we’re never hesitant to put some more money towards road and highway improvements and shun those same dollars going toward more sustainable public transit needs.
4) With private investment. Texas is home to dozens of Fortune companies that could benefit tremendously from public transit in Austin. AT&T could provide wireless exclusivity on the trains. Dell could install kiosk to help tourist get around the city. I could go on and on. While the city is busy rounding up dollars from its residents, the state and federal government, we should also be thinking creatively about a private-public partnership that gets everyone what they want through light rail.
As I stated before, there is going to be a very vocal minority against light rail here in Austin. They will start by saying it’s not feasible and cost-effective. They will point to the need for better highway infrastructure rather than expenditures on public transit, slyly making a pitch to the more affluent Austinites who may not want to “subsidize” other residents. They will point to the planned budget and the likelihood of cost overruns, scaring residents into thinking the actual costs on them will be significantly greater than initially projected.
They will then reach into their bag of tricks and focus their attacks on elected officials who support the initiative by making it a neighborhood battle. I live in the South Congress area, and this is definitely one of the neighborhoods, where a select few business owners and long-time residents will be so vocal that it will seem as if the majority of neighborhood residents agree with them. Travis Heights, Tarrytown, Enfield, Hyde Park and Allandale are all neighborhoods that public transit and light rail detractors will target to scare off City Council leadership from supporting this much-needed citywide project.
What will be important throughout the coming weeks, months and years is to constantly verbalize the significance of light rail to the city’s future by rooting out problems of today. We already have a traffic problem. We already have an environmentally conscious voting base. We have population growth full of students and young professionals who welcome the idea of rail. Let’s let this work to our advantage and support the development of a public transit solution that will solve present-day problems before they become future nightmares.
I live in Portland Oregon which is often compared to Austin and we've had light rail for 25 years and it just keeps getting more popular. We also have built streetcars in the central city and they are very convenient for students, the elderly or anyone needing to get from point A to point B. The streetcars often spur development and have increased real estate values. People want to live by them for the convenience and street life activity has sprung up around them. Austin would be a world class city if they brought trains back to town :)
Posted by: Mike | June 29, 2011 at 02:48 PM