THE WHY
AND WHEREFORE--COMMUTER RAIL, THE MISSING LINK OF VERMONT
TRANSPORTATON, AND THE SIMPLE REMEDY
With the
truly overnight growth from 0 to 46 commuter buses radiating outward
from Burlington, VT each workday the obvious question arises, why not
adding commuter rail services to serve Vermont workers and employers?
It goes
without saying commuter rail with self-propelled vehicles handle
upwards of 150 passengers per trip, reduce the need for the current
46 buses daily (though some would continue and new short link shuttle
services added). Unlike buses, commuter rail serves the tourist,
contain space for many bicycles, and set a backbone for an eventual
in-state intercity rail passenger network.
The real
reason for no commuter rail services lies in the American tradition
of subsidizing cars only and failing to recognize governmental
responsibility for assuring a multi-modal transportation system
characterized by safety, efficiency, and sustainability in all senses
of that word.
A
Redington Blog dated June 8, 2012 describes transportation in terms
of a Vermont household, i.e., basic consumer expenditures. It is no
surprise that of the 16% of household expenditures devoted to
transportation practically all—about 95%--gets gobbled up by moving
around by car. Since Vermont median household income closely
parallels the national figure, the ballpark figure for total ground
transportation spending by Vermont households roughly comes to
$1.986.
The June
Blog outlines the proportion of funding as follows:
How does
this $1.986 billion for Vermont consumer transportation expenditure
annually break down in terms of public transportation, the car and
“other” (primarily air but also intercity bus and rail)? The
online “Urban Transportation Fact Book 2004 gives an indication
urban breakdown which reflects a public transportation dimension: 94%
“user operated” (best known as a car), 1.44% “purchased local
transit” and 4.56% “purchased intercity.”
The key
number involves expenditure on cars, 94%, translates to $1.87 billion
for Vermont households spending on car transport. Since this number
comes from an urban-based analysis, it understates somewhat the both
the proportion and amount of Vermont households expenditures on cars.
Using some data and making some guesstimates, here are the other
ground transportation household expenditures by Vermont households
along with associated government support:
Vermont
Transportaton
Household
Expenditure State/Federal/Local
Support
(yearly)
Automobile
$1,986.0 million Over $100 million
Public
transportation (bus services) $16.0 million $39 million
Amtrak
$15.0 million $4 million
Greyhound/Vermont
Transit/Megabus $25.0 million Substantial
Future
Commuter Rail $2.4 million $2.4 million
Several
commuter rail plans dating back to 1989 provide the planning for
operations, costs, schedules, etc. The next steps involve
establishing the necessary rail authority, development of a short
term plan for the first corridor, acquisition of equipment,
preparation of stations, and startup of service.
Few
would suggest erasing all local bus services in Vermont. Few would
suggest ending Amtrak rail service. And private intercity bus
services depend on infrastructure—highways, bridges, capital
maintenance, etc.--funded by about 40% from non-highway user revenue
sources. Commuter rail can easily serve far more Vermonter trips
than Amtrak, rival commercial inter-city bus service trips, and also
serve tourists and the tourist industry. The public cost of support
for commuter rail—capital and operating--will be far less than
current State expenditures for public transportation and somewhat
more than Amtrak. (Note Amtrak support involve pure State tax
dollars.) Also important much of the cost of installing new commuter
rail service can be obtained from current federal transportation
funding and likely special federal transportation appropriations.
In
conclusion, consideration of commuter rail no longer needs to be a
“vision” but as a task to be completed with the next two or three
years.
Notes: 1. Public transportation expenditures/support based on multiplying Chittenden County Transportation Authority (CCTA) FY 2012 budget numbers by a factor of 4.
2. Commercial bus expenditures a guesstimate
3. Amtrak based on recent data annual passengers, 140,000, a typical ticket roundtrip to NYC at $106, and FY 2012 $4.5 million budget for the State cost share.
4. See June Blog for additional sources of data.
5. Future Commuter rail based on 200 day operation with about 3,000 trips daily (1,500 roundtrip commuters) or about three times the current year numbers on CCTA Link services. Revenue roundtrip used is $7, a dollar less than current Burlington/Montpelier Link fares.