Today, February 4, is Transit Equity Day. This day honors Rosa Parks's birthday and recognizes transit as a civil right. To celebrate, Sierra Club Transportation Team Member Patrick Stoffel shares why he advocates for public transit options in Wisconsin.
Increasing transit options, such as more passenger and freight rail transport, more bus routes and services, bicycle trails and lanes, improves the lives of Wisconsinites in both rural and urban communities. It creates economic growth for connected towns and cities. It saves Wisconsinites a lot of time and money.
Why? Let’s say you live in Mazomanie – a small town 25 miles west of Madison. A rail line passes through it, but only freight cargo trains currently use it. A person living 30 miles from their job in Madison needs to drive a vehicle back and forth to work each day. That means: wear and tear on the car, car insurance, car payments, car repairs, gasoline, tires, maintenance, and parking. And let’s face it, driving a car or truck to work each day sucks. The stress and headaches, the muscle tension, traffic, road rage, road arguments, jerks, and stops for gas every other day or two, pumping money into your vehicle, and greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. And the worst part? - the need, while driving, to focus 100% on the road for traffic, wildlife, garbage, vehicles coming out of hidden driveways, bad drivers, intentionally arrogant drivers, snow, weather distractions, etc. And all that before your work day even begins.
Having dependable rail or bus transit on the other hand, allows you to commute back and forth from your small town area to Madison for work, saving you a lot of time, money, and grief. Because I can ride the train or bus to the city to work, I can live in a small rural town 20 to 40 miles from my job. The cost of property in the form of a mortgage or rent is a lot less, the farther you get from the major cities. I pay less in taxes because the cost building and maintaining roads and highway infrastructure is much greater than building and maintaining rail, bus, and bicycle transit infrastructure.
Using transit can also save a lot of time. Riding the train to work gives me time to relax, read, study, listen to relaxing music or sports, have a cup of coffee while reading the daily news, and the chance to calm down before I start my work day. I don’t have to spend a half hour looking for a parking spot. I don’t have to fight traffic or get caught in a traffic jam. I don’t have to worry about being late.
Everyone can ride passenger rail transit; anyone can ride a bus. Everyone can use walking and bike trails. Children and the elderly, people who cannot physically drive, people that cannot afford to drive, people who cannot legally drive, and people who prefer not to drive, all need to be able to travel. Not everyone can drive.
We need more transit options. Rail – both passenger and freight, buses, bike trails, walking trails. These options improve the lives of all Wisconsinites – rich, poor, rural, urban, young, and old. And using them will save them a lot of time and money.
Transit is more affordable, safer, and healthier than single vehicle auto and truck transportation.
And transit is available to everyone, including those unable to drive.