It would seem a heady time for mass transit: ridership is way up, referendums passed across the country on election day to bolster funding, and mass transit champion Barack Obama is in the White House with "noted rail enthusiast" Joe Biden his no. 2. But as Chicago Tribune transportation reporter Jon Hilkevitch tells us, mass transit is actually getting worse:
Chicago and other cities with long-established rail systems are getting a shrinking share of federal funding for commuter trains, resulting in a $50 billion shortfall to modernize deteriorating transit lines, according to a report to Congress released Thursday.
The Federal Transit Administration study found that more than one-third of the commuter rail stations, trains and other facilities are in marginal or poor condition on the seven largest rail transit systems — Chicago, Boston, New York, New Jersey, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Washington.
It means the systems often rely on equipment being used beyond its recommended life cycle and may be defective and dangerous. Parts of the Chciago Transit Authority’s 224-mile rail system are more than 100 years old.
In other words, there is an infrastructure crisis and it will take a lot more to salvage these systems than modestly stronger support in Washington. With both federal and state governments running unprecedented budget deficits, government not only must encourage mass transit but prioritize it. Maybe employees of military contractors can get training in repairing rail lines.-MB