NOTE: It’s interesting that, despite a different political structure, Philly’s gigantic rail network suffers from many of the negative issues Cleveland’s much smaller one has: i.e. short-term “maintenance” plans rather than improvement and expansion initiatives.  It’s an American problem more so than being city specific… But how can we change it, realistically?  Like I’ve long said, until Frank Johnson and other powerful pols learn (or are tacitly forced) to “buy in” to positive city-building aspects of transit, like TOD, don’t expect things to change anytime soon … even given the Democrat sweep in the last elections.

 

http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/20070325_The_Point__.html

 

The Point | A direct route to a SEPTA crisisThe reasons for tepid transit support.

By Mark Bowden

 

»  More photos Once more, SEPTA is on the ropes. It faces a $130 million budget deficit in the coming fiscal year, and unless the state finds a way to plug the hole, services will be cut and fares increased.

 

For more information, click the above link.

 

 

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The Point |

For SEPTA's "Annual Service Plan 2007," go to: http://go.philly.com/septa2007

 

For the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission's report "Destination 2030 Long Range Plan," go to: http://www.dvrpc.org/LongRange.htm

 

 

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Mark Bowden is also national correspondent for the Atlantic Monthly. Contact him at [email protected].

Sometimes, transit systems are their own worst enemies, as evidenced by SEPTA.  But even when they are organized into a statewide association, such as the Ohio Public Transit Association, they don't do much to advocate for more and better transit funding.

 

OPTA includes as its members vritually every large to small transit system in Ohio.  Yet, they are almost invisible when it comes to actual advocacy before the Ohio General Assembly.  They have an association Executive Director and a supposed lobbyist, but if what Ohio spends in state dollars per capita on public transit is any indication, OPTA's lobbying effort is, at best, benign or at worst.... non-existent. 

 

What puzzles me is why the member transit authorities stand for this.  I saw Joe Calabrese do a powerful presentation comparing what Ohio spends on public transit to states like Pennsylvania, Michigan and Illinois.  And yet I see no large scale effort at the Ohio Statehouse to mobilize transit advocates.

 

If it weren't for organizations like All Aboard Ohio there wouldn't be any advocacy effort at all for mass transit.

 

 

No question, the SEPTA board is Rube Goldbergian in its set up; bizarre that 80+% users are in the city while the city has 13% rep on the board.  Groups like All Aboard Ohio, along with transit-friendly pols like Sherrod Brown, give me hope.  I just wish more neutral pols, like Frank Johnson, and Jane before him, could be educated as to the impact benefits transit can bring to the community-- and I really don't get Jane, having grown up along the Rapid in Shaker and currently residing w/in walking distance of both Blue and Green Line trains; her wonderful Lakefront Plan screamed for transit inclusion to focus high-density residential development, yet all her energies were focused on changing the Shoreway to into a Boulevard, a nice idea, but.. ... but until these pols are so inculcated, they're merely going to continue being a part of the "maintain it, not expand it" status quo...