Mass Transit Ridership Up Over 5% Across the Country - Wisconsin Needs to Get On Board
Mass transit ridership across the Country saw a 5% increase in the second quarter of this year alone:
The nation’s public transportation systems logged a 5.2 percent jump in ridership in the second quarter, according to industry figures to be released Tuesday, as record-high gas prices pushed people to take millions more trips on buses and rail systems.
Riders made a total of 2.8 billion trips on the nation’s subways, buses, commuter railroads and light-rail systems from April to June, according to the Washington-based American Public Transportation Association. That’s up from 2.7 billion in the same period last year. - AP
Rob Henken makes a good observation that if and when federal funds for mass transit increase in the years to come, those regions with the best plans on how to use any additional federal dollars will likely be the ones who benefit.
That’s bad news for Southeastern Wisconsin since we haven’t even been able to put nearly $92 million in federal mass transit funds to use due to purely ideological stonewalling from the anti-transit conservatives in Wisconsin. It’ll be hard to justify any addition monies from the federal government if we can’t even figure out how to put to good use the $92 million we’ve already been allotted.
That means Milwaukee and all of Southeastern Wisconsin will only fall further behind the curve in years to come and why it’s critical that the stalemate is broken over how to use that money.
September 10, 2008 10:54 pm 
I live in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Milwaukee, WI with my wife Jen, our daughter Emerson, and son Carter.
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