Times-Herald.com
Editorial in Opinion

Would you like to board a high-speed train in Atlanta and travel north to Nashville? Or even farther north to Chicago? Or how about Atlanta to Florida by high-speed rail?

Such travel may be available in the future, although we have not heard of any timetable.

What we have heard this week is that Georgia and Tennessee are applying for a $34 million federal grant to continue the development of high-speed rail service from Atlanta to Nashville. The Georgia  DOT said the money would help speed development of the train system. The money would come from the Federal Railroad Administration under the U.S. High Speed Intercity Passenger Rail program created by Congress last year.

Atlanta Business Chronicle

by Dave Williams Staff Writer

The Georgia Department of Transportation is off to an early start educating voters on a constitutional amendment that would let the agency enter into multi-year contracts for highway and transit projects.

The DOT has launched a Web site calling attention to the proposal, which will be on the statewide ballot in November, Brandon Beach, chairman of the State Transportation Board’s Legislative Committee, told board members during a workshop Thursday.

The agency also has distributed a one-page leaflet to business and civic groups and sent newsletters to Georgia lawmakers, he said.

By Ariel Hart
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a bill taking back $713 million in unused transportation earmarks, including several for Georgia. But the bill spared about $80 million that transit advocates had feared would be yanked from a proposed Atlanta commuter rail line.

The measure (HR 5730) would still need to pass the Senate, but a similar one has already passed there, said Ben Marter, a spokesman for Rep. Betsy Markey (D-Colo.).

By Ariel Hart

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The campaign to get metro Atlanta residents to approve a sales tax for transportation in 2012 was launched Friday by leaders from more than 40 private companies, organizations and local governments.

Metro Atlanta Chamber Chairman Bill Linginfelter asked attendees at the gathering in Midtown to give money for the campaign, and to sign up to help. “You’re going to have to be involved,” he said.

But the chamber also played down its role. “Right now there isn’t one clear organization in charge of this process,” Linginfelter said.

By Ariel Hart

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

More than 1.3 million times every five-day workweek, people in metro Atlanta get to their destinations by using mass transit. And now the region has a better idea why.

A survey by the Atlanta Regional Commission of transit riders show the number one reason most people - 45 percent - choose to ride mass transit it for travel between home and work.

After a major study, the Atlanta Regional Commission knows a lot more about who takes transit in the area and why. But the numbers, released Thursday, also beg the question: As the Atlanta region prepares for a referendum on funding regional transportation projects, is there really demand for regional mass transit?

Commentary
By C. Kenneth Orski

More than two years ago, we suggested that the era of multi-billion dollar system-building investments in urban rail transit is coming to an end. In "Urban Rail Transit and Freight Railroads: A Study in Contrast," we wrote: "The 30-year effort to retrofit American cities with rail infrastructure, begun back in the Nixon Administration, appears to be just about over. The New Starts program is running out of cities that can afford or justify cost-effective rail transit investment. To be sure, federal capital assistance to transit will continue, but its function will shift to incrementally expanding existing rail networks and commuter rail services rather than embarking on construction of brand new rail systems."

New Study Examines the Cost of Transit in Georgia

By Benita M. Dodd

Public transit is often portrayed as a low-cost, energy-efficient alternative to auto driving. Cato Institute Senior Fellow Randal O'Toole debunks that portrayal in an Issue Analysis for the Georgia Public Policy Foundation.

"In fact, transit is much more costly than driving, and requires huge subsidies to attract any riders at all," writes O'Toole in, "Public Transit in Georgia: High Costs for Low Fares," which was released today by the Foundation.

"Moreover, transit systems in the vast majority of American cities use more energy and emit more greenhouse gases than the average car," adds O'Toole, whose latest book is, "Gridlock: Why We're Stuck in Traffic and What to Do About It."

By Andre Jackson, ?for the Editorial Board

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

For voters to say yes in 2012 to a transportation tax, we must shelve our county rivalries and see regionalism as the path to mobility.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step, and the Atlanta region took a large step forward last week with the signing into law of hard-won legislation that grants regions the right to tax themselves to pay for transportation improvements.

By Beverly A. Scott, General Manager & CEO of MARTA

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Today, the entire Atlanta region stands at a crossroads in terms of regional transit. Clayton County’s popular bus service ended March 31st. Our two largest regional operators — MARTA and GRTA — are both teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, and our other suburban transit operators are on life support. To put it mildly, this is not a pretty picture for a major metropolitan area.

It is certainly an easy option to continue non-productive sparring back and forth while other regions and states outpace us. Or, we can make a genuine regional commitment to get “unstuck” and take a quantum leap forward for a common goal and good.

Rail Transit Expansion Reconsidered --- Commentary
Innovation Newsbriefs by Ken Orski

More than two years ago we suggested in these pages that the era of multi-billion dollar system-building investments in urban rail transit is coming to an end. We wrote: "The 30-year effort to retrofit American cities with rail infrastructure, begun back in the Nixon Administration, appears to be just about over. The New Starts program is running out of cities that can afford or justify cost-effective rail transit investment. To be sure, federal capital assistance to transit will continue, but its function will shift to incrementally expanding existing rail networks and commuter rail services rather than embarking on construction of brand new rail systems." ("Urban Rail Transit and Freight Railroads: A Study in Contrast," February 18 2008).