Opportunity for all
The escalating price of fuel has highlighted the fact that Americans can barely afford to fill up their gas tank each week. Unfortunately, high transportation costs are nothing new to millions of taxpayers.
The Washington, D.C. think tank The Center for Housing Policy reported in October 2006 that working families in 28 U.S. metropolitan areas with incomes between $20,000 and $50,000 spent an average of 29.6 percent of their income on transportation costs – more than housing, health care, and food.
Facing a sluggish economy, high gas prices, and lingering mortgage crisis, Americans of all income levels are more than ever in need of an accessible and efficient transportation network that connects them to work and amenities.
We need to make commuting affordable and sensible for all Americans, not just those who can bear the burden of filling up a gas tank with $60 of fuel twice a month. We need to make safe, affordable housing practical for all citizens, so that workers in our towns and cities can find practical homes in good neighborhoods near good jobs.
By building a world-class rail network and spurring economic development, we can provide green jobs, make our communities more affordable and livable, and provide millions of American with a better way to live, work, and play.
Stats:
• From 2000-2005, salaries went up 10.3%, transportation costs went up 13.4% and Housing went up 15.4%. (Lipman, Barbara “A Heavy Load: The Combined Housing and Transportation Burdens of Working Families” Center for Housing Policy, October 2006)
• Transit is estimated to save consumers 24.2 billion dollars annually on transportation expenditures. It is estimated to save the economy as a whole 60.1 billion dollars. (Baxandall, Phineas, Tony Dutzik, Josh Hoen, Frontier Group “A Better Way to Go: Meeting America’s 21st Century Transportation Challenges with Modern Public Transit.” U.S. PIRG Education Fund March 2008)
