Giving money for it makes good sense if other transportation needs such as roads and bridges—those really used by the overwhelming mass of people—are met first with scarce public dollars.
Editorial Notebook: Mass transit should be boosted, not reduced
Published 12:00 am PDT Saturday, August 11, 2007
Recently, a woman contacted me, concerned with the service reductions forced on Sacramento Regional Transit by expected state cutbacks in transit funding. She wrote, "The proposed changes will impact the poor and disabled communities in traumatic ways."
I realized why legislators felt they could cut transit: As long as transit is viewed solely as an entitlement of the poor and disabled, it will never be safe.
The focus needs to shift from the role -- and, yes, it is an important one -- transit plays in providing mobility to those who can't afford or can't operate personal vehicles to the more important role transit can play in reducing traffic congestion that clogs surface arteries while threatening everyone's health.
