While obvious that if transit has too many riders and not enough buses and trains to accommodate them, then funds need to be made available (without a tax increase) to secure them.
But increasing that capacity on a permanent basis, to accommodate a short-term problem like the I-5 fix, is bad policy.
The temporary transit fixes should do the job and for the rest, folks will find a way, though it will be slow going for the duration.
Editorial: Coming 1-5 snarl puts focus on needs of transit
Published 12:00 am PDT Friday, March 21, 2008
When Interstate 5 through downtown Sacramento closes for repairs in late May, the public will brace for monumental traffic jams. Even with the shortened time frame for the freeway fix – 42 days of land and ramp closures instead of the 300 initially announced – the partial closure of the major north-south artery through the heart of downtown will be disruptive.
But there is plenty of time both for the public and various transportation agencies involved to prepare. Transit agencies, in particular, need to gear up for the coming problems.
Counting the Capitol Corridor Intercity Rail Service, there are at least 10 public transit agencies that bring riders into downtown Sacramento. They have been meeting with Caltrans officials and among themselves for several weeks to coordinate their systems in a way that will best meet the needs of the public when I-5 closes.
Transit leaders recognize the challenges. They also see tantalizing opportunities.
Even before the coming freeway closure was announced, local transit agencies were experiencing big surges in ridership. Last month, YoloBus saw a 12 percent increase in riders compared to the year before. Some of its commuter buses from Woodland and Davis into Sacramento ran at standing-room-only levels. As The Bee noted last week, Placer County Transit has had to turn riders away because it did not have enough capacity on express buses into Sacramento. Transit officials attribute increased ridership to record high gas prices and a slumping economy. People looking for ways to economize are leaving their cars at home.
To deal with the increased demand that was already building and to meet the special challenge of the I-5 closures, transit districts will need help from each other and the state. The state needs to provide help in getting more buses to the transit agencies that desperately need them. Placer County needs extra buses now. So does Yuba- Sutter transit.
