http://www.msnbc.com/news/925324.asp?cp1=1
Despite billions for alternatives, car remains king
75 percent of U.S. workers still get to job alone in vehicles
By Lynne Shallcross
MSNBC
WHIPPANY, N.J., June 16 - Ron Brown is a traffic engineer's dream.
For two summers, conscious of the gridlock on local roads and the
damage his car did to the environment, he biked to work every day.
Then, in April 2002, a car ran into him on a stretch of highway that
had no shoulder. While he has recovered from his injuries, he has not
recovered his zeal for reducing traffic. It's certainly not worth
risking your life, he says. Brown has rejoined the 75 percent of
Americans who drive to work alone every day in their cars.
AROUND THE NATION, states and municipalities plagued by traffic
backups and the spiraling costs of building new roads are promoting
biking, van- and carpools and mass transit as alternatives to the
single-occupancy car commute that is the norm in America. These
programs, which cost taxpayers over $8 billion annually, are popular
with environmental groups and state and local governments. But
current data suggest that despite state and federal efforts, these
programs are making little difference in the car-centered culture of
America.
According to Census 2000 data, 75 percent of people still
drive to work alone in cars, trucks or vans. Only 4.7 percent use
public transportation, and a mere 0.38 percent commute by bicycle.
Brown, a Lucent Technologies engineer, said that even though
his employer makes bike storage and showers available at work, the
tight roadways, aggressive drivers, killer potholes and lack of bike
lanes keep most commuters in their cars.
Those who have tried carpools and mass transit have their own complaints.
Our lifestyles are very fragmented and very dynamic, and we have not
developed options other than the car that fit better, said Joseph
Coughlin, acting director for the Center for Transportation and
Logistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Taking the
bus and carpooling are difficult, he noted, when you have to drop the
kids off at school and pick up the dry cleaning. This phenomenon,
called trip chaining, foils many a mass-transit planner's dreams.
Coughlin is unsympathetic.
Transportation experts need to take a closer look at lifestyle and land
use as it affects transportation, Coughlin said. We don't make that simple
point-A-to-point-B and back to point A trip anymore.
STILL PUSHING FORWARD
In spite of discouraging data, states continue to spend
millions of dollars to lure residents out of their cars. By far the
bulk of this is on mass transit, where some surveys show that
ridership is up. Recent figures from the American Public Transit
Association, an advocacy group, show that for six years running,
ridership on mass transit has grown - up 22 percent overall from
1996, according to APTA's 2002 annual report.
The problem is, highway driving has increased even more.
Faced with these realities, state transportation agencies are
trying a host of initiatives:
In New Jersey, Gov. James E. McGreevey has vowed to add 20,000
spaces to park-and-ride commuter lots this year and has staked his
political reputation on mass transit improvements in the nation's
most densely populated state.
The Washington state transportation agency offers tax incentives
through a to reduce commuting and offers a bicycle commute guide on
its Web site.
New York state's transportation officials offer discounts to
commuters who carpool or avoid rush hour at area bridges and tunnels.
DOING ENOUGH?
Mark Hallenbeck, director of the Washington State
Transportation Center, said that well-meaning programs cannot succeed
if they are afterthoughts. He said land is still being developed with
only cars in mind, making it hard for people to use bikes or use
public transportation. The solution, he said, is building public
transportation and bike access into new developments.
Alan Pisarski, author of several books on commuting in America, said
another problem is the focus on commuting.
The commute is a small and declining share of
total travel, he said, noting that statistics show that the use of
cars to run errands accounts for most of the recent increase in
highway usage.
Other say this is no reason to stop trying.
There are a lot of very successful programs that have
decreased driving, said Michael Replogle, transportation director
for the Environmental Defense Fund. Replogle said that two years ago,
when the government provided a monthly financial benefit to federal
employees who used public transportation, 12 percent of workers
switched to transit.
But Matthew Jeanneret, spokesman for the American Road and
Transportation Builders Association, said that with 75 percent of the
country still driving to work, the
