21st Century Transportation

What's New

Congress is working to finalize next year's transportation appropriations bill, which could include an historic investment in high speed passenger rail. High speed rail would provide clean, safe, reliable and efficient travel between America's population centers.

Last month, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that included $4 billion in funding for high-speed rail this year, but just before the Recess, the Senate cut the allocation down to $1.2 billion in their version. The two bills will now move to a conference committee, where they will decide the final amount of investment.

As Congress debates how the country will spend its transportation budget over the coming weeks and months, we have a chance to:

•     Build a high-speed rail line to connect West Coast cities, allowing passengers to go from Seattle to Portland in 2.5 hours.

•    Divert money from big highway projects—like the expansion of I-405—to clean, efficient public transportation.

•    Double our federal investment in public transportation projects like the LINK rail, subways and buses—laying down new tracks and increasing service.

How You Can Help

Transportation bill moving fast

This summer is starting to look a whole lot like last year. We've had nearly 60 straight days of rising gas prices, with no real end in sight.

But this summer is also a whole lot different than any I've seen in a long time. That's because some members of Congress are finally getting serious about lowering our oil demand by pushing for cleaner, more efficient public transit and high-speed rail.

Tell Congress: I support an energy-efficient transportation system.

Background

Our current transportation system has many of us stuck endlessly waiting in traffic, all the while spewing air pollution and consuming billions of barrels of overseas oil.

We can do better. By investing in more public transportation and enacting smart growth policies, Washington can tackle its transportation woes and set us on a better course for the new century.

But our government spends nine times more on highway projects than it does on public transportation, even as transit ridership nationwide is at an all-time high.

Light rail, clean bus systems, and other public transit should play a greater part in America’s transportation future. Efficient public transportation systems and transit-oriented communities reduce the number of cars on the road and increase our options for getting around.

We’re working for more and better transit by encouraging public support for new projects and improved service and asking Congress to invest in solving long-term transportation problems by funding public transportation. In Olympia, we’re making sure that the public transit investments we make are maximized through sustainable smart growth policies.

WashPIRG and our allies are fighting for better public transportation here in Washington and all around the country.

In The News

Stimulus checks spent at gas station, study suggests

Seattle PI -- "In a study released Wednesday, the Washington Public Interest Research Group said a family of a single parent with three children, or a couple with one child who filed joint tax returns, would have spent the equivalent of a $1,500 stimulus check between the week of Feb. 11, when the stimulus legislation was enacted, and this week." Read more >

Report

A Better Way to Go

Read our report about how America can move into a 21st century transportation system.

Rising fuel prices, growing traffic congestion, and the need to address critical challenges such as global warming and America’s addiction to imported oil all point toward the need for a new transportation future. Read more >