Springfield—Without sufficient alternatives to driving, American families spent their entire economic stimulus check on high-priced gas. According to new analysis from the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group (MASSPIRG), since President Bush signed the tax rebates into law on February 13th, the average household has spent over $1500 filling their tanks. Gas costs were higher than average in areas without robust public transportation.
The group was joined in releasing its findings today at Springfield’s Union Station by City Development Officer David Panagore, State Representative Cheryl Coakley-Rivera, Pioneer Valley Planning Commission Director Timothy Brennan, Rebecca Townsend with Pioneer Valley Advocates for Commuter Rail, and Kevin Kennedy with Congressman Neal’s office. Together they advocated for better public transportation alternatives to high gas prices such as the revitalization of Union Station and commuter rail linking Springfield to Connecticut.
“With energy costs rising at unprecedented rates, it is clear that America has to begin to reduce its dependence on foreign oil. It is also time to seriously explore the use alternative sources of energy such as wind and solar power,” said Congressman Richard E. Neal. “In western Massachusetts, commuter rail is an option that would significantly help lower gas consumption while lowering congestion on our roads. With the successful renovation of Springfield’s historic Union Station, the region will have a new transportation hub that could accommodate a commuter rail line.”
Many in the region also see the project as an economic development initiative.
“The redevelopment of Springfield’s Union Station is a unique opportunity to reinvent and recapture one of the Pioneer Valley’s most important, multimodal transportation hubs,” said Timothy Brennan, Executive Director of the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission. “It also offers Springfield and the surrounding area the prospect of new jobs, ancillary development projects and activity within the City’s downtown—all vital to a strategy that ensures that Springfield remains economically competitive and vibrant for the 21st century.”
According to the analysis released by MASSPIRG, since February when President Bush signed the tax rebates into law, the average cost per household for gasoline has gone from just over $60 weekly to almost $100 per week, a 40% increase. Americans have responded to higher gas costs by taking public transportation at record rates in areas where it is available. American drivers traveled fewer miles last year for the first time in over twenty years.
Transit agencies have meanwhile struggled to keep up with the increased ridership volume. Despite the success of new rail routes and bus lines around the country, new transit projects like commuter rail to Springfield, have not moved forward due to lack of funding.
“To give commuters a long-term solution to high gas prices, we must give people more alternatives to driving,” said MASSPIRG Policy Analyst Phineas Baxandall, “Unless we make it easier to drive less by investing in modern public transportation, American families will be stuck in neutral as they spend more and more at the pump.”
Analysis by MASSPIRG shows that public transportation created net oil savings totaling 3.4 billion gallons in 2006. This is enough to fuel 5.8 million cars for an entire year and to save about $13.6 billion in gasoline at today’s prices. In Massachusetts, public transit saved 154.1 million gallons of oil in 2006, the equivalent of $629 million at today’s gas prices.
Based on new analysis released by MASSPIRG and generated by Chicago-based Center for Neighborhood Technology of 2000 Census data in 52 metro areas, communities with the best access to transit routes spent an average of $728 annually on all transportation costs, including gas, insurance, upkeep, and transit fares. Households in communities with the least access to transit, by contrast, spent an average of $925 per year.
MASSPIRG pointed to the next federal transportation bill, which will set federal transportation priorities for the next six years, as a place to emphasize public transportation funding. And as soon as tomorrow, the US House of Representatives will vote on the Saving Energy through Transportation Act, a bill that would authorize close to 2 billion dollars to help transit agencies across the country keep up with increased demand and to expand services. As a state Massachusetts would receive almost $53 million over two years.
“America’s dependence on oil is a long-term problem. It requires long-term solutions, both from state and federal government. Unless we make it easier for people to drive less, it won’t matter how many rebate checks the Treasury sends American families. We will still be depositing them over to Big Oil rather than building America’s prosperity,” said Baxandall.
MASSPIRG-Gas-Costs-Rebate-report.pdf