Beyond highways and roads, we need more money for mass transit, intercity passenger rail and freight rail. We have a long way to go to bridge the funding gaps.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
How we fund transportation in this country is broken. You all pay a gasoline tax, right? Well, cars go farther, we get electric cars, and so on. And then we do more with the money than just build roads. We do bike lanes and mass transit.
We must do all we can to reduce congestion in our urban areas and increase access and mobility in our rural areas, and this extra funding will help us get there.
If we expect to continue our leadership in the global economy, we must invest in a long-term transportation plan -f or both highways and transit programs. Too many of our roads, bridges, and railways have fallen into disrepair.
With the increased cost of gasoline, it doesn't appear that we're going to see a slowing of interest in mass transit. I think it's going to continue to grow.
In the same way we have a long-term plan for building roads, we have to have a long term plan to build transit.
The combination of funding for our ports, airports, and highways is a really significant investment in our infrastructure.
You and I come by road or rail, but economists travel on infrastructure.
Transportation funding is a win-win for everyone involved.
Especially today, given the tight fiscal situation that many States and localities face, the use of transportation facilities that pay for themselves without additional Federal funding is essential.
We should make a major financial commitment to improving our roads and bridges.