Let’s get a few things done
Posted on Monday, May 12, 2008
Deep down in a recent feature story was an interesting bit of reconnaissance. Over the past year, average daily ridership on Central Arkansas Transit buses has increased by about 600. That is a remarkable number considering how hard it is to get around Central Arkansas using public transportation. The runs are not frequent. Timekeeping is a nightmare. The routes, especially out west, do not match up with where people live and where they might like to go. Since gas prices are not going down anytime soon, we ought to have a little heart-to-heart chat. The business of transportation policy comes up from time to time around here, so be forewarned that I fully intend to get on intercity rail by the time we have adjourned. Considering the current direction of the economy and the shabby condition of the nation’s airline system, and rising concerns about highways, everything I have ever said over the past almost quarter-century has been completely validated. So there.
Without getting all prideful, it might be wise to ask how we ever got in this mess. I’m not necessarily talking about buses or trains or even the price of gasoline. Haven’t we all been wondering how the country ever got in this condition ? It’s not Geoge Bush (either one of them ) or whichever Clinton you may happen to despise. There is something a lot deeper going on.
Instead of talking about the subject at hand, we always seem to get distracted. When we should focus on affordable health care, finding an honorable outcome to our involvement in Iraq and sharing the blessings of liberty with the rest of mankind, there is an odd preoccupation with crazy preachers, lapel pins, oddball personality quirks and just about anything else that doesn’t make any difference whatsoever.
We do need the comic relief, but there has been just a little too much fun. Reasonableness is not the moral equivalent of weakness, and the cute slam-dunk oneliner that rudely dismisses the opposition is not winning, it’s bullying. Just to make this perfectly clear, no adult who has ever hired a plumber believes that such a thing as fairness exists, even in theory. Let us stipulate that life is unfair and move on. There is a dire need to have some serious respectful conversations.
Reciting selective “talking points” and concluding with an insult for the opposing view is not part of any kind of reasonable adult conversation. While a few people are winning their precious arguments, the rest of us are losing a lot.
Several things are going on. The neverending campaign is modeling a type of unrealistic communication that is so harsh, selfish, greedy and personally demeaning, it would only be tolerated inside a radio station. A respectful exchange of ideas might help us figure out some of the things that are dogging this great country. That would, however, require treating political opponents as fellow Americans and not mortal enemies.
All of this brings us back to transportation. Of course, special interests set the public-policy agenda. For example, charter bus operators have figured out a way to keep local transit systems such as CAT from bidding on shuttle service for big public events such as Alltel concerts and Riverfest. How they ever got this done is pretty darned mysterious, but the public lost big time. The local transit system cannot get the business and regular people are left standing.
While it may be fairly clear today that Little Rock needs better public transportation, getting that done is going to take years. We have come to this place after decades of dishonest discussion and false choices. If there were more buses, nobody would have to give up their cars. Some trips might be taken on public transportation, but most would still be by private automobiles. What would be so bad about less pollution, less congestion and more choices ?
More reliable and frequent service would mean that more people could plan to occasionally use a bus. The relatively low passenger load of recent years is the result of a poor level of service, which is the consequence of inadequate funding. This situation went to the voters a few years back and our so-called leadership distinguished itself by its timidity. If there cannot be an honest conversation on local bus service, it is little wonder we’re stuck on health care and Iraq.
And now we are ready for the dreaded Amtrak conversation. This will only hurt a little.
Since the National Railroad Passenger Corp. was founded in 1971, things have changed a lot. In the first place, the national system is probably about half of the original Amtrak system. Patronage has steadily increased despite a federally imposed starvation diet. Around the globe, high-speed rail is flourishing. Very fast trains operate all over Europe and are planned for,, among other places, China and Argentina.
When fast trains start operating over here, they will be run by states, groups of states and private companies with some federal involvement. There are all sorts of futuristic plans, including a couple of maglevs. Much more significant is a movement toward improving existing railroad rightof-way for faster freight and passenger movements. The good news is that this approach is a lot cheaper than building the new roadbeds necessary for bullet trains.
The Midwest High Speed Rail Association has done excellent research on sensible ways to make use of existing tracks. The South Central High Performance Rail Corridor would include Arkansas, and get travelers between Little Rock and Dallas in three hours. It’s not new technology, and it’s cheaper than expanding highways. There are some very smart people out there full of good ideas on many important issues. They deserve at least a respectful hearing. Forget about “Kumbaya.” We just need to get a few things done for a change.
—–––––•–––––—Free-lance columnist Pat Lynch has been a radio broadcaster in Central Arkansas for more than 20 years.
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