Most American transit systems were fragile before the pandemic—struggling for revenue, dependent for survival on federal money, inadequate fares, debt, and, in some cases, donations from local businesses. The pandemic has exacerbated these problems and turned existing transit models on their heads.
In late December, Gabrielle Gurley, a deputy editor at The American Prospect, wrote an article about how transit systems have responded to the pandemic. “Most operators have mastered the virus precautions, requiring masks, social distancing, and deep-cleaning and disinfecting,” she wrote. “Some have coped better than others, though, in rethinking how to serve passengers who are no longer living in 9-to-5 worlds, and accepting the new realities about how to retain and secure funding at a time when Republican elected officials have blocked any federal response since last spring.” A survey last fall found the majority of transit agencies plan to cut service to close funding gaps.
Gurley is our guest on this week’s episode of the Strong Towns podcast. She talks with host Chuck Marohn, founder and president of Strong Towns, about the convulsive effects 2020 had on American transit systems, how the transit experience has changed, and why the politics of transit funding is so challenging. They also discuss the cuts many agencies have planned (or have already implemented), how transit funding reflects what we value as a society, and how the pandemic will change spending priorities from expansion to taking care of basics. As Gurley says, “As nice as it would be to have a spiffy, high-speed train going from DC to New York in two hours…maybe we fix the [leaky] tunnel first.”
Additional Show Notes“Public Transportation in Crisis, by Gabrielle Gurley”
Other articles by Gabrielle Gurley at The American Prospect
Gabrielle Gurley (Twitter)
Charles Marohn (Twitter)
The Strong Towns Local-Motive Tour
Select Strong Towns content on transit:
“New York transit is facing "Doomsday" cuts. Should non-New Yorkers bail it out?” by Charles Marohn
“For U.S. Transit, "Death Spiral" Shouldn't Have Been an Option in the First Place” (Podcast)
“In Transportation Costs, ‘It's the System, Stupid.’" by Daniel Herriges
“Can a High-Speed Rail Network Electrify the U.S. Economy?” (Podcast)
“The Only Thing More Expensive Than Saving Transit is Not Saving Transit,” by Daniel Herriges
King Williams: The Gentrifiers Will Become the Gentrified
Paul Stewart: You Are the Help You've Been Waiting For
More than Math: Living with Intention in Our Stronger Towns
Minimum Viable Development? How We Let the "Perfect" Be the Enemy of the Good
Building Productive Places (and Showering them with Love)
Breaking Free of the Infrastructure Cult
Spooky Wisdom: What Lessons Should We Be Learning from How Our Ancestors Built Cities?
James Howard Kunstler: It's All Going to Have to Get Smaller
Tomas Sedlacek: A More Humane Economics
Patrick Deneen on Rediscovering Community and Rootedness
Ben Westhoff: Ferguson, Five Years Later
Ask Strong Towns #10: August 2019
Steve Mouzon: Living Traditions and the Original Green
The Dignity of Local Community: Chris Arnade
What Happens When Housing Becomes a Cash Crop?
Building Cities For Our Unconscious Brains: Ann Sussman on the Failings of Modern Architecture
Start Small, and Make a Lot of Noise: John Yung on Suburban Revitalization
Ask Strong Towns #9 (June 2019)
What Does it Take to Bring a City Back from the Brink?
Autonomous Vehicles Are Coming. Do We Have a Say in Who Benefits?
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