Democrats Will Have to Save California Public Transportation From Schwarzenegger's Budget

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Robert Cruickshank

Around Earth Day, Newsweek ran a memorable cover of Arnold Schwarzenegger posing with a globe, to symbolize his supposedly environmentally aware political stance. It was an apt recognition of how Arnold had successfully "greenwashed" himself in 2006, glomming on at the last minute to a Democratic proposal to mandate cuts in greenhouse gases. In doing so Arnold sealed his reelection victory and had many Californians - even a lot of Democrats - convinced he really cared about the environment.

But underneath the green veneer, Arnold is still the same conservative Republican who seeks to destroy the environment. His recent budget includes some 1.3 billion dollars in cuts to California public transportation, from the high speed rail project to local bus and light rail services. Speaker Fabian Núñez aptly denounced these cuts:

There's a bait and switch on transit funding here, too. You can't pose for the cover of Newsweek as the savior of global warming one day and then turn around and slash funding for public transit the next. You can't have a press conference urging commuters to take public transit after a highway collapses one day and then turn around and slash funding for public transit the next.

The link between widely available public transit and environmental health, and addressing climate change, should be obvious. As greenhouse gas emissions soar, Americans need to cut back on those emissions, and driving less is a core method of doing that.

It also has an added and obvious value in an age of soaring gas prices. Californians are bearing the brunt of the oil companies' gouging, paying over $3.50 a gallon. As a result usage of public transportation in the state has SOARED over the last few months. California's intercity trains, such as the Capitol Corridor and the Pacific Surfliner, are seeing record numbers of riders. The LACMTA's Orange Line, a bus rapid transit system in the San Fernando Valley, hit its 2020 ridership projections...in 2007.

The combination of environmental awareness and soaring gas prices has led millions of Californians to turn to public transportation. Millions more want to make the change but aren't yet served by the required frequency or capacity. An example: