REMARKS FOR
THE HONORABLE MARY PETERS
SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION
VMT ANNOUNCEMENT AND NEW INTERCITY PASSENGER RAIL GRANT PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENT
RICHMOND, VA
SEPTEMBER 30, 2008
1:30 PM
Thank you for being here, and thanks to Governor Kaine for hosting us and for
that kind introduction. I also want to thank Federal Railroad Administrator Joe
Boardman for being with us today.
I’ve come to know the Governor over the past year and can tell you he is a
tremendous leader with a keen interest in advocating innovative approaches to
solving transportation challenges.
He’s embraced effective solutions like high occupancy toll lanes, partnered with
the private sector to help finance new lanes and stepped in at crucial times to
make responsible modifications that improved the Dulles rail project.
Today, we see exactly why that willingness to innovate is so crucial. That is
because I am announcing new figures that show Americans are continuing to cut
back on the amount they are driving.
Indeed, this past July, Americans drove 9.6 billion fewer miles than they did in
July 2007. That represents a 3.6 percent decline in a single year. Here in the
Commonwealth, the decline was 3.4 percent, as Virginians drove 248 million miles
less in July 2008 than they did in July 2007.
This is the ninth straight month that Americans have driven less, and taken
together, reflects a total decline of 62.6 billion miles over the same
nine-month period a year ago.
This decline, of course, means Americans are consuming less fuel and that our
cars and trucks are emitting less CO2… a positive development we all want to
see.
But it also poses a tremendous challenge. Americans are shifting from driving to
riding transit, commuter rail, and passenger trains at record levels.
Indeed, transit ridership is up 11 percent. And in July, Amtrak carried more
passengers than in any single month in its history.
To address this growing demand, I am announcing today a plan to improve
intercity passenger rail service nationwide.
States like Virginia have struggled for years to find ways to make rail service
between places like Richmond and Washington a viable alternative to clogged
highways like I-95.
That’s because, until now, there has been no way for them to qualify for federal
funds to match local investments in rail capacity. Instead, all federal funds
have gone directly to Amtrak.
But thanks to reforms championed by the Bush Administration, I am announcing
today that the Department is investing, for the first time ever, 30 million
dollars in matching funds to finance more than 15 projects nationwide to improve
intercity passenger rail service.
These federal-state partnerships will support projects designed to cut delays
and expand capacity on existing intercity passenger rail routes and help provide
new services where none exist today.
Here in Virginia, we are making 2 million dollars available to improve train
service between Washington and Richmond.
Today, that service is hamstrung by limited rail capacity south of
Fredericksburg that often causes passenger trains to idle behind slower moving
freight trains.
The money we’re investing…along with more than 11 million dollars in state
matching funds…will finance new track work that would allow intercity passenger
trains to bypass freight trains.
As a result, rail travel between these two capital cities will be more reliable
and help improve the on-time performance to 80 percent…from today’s 76 percent
on-time performance rate.
Having just ridden the train into the Staples Mills station, I can tell you that
it’s easy to see how a little improvement to this service could move a lot of
traffic off I-95 and onto the rails. This grant will bring two great cities
closer together in a way that history, and highways, have too often failed to
do.
In addition, the Governor has some announcements about new state investments in
commuter and transit rail service.
But before we get to these measures, it is important to make this final point
very clear.
At a time when transit and rail are seeing record growth, the very way we
finance these systems is at risk. That is because our transit investments come
from the same source as our highway investments…federal gas taxes.
In an environment where we want to reduce our reliance on fossil-based fuels…at
a time when transit and rail travel are more popular than ever…and in a reality
where Americans are driving less and less each month…federal transportation
policies that rely almost exclusively on gas taxes are failing our State and
local governments.
The way Americans travel is changing before our very eyes. If we don’t evolve
our policies, we will leave a sad legacy of old roads, crowded highways, and
unfulfilled transit ambitions.
That is why we unveiled a new proposal this summer to significantly refocus,
reform, and renew our nation’s transportation system.
This plan makes it easier for states like Virginia and communities like Richmond
to invest in transportation solutions that really work to reduce congestion and
improve the conditions of our roads and bridges. It acknowledges that highway
and transit systems aren’t mutually exclusive by breaking down barriers that
limit investments to one system or the other.
And it begins to move us away from relying exclusively on unstable gas taxes to
finance our transportation system.
This is a theme I’ve heard the Governor talk about time and again. As he puts
it, it is time to diversify our transportation funding portfolio.
A few weeks ago, we saw the folly of our antiquated federal transportation
policies when the highway trust fund almost ran out of money.
If that had happened, states like Virginia would have had a tough time moving
forward with any transportation project.
If the trend we are seeing in less driving and declining gas tax revenues
continues, it is likely we will see another highway trust fund shortfall next
year.
So our message is clear: the only way to avoid a future shortfall…and the only
way to continue investing in effective transportation solutions…is to embrace
transportation reform that promotes innovations and utilizes new sources of
revenue.
Thank you again.
###
Briefing
Room
