1 Transit for Livable Communities, 626 Selby Avenue, Saint Paul, MN 55104 Phone: 651-767-0298 E-mail: [email protected]Web site: www.tlcminnesota.org Minnesota Transportation Finance Advisory Committee Comments by Dave Van Hattum, Transit for Livable Communities September 24, 2012 Thank you for this opportunity to provide input. Transit for Livable Communities conducts research and advocacy to increase transportation choices so that Minnesota is more economically competitive, more people have access to jobs and opportunity, and to make best use of limited resources. We have more than 10,000 members in the Twin Cities metro. We know that transit is critical for people to get to where need to go: jobs, school, health care, volunteer activities and family connections. Our work is focused on the Twin Cities metro, but we align with other organizations, such as those you will hear from next--the Minnesota Public Transit Association and the Suburban Transit Association. This morning, I will cover three key points. 1) Our support for accelerating the build-out of the Twin Cities transit system, including transitways and bus–in 15 not 30 years. Including how to fund it. 2) The New Normal in Travel 3) Key results of Bike Walk Twin Cities, a federal program that TLC administers 1) Economically Competitive Transit As you have heard from Itasca Project, rapidly building out the Twin Cities transit system is a smart investment for our region’s economy and for individual families. The ITASCA Project Return on Investment (ROI) Study found significant direct economic benefits in the form of travel time savings and reduced car operation costs—two to three dollars in return for each dollar invested. But, there also are several indirect benefits:
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Transit for Livable Communities, 626 Selby Avenue, Saint Paul, MN 55104
Phone: 651-767-0298 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.tlcminnesota.org
Attracting jobs and talent to the region. The message from corporate site selectors is clear—
employers want to locate in vibrant regions where people have transit options.
Improved air quality. The Minnesota Chamber estimates the cost of our metro region failing
to meet federal air quality standards at $200 to $300 million per year.i Transit emits a fraction
of the pollution of driving alone and can help avoid these costs.ii
Reduced Parking Costs. We know top employers along the proposed Southwest light rail
transit (LRT) line do not want to build expensive new parking decks.
So, how would we fund increased investment in transit? We support a ¾ cent increase in the
metro area sales tax. As this CHART (see attached), shows, such an increase would bring us on par
with many peer regions that today have a full cent or more in local sales tax dedicated to transit.
The vast majority of these peers have a total sales tax rate that is, at least, a half cent greater than
the Twin Cities.
And we know, from recent polling and referenda around the country, that people support
increased taxes for clearly delineated transit projects.iii
The accelerated transit build out discussed at TFAC would NOT create a world-class system—
rather it is for an economically competitive and achievable transit system. If we were reaching for
world class, we would locate, at least some, rail lines underground to avoid competing for road
space with cars.
Dozens of cities around the globe have extensive subway systems including Melbourne, Hamburg,
and Nagoya, Japan, which are comparable to the Twin Cities in population.iv Cities to our north,
such as Calgary, Montreal and Vancouver invest substantially more in transit, and have several
times the transit ridership, on a per capita basis, as the Twin Cities.v
As you heard at the last meeting, it is essential to plan for a rapidly changing future or a New
Normal.
2) The New Normal for Travel
People are driving less (see attached CHART). In Minnesota, the total amount of driving has not
increased for six consecutive years even as the state’s population increased by more than
300,000.vi While the down economy has played a role, this trend preceded the economic downturn
and other forces are at work.vii
Other modes are seeing record demand. In the Twin Cities metropolitan area, transit ridership
is up 17% since 2005. Young people are far more likely than their elders to opt out of car
ownership.viii Increased telework, and Car-sharing and Bike-sharing enterprises, make car
ownership less of a necessity. How many of you know families that are choosing to live closer to
their worksite?
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Between today and 2040, one third of the projected population growth of the Twin Cities will be
immigrants, and the share of seniors will nearly double from 11% to 21% (both groups will be
looking for increased alternatives to driving).ix It is imperative that we expand the reach of
convenient transit, which currently only reaches 25% of the metro region’s households.x
One element of our transportation investments you have not heard much about is bicycling and
walking.
3) Bike Walk Twin Cities
In 2005, Congress funded four pilot projects around the country to find out whether improved
bicycling and walking infrastructure would lead to quantifiable shifts from car trips to bicycling or
walking. The unequivocal answer is YES!
In Minneapolis and 14 adjoining communities, bicycling is up 52% and walking up 18% since
2007.xi And every indication is that the trend will continue given high gas prices, the need to
reduce health care costs, and increased community investment in bike trails and walkable city
centers.
The Minneapolis pilot focused on adding on-street facilities, which are very cost effective use of
transportation dollars—and increasingly can be included as part of regular rebuilds. Through
extensive data collection, we learned that 35% of the trips crossing the Franklin Avenue Bridge
are made on foot or bike.xii Had all these trips been by car, expensive bridge or road expansions
would, almost certainly, have been needed.
Minneapolis plans to have 7% of commuters arriving by bike by 2014, which is critical as the
capacity to expand roads anywhere in the city is very limited.xiii More broadly, we know there is
keen interest in providing better bicycle and walking access to transit, and in filling gaps in the
regional bicycle network.
Some brief stories illustrate the impact of Bike Walk Twin Cities. Joe began bike commuting to his
job. He lost weight, performed better at work and saved thousands of dollars per year that his
family has re-routed to their kids’ college education. A bike library participant applied for a job
that wasn’t on a bus route and that required ‘reliable transportation,’ she told them yes, I have
reliable transportation.
Conclusion
Household expenditures on transportation are considerably less in metro areas that invest in
transit and encourage more compact development. In Portland, OR, for example, these savings are
estimated to exceed $1 billion per year.xiv
The market for housing in walkable communities and close to transit is hugely under supplied. A
survey by the Met Council estimates that the market for transit is three times the current number
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of riders.xv And a national survey found that a large majority of Millennials (the largest home
buying demographic) want to live in walkable urban settings.xvi
The investment priorities and new revenue tools that the TFAC advances can and should
encourage expanded transit options and more sensible land use. A transportation investment plan
that reduces the need for car travel can keep billions of dollars each year in the metro economy--
while improving the quality of life and providing more equitable access to opportunity.
i Aulich, Ted, and Kenneth Neusen. 1999. Estimated Economic Impact of Twin Cities Ozone Nonattainment. Grand Forks, N.D.; University of North Dakota Energy and Environmental Research Center. ii Conserving Energy and Preserving the Environment: The Role of Public Transit, pg. 2 Robert Shapiro, Kevin Hassett and
Frank Arnold, July 2002, for the American Public Transit Association. iii Jason Jordan, Center for Transportation Excellence, presentation on Transit Ballot Webinar: A Comprehensive Debrief of
Atlanta’s Recent Referendum, September 25th
, 2012. iv Transit Maps of the World, Mark Overden, 2007.
iv. American Public Transit Association, 2011 Public Transportation Fact Book. http://apta.com/Pages/default.aspx vi MnDOT, VMT Trends in Minnesota: 1992-2010, pg 2, October 2011 vii
The Road Less Travelled, An Analysis of Vehicle Miles Traveled Trends in the U.S., Robert Puentes and Adie Tomer,
Brookings Institution, 2008. http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Research/Files/Reports/2008/12/16%20transportation%20tomer%20puentes/vehicle_miles_traveled_report.PDF viii 17% increase in ridership figure arrived at based on calculation from Metropolitan Council PowerPoint presentation
(slide #47) to Minnesota Transportation Funding Advisory Committee (June, 2012), Carmakers Next Problem: Generation Y,
Allison Linn, 11/4/2010, NBCnews.com, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39970363/ns/business-autos/t/carmakers-next-
problem-generation-y/#.T57c-ByCjap ix Libby Starling, Metropolitan Council, 2040 Regional Forecasts and Thrive MSP 2040 presentation to Transportation
Advisory Board, August 15, 2012 x Transportation Performance in the Twin Cities Region, Providing a More Complete and Understandable Picture, pg 17,
Transit for Livable Communities, MCEA And STPP, August 1, 2008 xi Bike Walk Twin Cities, administered by Transit for Livable Communities, bicycle and walk count data
xii Ibid
xiii City of Minneapolis, http://kstp.com/news/stories/S2647766.shtml?cat=1
xiv Portland’s Green Dividend, A White Paper from CEO’s for Cities by Joe Cortright, July 2007,
http://www.ceosforcities.org/files/PGD%20FINAL.pdf xv
2007 Metro Residents Survey, Met Council, February 2008 xvi
Urban Land Institute, 2011, http://urbanland.uli.org/Articles/2011/June/KirkEcho
A non-profit organization, TLC works to transform Minnesota’s transportation system to strengthen community, improve health and opportunity for all people, foster a sound economy, and protect our natural resources.