Mass Transit Affirmative 1AC
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- Public transportation benefits all Americans
- Public transit use reduces our nation’s dependence on foreign oil. It helps cut our carbon emissions. And it is critical to emergency response and homeland security.
- Public Transportation Investment Economically Worthwhile APTA, 2010
- As people get jobs and go back to work, they get on mass transit more
- Mass Transit Usage Grows with Oil Prices and Economy
- The American Public Transportation Association reported
- More people are choosing to save money by taking public transportation when gas prices are high
- With local economies rebounding, more people are commuting to new jobs, some of them on public transportation
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Solvency – ExtMass Transit Revives the Economy, Fights Global Warming, and Eliminates our Dependence on Foreign Oil. APTA, 2010, American Publican Transportation Association http://www.apta.com/resources/reportsandpublications/Documents/APTABrochure_v28%20FINAL.pdf Public transportation benefits all Americans—whether they use it or not.¶ Public transportation gets people to the places that are important to them—¶ to jobs, to medical appointments, to educational opportunities, and more.¶ Public transportation is crucial to the economy. It creates and retains jobs. It revitalizes business districts and lets employers tap into a larger workforce. It stimulates commerce. And it increases property values. Public transit use reduces our nation’s dependence on foreign oil. It helps cut our carbon emissions. And it is critical to emergency response and homeland security.¶ Public transportation equals a stronger economy, a cleaner environment, and greater energy independence—which add up to a better quality of life. ¶ As America looks for solutions to today's challenges, ¶ public transportation takes us there. Public Transportation Investment Economically Worthwhile APTA, 2010, American Publican Transportation Association http://www.apta.com/resources/reportsandpublications/Documents/APTABrochure_v28%20FINAL.pdf The 36,000 jobs supported and created by every $1 billion of¶ investment in public transportation result in roughly $3.6 billion¶ in business sales and generate nearly $500 million in federal,¶ state, and local tax revenues. Overall, every $1 invested in public transportation generates $4 in economic activity. Mass Transit Popularity Increases With Oil Prices And Improved Public Transit Steve Hargreaves, CNN Money Analyst, March 12th 2012 “Mass transit use rises as gas prices soar” http://money.cnn.com/2012/03/12/news/economy/mass-transit/index.htm Ridership on the nation's trains and buses hit one of the highest levels in decades, with officials crediting high gas prices, a stronger economy and new technology that makes riding public transit easier.¶ In 2011, Americans took 10.4 billion trips on mass transit -- which includes buses, trains, street cars and ferries, according to the American Public Transportation Association.¶ That's a 2.3% increase over 2010 and just shy of the number of trips in 2008, when gasoline spiked to a record national average of $4.11 a gallon.¶ "As people get jobs and go back to work, they get on mass transit more," said Michael Melaniphy, president of APTA. "And then when people look at gas prices, they really get on transit more."¶ Melaniphy said gas prices near $4 a gallon tends to be the tipping point that pushes more people onto mass transit.¶ Obama makes alternative-fuel vehicle push¶ While the highest gasoline price spike was in 2008, gas prices averaged $3.51 a gallon in 2011 -- the highest annual average ever.¶ Currently, nationwide average gas prices are just above $3.80 -- the highest ever for this time of year, according to AAA.¶ Many analysts expect record gas prices in 2012 as the global economy recovers and tensions remain high in the Middle East.¶ Ridership on public transit, which is measured by number of trips taken, hit its highest level in the mid-1940s -- roughly double today's rate.¶ But with the widespread adoption of the automobile and America's suburbanization in the 1950s, public transit use steadily declined until the early 1970s, when gas prices spiked following the Arab oil embargo. 2011's ridership rate is the second highest since 1957.¶ In addition to gas prices and a rebounding economy, Melaniphy said new technologies have made taking public transportation easier for the general public. Mass Transit Usage Grows with Oil Prices and Economy Alex Johnson, MSNBC Reporter, June 4th 2012 “Public transit ridership rising sharply, advocacy group reports” http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/06/04/12051097-public-transit-ridership-rising-sharply-advocacy-group-reports?lite Rising gas prices apparently helped drive a 5 percent increase in public transit ridership in the first three months of 2012, the biggest first-quarter increase in 13 years, transit figures show.¶ NBC stations WGEM of Quincy, Ill., and KTVZ of Bend, Ore., contributed to this report by M. Alex Johnson of msnbc.com. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.¶ The American Public Transportation Association reported Monday that Americans took almost 125 million more rides on public transit in January, February and March than they did in the same period last year — an increase of 4.98 percent, the largest since the first quarter of 1999.which go back to 1996. ¶ But in the first quarter of last year, the number of rides on trains, light and commuter rail, buses and streetcars began rising year over year — beginning about the time U.S. retail gas prices began their steep climb from an average of $3.10 a gallon in January 2011 to $3.96 a gallon three months later.¶ Read the full report ¶ "More people are choosing to save money by taking public transportation when gas prices are high," said Michael Melaniphy, president and chief executive of the APTA, a Washington policy group that is lobbying Congress for new surface transportation legislation that would increase spending on public transit.¶ Karen Friend, manager of Cascades East Transit of central Oregon, said her agency's ridership has increased by 23 percent in the past year.¶ Saying the increase is probably "due to gas prices," Friend told NBC station KTVZ-TV of Bend, Ore., that "it was to be expected — it definitely was."¶ But gas prices aren't the only reason for the growth, Melaniphy said in a statement analyzing the APTA figures. With local economies rebounding, more people are commuting to new jobs, some of them on public transportation, he said.¶ "As we look for positive signs that the economy is recovering, it's great to see that we are having record ridership at public transit systems throughout the country," he said.¶ One of those systems is the Quincy Transit service in Quincy, Ill., which is racing to build more bus infrastructure to meet record demand. Its ridership jumped from about 400,000 in 2010 to about 500,000 last year, the city reported late last month.¶ There are some cautions about the APTA figures, however. ¶ For one thing, passengers are counted each time they board a vehicle, meaning each segment of a trip with transfers — from one bus to another, for example, or from a train to a bus at a transit station — is counted as a separate trip.¶ And not all transit systems are included in the collation, especially rail systems. For those systems, the organization assumes the same percentage growth it finds for the reporting agencies.¶ Still, for many people, public options remain vital, said Catherine Hayden of Quincy, Ill.¶ "If you don't have a car and you have to go someplace and you have to be there — even people that work — they're very dependent on [public transportation] it," Hayden told NBC station WGEM-TV. "I take the bus to the doctor. I take the bus shopping — anything that I need to do." Directory: file -> view view -> Western Europe after wwii view -> Author study: paul fleischman view -> Qpa1 7ela study Guide view -> Arctic Oil/Gas Neg view -> November 1970 Approximately 150,000-500,000 deaths Bhola Cyclone Bangladesh view -> Grade Level: 6 Unit of Study: Caribbean glce view -> Citation: Duffield, Katy view -> Table of Contents Lesson # view -> Chinese Wind Energy Disad Download 0.65 Mb. Share with your friends:
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