County needs to expand bus service

Wisconsin State Journal :: SPECTRUM

Wednesday August 22, 2007
Tony Finch, Madison

Commuter rail works well on the Eastern seaboard, where New York City, a huge job center, is flanked by a long, narrow corridor of high density suburbs. An average New Yorker 's rail commute might run 40 or more miles, one way.

In Dane County we are spread out, at fairly low density, in all directions around our lakes, and most people prefer to keep it that way. Buses are the obvious public transit solution here.

I would support a regional transit authority with a focus on buses, especially electric hybrid buses. Hybrid buses average 30 percent to 40 percent better fuel economy than diesel buses, and since they accelerate using electric power, they cut typical diesel emissions by around 90 percent.

Hybrid buses are still more expensive than their diesel counterparts, but since they are heavily used, even the present cost penalty is usually recouped, and then some, in fuel savings alone, during a bus 's operating lifetime.

Perhaps most important, federal money is available for buses, not just commuter rail. Bus money can come from the Department of Transportation, and for hybrid buses, also from the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency. Responsible policy makers should have made the public aware of this a long time ago.