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Transit Wins Big in new California Poll
Switchboard – National Resources Defense Council
The ninth environmental survey from PPIC since 2000, the Survey series “provides policymakers, the media and the general public with objective, advocacy-free information.” When asked which option is the closest to their view about planning in their region, 77 percent say “We should focus on expanding mass transit and using carpool lanes, pricing, and other strategies to more efficiently use the existing freeways and highways;” while just 18 percent say “We should focus on building more freeways and highways.”
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Expectations grow, funding shrinks, for transit
San Francisco Chronicle
Compounded by the economic decline and double-digit reductions in sales tax revenues, the state's budget cuts could not have come at a worse time for public transit. The state budget proposal zeroes out the State Transit Assistance fund for the next four fiscal years. That amounts to more than $3 million a year for the San Mateo County Transit District - money that goes to operate service. SamTrans is the bus and para-transit company for San Mateo County. In August, the board will hold a public hearing on a 15 percent cut in services, a fare increase and associated layoffs.
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New Budget Hits Transit Hard
KQED Radio
The new state budget cuts many programs, but none more deeply than mass transit. Lawmakers and the governor zeroed out transit subsidies this year, seizing a billion dollars in transit funds to help cover the general fund deficit. The cuts have left transit districts scrambling to close budget gaps of 10 to 30 percent.
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RT looks to close $2 million budget gap without cutting service
Sacramento Bee
Faced with rider pleas not to cut any more service, Sacramento Regional Transit officials say they will spend the next few weeks looking for other ways to help balance the agency's budget. Transit officials said their proposal to stop light rail trains at 9 p.m. each night remains on the table. It would be the first light rail service reductions in 20 years. The agency also is considering more bus route cuts, including eliminating some bus runs before 6 a.m. and after 8 p.m. A previously approved round of fare hikes and bus cuts is still planned to go into effect Sept. 1. Agency officials said the economy and state budget cuts have created an unprecedented fiscal crisis.
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Cutting Transportation Emissions is "Critical" to
Achieving Goals of House-passed Climate Bill
Environmental Defense Fund
The study, Moving Cooler: Transportation Strategies to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions, is the first-ever comprehensive analysis of transportation efficiency and its relationship to greenhouse gas reductions and consumer savings. It is authored by one of the nation's most respected transportation consulting firms, Cambridge Systematics. The findings of Moving Cooler include: Higher levels of investment in public transportation and highways have returns of two or three times to one in terms of benefits in relation to the costs of these strategies.
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