House Passes Reichert Amendment to Ease Congestion and Pain at the Pump
Washington, D.C.,
Jun 26, 2008 -
Congressman Dave Reichert’s (WA-08) amendment to ease congestion, help the environment, and save commuters from high gas prices unanimously passed the U.S. House of Representatives today. Reichert’s amendment to the Saving Energy Through Public Transportation Act of 2008 (H.R. 6052) promotes mass transit use by providing additional funds for bus park-and-ride lots to better serve suburban commuters. As Americans’ use of mass transit continues to rise with the price of gasoline, Reichert’s amendment was hailed by members of both parties as a common-sense solution to ease their pain at the pump.
“This amendment enables suburban commuters to take advantage of the benefits of mass transit, avoiding both congestion and another expensive trip to the gas station,” said Reichert. “Eastside commuters are increasingly using the convenience of park-and-ride transit to make their daily trip to work. I’m pleased that both parties came together to support this common-sense solution that will help alleviate gridlock and the pain at the pump. Every step we can take to ease the pain of high energy prices chips away at the problems this country faces both today and in the future.”
Speaking on his amendment during floor debate, Reichert stated, “Like every community, people in the Puget Sound Region in Washington State are parking their cars and taking transit more often. In my district alone, the number of people who rode Sound Transit's buses and trains in 2007 increased by nearly six times the nationwide increase. In the first quarter of 2008, the express bus service connecting two suburbs of Seattle, Lynnwood, Washington with Bellevue, Washington, grew by 31% from the first quarter of 2007! Ridership on Sound Transit's service between Everett, Washington and Bellevue, Washington is up 24%, and ridership between Federal Way and the Microsoft campus in Redmond is up 12%.”
Transit systems serving suburban commuters that travel longer distances from relatively distant suburban locations to central business districts have found that increasing commuter bus park-and-ride availability directly increases transit ridership on these routes. Expanding these parking facilities is a way to incentivize transit systems and the communities they service to increase their suburban park-and-ride lot capacity, and therefore increase the use of transit.
Rep. James Oberstar (D-MN), Chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, complimented Reichert, saying, “I commend the gentleman on his statement, very thoughtfully done to increase the federal share for parking facilities that serve commuter bus routes.”
The average price of a gallon of gasoline in Washington State today rose to $4.34, up from $4.02 one month ago, and from $3.11 last year.
H.R. 6052 authorizes $1.7 billion in funding for federal grants for public transit systems to improve transportation services. The funding is authorized over two years in grants that transit agencies could use to reduce fares and expand services. H.R. 6052 passed the House by a vote of 322-98.
Reichert is a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
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