Please invest in Our Daily Planet today, by making a one time or monthly contribution.
We do not charge our readers a subscription fee for our content. We want to continue to grow our readership, particularly among millennials and public servants. Voluntary contributions from readers will help us employ interns and freelance journalists, expand our content, and reach a larger audience.
If you make a contribution of $150 or more, you will become an official “Friend of the Planet” and receive a Friend of the Planet T-shirt or water bottle.
Image: Paul Frangipane/Brooklyn Eagle
Before the coronavirus pandemic, most major cities were working diligently to improve public transportation and encourage residents to opt-out of relying on single-occupancy vehicles and rethink what space devoted to cars could otherwise be used for. But as the virus spread, ridership on mass transit around the world plummeted fueling fears that the resulting revenue losses could send transit into a “death spiral.”
Though the CARES Act provided temporary relief for U.S. transit systems, it’s not enough for the long run. As the New York Times reported, coronavirus cases are rising in over three dozen states, and the first round of congressional aid is quickly drying up. Transit leaders in cities including Seattle, Los Angeles, and Miami warn they need billions of dollars more in aid, otherwise their systems could collapse.
Why This Matters: The Times further noted that as tax revenue plummets, transit agencies across the country are projected to rack up close to $40 billion in budget shortfalls, dwarfing the $2 billion loss inflicted by the 2008 financial crisis. This could mean a long-lasting impact on public transportation which would also have significant impacts on city, state, and national climate goals as transportation is the top source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States.
Transit Post-Pandemic: Riding public transportation will likely look very different on the other side of the pandemic. We’ll have to rethink the way in which people previously packed into trains and buses for a lower-risk option. What this could look like:
Importance of Public Transit: Many frontline workers still heavily rely on mass transit during this time. As Politico wrote, lawmakers say they worry that their most vulnerable constituents could face the harshest burden if transit systems are forced to reduce or eliminate service.
“Even with decreased ridership, transit agencies must remain in operation so people can access food, doctors, pharmacies, jobs and childcare,” more than 50 Democratic members of the House wrote back in March as part of their plea to leadership for transit funding in the coronavirus relief bill. “Those most reliant on public transportation include communities of color, low-income communities and people with significant cognitive and physical disabilities that use paratransit services.”
The Colorado River is drying up, millions are at risk of losing their water supply, and Indigenous communities are fighting to keep their water rights. The Western megadrought is taking its toll on American communities, but how did we get here? In his new film, River’s End: California’s Latest Water War, Jacob Morrison delves […]
Continue Reading 241 wordsWorld Wildlife Fund (WWF) and HP just announced that they’re taking their friendship to the next level. The odd couple is teaming up and expanding their partnership to restore, protect, and improve the management of almost one million acres of forest. HP is pledging $80 million to forest conservation and restoration, and not stopping there […]
Continue Reading 145 words
Researchers from the National University of Singapore used data from more than 1,000 twin siblings to evaluate their opinions about environmental policy. They found identical twins were more likely to have similar views on green policy than non-identical twins, suggesting that support for climate action may have a genetic component. Felix Tropf, a professor in […]
Continue Reading 106 wordsSubscribe to the email that top lawmakers, renowned scientists, and thousands of concerned citizens turn to each morning for the latest environmental news and analysis.
