From ED, some basic facts on transportation in the US. Of note - the fact that not owning a car and using public transit can save a decent amount per year (which mortgage companies take into account), coupled with the fact that nearly half the population doesn't have real access to public transit. Then notice that even more drilling for domestic oil production won't have much of an effect for a while (I think ED is shooting a bit long, but at least 10 years is a good guess).

Photo: Matt Mercer

So you'd think this would be something our government would be interested in helping out with. Not really. our current misguided transportation secretary used some carefully constructed words to intimate that since the gas-tax funds for road construction are running out (surprise - people are driving less now), they might want to use some of that transit money to fund road construction. Hopefully we've all misconstrued her (nice to hear from the feds that road projects might actually have to prove themselves the way that transit projects do), but no way to tell at the moment.

I don't even want to talk about malicious neglect that the current administration has shown towards Amtrak. Oh that we had a good regional rail system in this country (on, and on, and on, and on...)

So what we have at the moment: mass transit use is growing pretty much everywhere in the country, and at the same time the transit providers, often forced to rely on sales, petroleum use, property, and other taxes for operating income, are hurting for money. So they're going to the other source they have - raising fares, and some even cutting service.

But hey, maybe the USDOT will find a way to fund those roads that are being used a bit less now.