Bush Administration May Open Its Wallet for Amtrak

We're not sure what happened. Maybe George Bush swung by the Tiger Mart one day for some Cheetos  and noticed that gas is $3.50 a gallon. Maybe Cheney freaked out when he found out how much it would cost to gas up the F-150. Whatever it was, it must have been a big deal, because suddenly the Bush administration is willing to spend some money on rail.

Bush plans to sign legislation that will double Amtrak funding to $13 billion over the next half decade. It's an about face for an administration that's been committed to whittling away Amtrak's budget and replacing it with "private sector funding," the Bush/Cheney answer to everything but defense spending. Democrats aren't fans of this idea, and the Senate passed the funding bill, which also
requires that Amtrak and other rail companies equip their trains with
collision avoidance technology, by a 74-24 vote.

There's never been a better time to spend on rail. Amtrak
has seen record-breaking jumps in ridership. In July of this year, the railroad reported boarding 2,750,278 riders, a 14 percent increase and the biggest jump
in its history. Fiscal year to date, total ridership is at 23.7
million, up from 21.5 million, and revenue reached $1.4 billion, also
up 14 percent. According to Alex Kummant, Amtrak's president and CEO,
the line is working to build on this growth by boosting on time
performance.

The Amtrak bill highlights the different attitudes of the presidential candidates. McCain voted against it, saying through
a spokesperson that "with the financial decisions facing our nation,
this multibillion-dollar commitment of taxpayer dollars could be
dedicated to far more important national priorities." Evidently McCain
sees a functional transportation system as a luxury we just can't
afford. 

Obama, on the other hand, voted yes, saying that "American businesses and families deserve to have safe,
reliable, and efficient transportation options. For too
long, our nation's lack of investment in too many aspects of our
infrastructure has undermined that important goal."
These comments mirror the  broader stance of each candidate on transportation. Obama, on paper at least, has been a long-time proponent of Amtrak, while McCain's policies have focused almost
exclusively on auto-related initiatives: tax credits for
development of a zero emissions car, strengthening CAFE standards, and
providing a fat prize for the first person to develop a next-generation
battery.

Some think that the Amtrak bill might signal a broader shift in US transportation funding. The
federal government spends more than $40 billion annually on
highways, roughly $10 billion on mass transit and about $1.4 billion on
Amtrak. Shifting those numbers around won't even come close to solving our
transportation problems, but it would be a move
in the right direction.

Photo by Flickr user kafka4prez