By Cynthia Stewart, Transportation Issue Chair, LWVWA Lobby Team  

Climate change is upon us. And we have a need for more affordable housing, which means greater density in our urban areas. We also have an aging population. Transportation is the greatest single contributor to climate change. Our transportation system is congested. What will help all of these things is a massive increase in transit service. 

Some of the solutions to climate change do not address these other problems. For example, a proliferation of electric vehicles—even with subsidies to make them somewhat more affordable—will not alleviate congestion and will require large additional investments in new infrastructure. 

Right now, people don’t use transit in many areas because the service levels are insufficient. We can’t get where we need to go conveniently or quickly, so people say, “why bother?”. But if we had big investments in transit and service levels were adequate, many more people would leave their cars and use the bus. 

A robust transit system is cheaper for us all than our current transportation system. Busses and support facilities cost far less than new roads. And data indicates that the average car owner spends $10,000 annually on payments, maintenance, insurance, and fuel to own and operate a car. Riding the bus would save thousands of dollars per year for most people. 

So, for the benefit of the climate, for people who are aging out of being able to drive, for people who can’t afford to operate a car, and to reduce congestion, please advocate for the state to make new, massive investments in transit.  

Please visit the It Takes Transportation website to take action by writing a message to your legislators and then sharing it with others on social media.