Looking for ways to use less gas?

Joe Kolman, the Idaho Statesman's "Environment at Home" columnist, has some good ideas in today's paper for people who insist they have no choice in their driving habits. Taking the case of a New Jersey woman who is spending $300 a month on gas, he writes:

She could trade in her SUV (22 mpg) for a fuel-efficient car.

She could carpool or take public transit, even just once a week.

She could move closer to work. (She commutes an absurd 110 miles a day.)

Kolman writes, "It's fairly easy to convince ourselves that we don't have choices. But our ability to survive depends on changing to adapt to new situations. People have been doing it for a long time; do we want to be the ones who finally just give up because we can't figure out how to drive less?"

Read it all here.

Gas prices hit record high

The United States made history today by wiping out the previous inflation-adjusted average gas price. The average price for regular unleaded is now $3.21 a gallon. That's about 16 cents more a gallon than this time last year, and we probably won't see gas for less than $3 a gallon until fall.

One month from today is Dump the Pump Day. How timely. Read more here.

Getting to the grocery store

Via a post at Daily Kos, I learned about how U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan and several others from the House Hunger Caucus recently took part in a food stamp challenge. On his blog, Ryan described the challenges of trying to eat on a mere $21 a week.

What does this have to do with public transportation? Take it from Ryan:

As several people have mentioned it the comments, a problem faced many across the country, especially the inner-city poor, are the lack of low-cost food stores in an easily accessible area. These people can’t afford to drive to a Wal-Mart in the suburbs for the bargains; they aren’t members of the warehouse club stores. If you are constrained to where you can walk or take public transportation, then you can only shop at the places in your neighborhood, and you are forced to pay whatever they charge. That is EXACTLY what I was doing. I had the option to head out to Costco or Shoppers and decided instead to replicate as close as possible the REAL experience of someone who can't afford a car and is constrained by public transportation.

Here in Boise, we are blessed to be compact enough that most of our lower-income folks live within walking distance or a bus ride of a supermarket. However, as I've said many times before, bus riders must time their trips carefully so they can catch one of the buses that run only once an hour in most of the city, and not at all in the evenings or on Sundays. As for Costco, it's a reasonable hike from the nearest bus stop at Overland and Cole Road, but the quantities sold there make it impractical for shopping with anything less than a vehicle, anyway.

Air quality info

With warm temperatures and lots of pollen, Boise's airshed has been a little murky these past few days. In fact, our air quality was only rated "moderate" today, and our particles count was as high as Los Angeles and higher than Las Vegas and Phoenix.

Click here to see current air quality conditions in Boise and here to compare our conditions with cities nationwide. On days with less-than-good air quality, we can all help by taking alternative modes of transportation, combining trips if we must drive, parking the lawnmower, and abiding by burn bans.

Gas prices up - ridership, too

Valley Ride spokesman Mark Carnopis is quoted in the Statesman today as saying bus ridership on the intercounty lines is up 35.6 percent since fiscal year 2004 and 9.3 percent for the first six months of FY 2007. "We're looking at adding some larger buses on the inter-county route, because some of those buses are already over capacity," he said.

At a $2 to $4 roundtrip cost (cheaper with a monthly pass), riding the bus between Nampa or Caldwell and Boise just makes sense - if commuters can tweak their schedules to match that of the bus. Hint to to Valley Ride: If the buses are too crowded, don't just think about getting bigger buses. Do it. Nothing will turn off reluctant and casual riders more than not being able to find a seat.

Through the eyes of others

One rewarding - sometimes sobering - aspect of riding the bus is getting a glimpse of what it's like to live as a person with a handicap. Of course, people with disabilities are much more reliant on public transportation than the general public. Imagine trying to coordinate your daily routine to match a bus system that runs less than 12 hours a day, and only once an hour midday on many routes ... one on which some transfers are all but impossible - unless you want to wait another hour. It's not pretty.

Yesterday, a man with a wheelchair got off the Vista bus with me at the northwest corner of Overland. I'd never before realized this, but there is no curb cut on the Vista side of the northeast corner at that intersection, though there are at the other three.

In other words, had the man wanted to transfer to the westbound Overland bus at the northeast corner, he would have had to cross first to the southwest corner, then to the southeast, then to the northeast. Of course, he probably would miss the Overland bus at that point anyway, since the schedule has it arriving at the intersection about a minute before the Vista bus.

How silly is it that a major intersection like Vista-Overland doesn't have curb cuts on each corner? Drivers don't notice things like this, and able-bodied pedestrians don't either. But people who use wheelchairs or walkers or guide dogs are all too aware. Yesterday, for a moment, I was, too.

Will a one-day gas boycott help?

Once again, there's an email going around encouraging drivers to boycott gas stations on May 15. The idea is that if millions of Americans refuse to buy fuel on one day, prices will come down.

The problem is, people who buy gas every few days or even every week will simply fill up on May 14, or wait until May 16. The oil companies won't notice a thing.

If American motorists really wanted to do something to affect the situation, we wouldn't simply refuse to buy gas on May 15. We'd refuse to drive on May 15. We'd walk, bike, or take the bus. (Forget carpooling this one day, OK?)

It's one thing to have a bunch of drivers not buying gas on one day.
It'd be another entirely if those drivers simply refused to drive.

Or as petroleum analyst Marc Routt told the Detroit Free Press: “The only thing that does work, in terms of lower prices, is a change of lifestyle and habit.”

No free rides to the public this May

It's May, and that means it's time once again for May in Motion, Valley Regional Transit's annual attempt to get more of us to ride the bus, walk, bike, or carpool. Last year, Boise buses were free to ride all month long. A year or two before that (maybe both), May in Motion meant free rides on Fridays. But the free rides are gone this year, replaced by an effort to help employers earn free bus passes for their employees.

May in Motion events include an alternative transportation fair from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. this Wednesday, May 2, on 8th Street between Idaho and Bannock. A Bike and Walk to Work Day celebration and breakfast is planned at the same location from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. on May 18.

Final April stats

I rode the bus 28 times in April, a new monthly high for me. My trips were mostly on the #3 Vista, as usual, but I took the #14 Hyde Park for the first time, and I shepherded my daughter and four of her friends on the Roosevelt bus one afternoon. It was the first city bus ride for all but two of them. They had a blast; they weren't even fazed by the fact we had to catch the Roosevelt because the Vista had been delayed by a flat tire!

I had ten car-free days in April, yet I still wound up driving 351 miles, 100 more than in March. But with a total of fewer than 1,200 miles logged so far in 2007, I felt safe asking my insurance agent for the low-mile discount available to those who drive less than 7,500 miles a year. It's not much of a discount, but combined with my savings in fuel, parking, and vehicle wear-and-tear, it adds up.

Just today, I filled up the gas tank for the first time since April 3. I paid $2.95 a gallon at the Boise Avenue Maverik, one of the last stations in town with fuel at less than $3 a gallon. I wonder what it'll cost hereabouts by Memorial Day?

Transit tidbits

Boise's bus system has been in the news a few times in recent days. From a story Sunday in the Idaho Statesman:

Valley Regional Transit officials say they aren't sure yet what caused a propane-powered bus to burst into flames last month, but a City of Boise audit reports ongoing problems in the transit agency's maintenance department. ...

... During the review, an inspection of 15 vehicle maintenance files revealed a number of issues. Most preventative maintenance inspections were not completed on time. Lifetime vehicle mileage was entered incorrectly into the computer system, so preventative maintenance schedules were off.Quality checks of vehicle inspection reports weren't completed.

Most problems identified in the audit have since been corrected, according to the audit report.

The same story reported that local bus ridership is showing some modest increases. Valley Ride had 378,513 passengers from Oct. 1, 2005 to Feb. 28, 2006 and 392,553 for the same period in 2006-2007.

In other recent news, the Statesman reported that transit advocates plan to bring the local option tax plan back to the Idaho Legislature in 2008 and, if that doesn't work, try a citizen initiative in 2010. What's the saying about insanity being the practice of doing the same thing and expecting different results? But sources close to the debate tell me that a few area lawmakers who voted no on local option have received negative feedback from constituents, and that transit backers plan to do a better job countering the limited opposition to the bill.

Seattle sojourn savings

My husband and I went to Seattle for a few days this week for our anniversary. We stayed with friends in the Wallingford neighborhood northeast of downtown. Now, we could have rented a car, or taken the Gray Line Seattle Airporter, which falsely bills itself as "the least expensive transportation between the downtown Seattle hotels and the Seattle-Tacoma (SeaTac) International Airport." (It starts at $10.25 one way.) But of course, we opted instead for the King County Metro No. 194 bus, which expresses its way up I-5 to downtown. Cost: $1.50, or $1.25 in non-peak hours. Such a deal!

Once downtown, we switched to the No. 16 Northgate bus, which serves downtown, Wallingford and the U-District. It stopped along Stone Way just two blocks from our friends' place. Total travel time from the airport to Wallingford was just about an hour, in early rush-hour traffic. Total cost for two: $3.

Seattle is friendly to people who want to use alternative transportation, so much so that our friends have managed with just one car for a family of four for 15 years. They frequently ride their bikes to work and had a drawer full of bus schedules for various parts of the city, with three routes within a few blocks of their home.

Seattle also is looking forward to the opening of light-rail service from downtown to Sea-Tac in 2009. Many of the tracks downtown appear ready to go; the stretches by the airport are still under construction. In his visit to Boise a few weeks ago, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels offered his city's light-rail experience as a cautionary tale in how long it takes to plan and build transit: King County voted for its light rail in 1988.

One more note: This weekend, Seattle begins Elliot Bay water-taxi service between West Seattle and the downtown waterfront.

More publicity for TRAX

The Salt Lake City area's popular TRAX light rail was showcased in an article in The New York Times on Sunday. The article, by reporter Keith Schneider, describes how light rail is leading to a transit-oriented development boom of reasonably priced housing in the Salt Lake suburbs:

Mary Ann Downs, 22, an interior designer, moved into her $193,000 three-bedroom home at Waverly Station in February. Ms. Downs is happy to be near the TRAX system — she plans to use it this spring when the light rail connects to the new commuter line — and she also likes her neighbors.

One of them is David Bailey, 28, who works for a jewelry dealer. He bought a two-bedroom home for $205,000. He said access to the TRAX line, which he rides to basketball and football games downtown, played a part in his decision to buy. “I really feel as gas prices go up, homes near public transportation will increase in value,” he said.

Read more here. Thanks to Zach for the tip.

Parking up the wrong tree

Pardon the bad pun, in honor of this Earth Day season.

The other day at the Downtown Boise Association annual meeting, DBA director Karen Sander noted with satisfaction that the visitor count for the downtown public parking lots jumped from 657,160 customers in 2005 to 844,762 in 2006. Of course, this means more people are shopping, dining, and recreating downtown.

But if parking is up by roughly a quarter, that means traffic is, too. Anyone who has seen - or experienced - the three-block-line behind the 9th Street parking garage entrance at BoDo understands this all too well.

The DBA wants more and better transit, but I don't see downtown doing as much as it could to promote or augment use of the bus system we already have, other than the well-used BSU football shuttle it offers on game days in the fall. With or without the help of Valley Ride, Downtown Boise ought to be looking at park-and-ride (or walk) lots on the fringes of downtown, paired with a circulator shuttle bus or trolley for those unable to walk; merchant discounts for people who show their bus pass; and much higher parking rates, at least during the day when buses are available.

There's a lot going on downtown during the day this Saturday, from the re-opening of the Capital City Public Market to Earth Day festivities at Julia Davis Park. If you hear of friends planning trips downtown this weekend, why not suggest that they give the bus a try?

Bike Congress at BSU

I thought Bikeboy would have something about this on his blog, but not yet. This Friday is the annual Bike Congress at Boise State, where you can hear speakers discuss - among other things - bike-friendly campuses and the perils of car doors opening in bike lanes. Here's the full schedule.

When I bike, I'm currently riding a second- or third-hand 10-speed (or is it 15?). But if I had more disposable income, I think I'd spring for one of the $500 Lime bikes (as seen in the Idaho Statesman today, and here) from Trek, with three gears that shift automatically. With just three speeds, I'm not sure the Lime would have enough juice to get me up Protest Hill, but I suppose I could get off and walk - or put it on the bus bike rack!

Raising a generation of riders

Some of my fondest memories of growing up in Pittsburgh involve riding our trolleys and buses. I'm confident that my adolescent adventures on transit made me the committed bus rider I am today. And the earlier we can start, the better.

I went downtown on the #3 Vista earlier than usual today, sharing my ride with lots of Boise High School students. But the trip back two hours later was even better: Two dozen preschoolers and their teachers from a downtown day-care center clambered on board at 8th and Idaho and rode across downtown to story time at the library. They were all smiles and giggles, and one of the teachers told me the kids absolutely love to ride the bus.

An hour before, at the annual breakfast meeting of the Downtown Boise Association, Boise Mayor Dave Bieter remarked that his own daughter is in love with the book The Wheels on the Bus. "I'm working on a version with a train," he added. (Bieter and visiting leaders from other cities had more to say about transit and other topics. See my report at Red State Rebels.)

Right now, bus riding has a rap among too many people as the transportation option of last resort. But if we can change that image to one of fun, adventure, and camaraderie - clearly the way the preschoolers view it - not to mention that it's the right thing to do to cut traffic and air pollution ... well, maybe we can raise a generation of riders who believe public transit is the best way to go.

Paper slams 'petty parochialism'

Kevin Richert, editorial page editor of the Idaho Statesman, had this to say in his weekly column on Sunday. (I'm repeating it all here since the Statesman only leaves stories up for two weeks.)

On Monday, the Department of Commerce and Labor told us something we already knew:

The Treasure Valley is growing — rapidly.

According to the latest U.S. Census Bureau numbers, 22,499 newcomers moved to the Boise-Nampa metropolitan area between 2005 and 2006.

During that same period of time, Idaho's overall population grew by 37,098.

So let's do the math, because it is startling. Slightly more than 60 percent of Idaho's population increase — growth that, in turn, directly influences state income and sales tax collections — occurred in this one corner of the state. The public policy imperative could not be more clear. The state has a direct financial stake in the Valley's continued growth, and in helping the Valley's local governments keep up with the demands of growth.

When rural legislators refuse to budge to help on Valley issues such as community colleges, local-option taxes for transit or highway construction, they aren't just exercising petty parochialism. They are punishing the part of the state that shoulders an increasing share of the load to pay for public schools and Medicaid services all over the state. That is simply foolish public policy.

I wish the Valley population numbers had come out during the disappointing and just-completed legislative session.

Then again, I'm not sure some legislators would have been persuaded.

Transit is Topic A at Bench meeting

I missed the District 17 legislative wrapup last week, but apparently, public transit was the most-discussed topic at the Borah High School meeting. Here's an excerpt from the email newsletter sent afterward by Sen. Elliot Werk and Reps. Sue Chew and Bill Killen:

"We spent about 45 minutes discussing the failure of the legislature to allow our community to decide whether to support enhanced public transportation funding. The House Revenue and Taxation Committee rejected, on an 11-7 vote, local option taxing authority for the Treasure Valley that would allow our community (with a 2/3 super majority vote) to improve our public transportation system.

"Amazingly, three Treasure Valley Representatives (Mike Moyle, Gary Collins, and Bob Schaefer) voted to kill this legislation. The bill was supported by a very broad cross-section of interests in the Valley from the business community, to low income citizens, to environmental advocates, to regular citizens. There was no organized opposition.

"The most compelling argument in support of the bill for rural legislators came from Rep. (Leon) Smith (a former mayor and Idaho Transportation Board member). He made the point that if the legislature does not allow the Treasure Valley to take care of our issues that eventually the entire state would be doing so as we demand ever more of the transportation funding to expand our road system to the detriment of rural communities.

"The opposition seemed to be a combination of a dogmatic view that all taxes are bad and a distrust of local government by legislators that believe that they somehow know what is better for local communities than the communities themselves.

"There was also discussion about light rail, the need to move forward with both public transportation and highway improvements, and what could be done to gain a different result in the committee.

"This issue will come back to the legislature in future years. In addition, Representative Killen is working on other avenues to secure funding. Stay tuned!"

Step It Up, Boise

Would you like to ask Congress to seek an 80 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2050 - or 2 percent each year? That's the goal of the Step It Up campaign, which has more than 1,300 events planned nationwide this Saturday, April 14.

Boise's main event, the Concert for Climate Action, set for 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Julia Davis Park, will include speakers, displays, and local entertainers Steve Eaton, Stella, Farmdog, The Hoochie Coochie Men, and Underscore. See more information here, and plan to show your support for a saner energy future by attending Step It Up on Saturday.

Starting light rail at 600K

In 1981, Calgary, Alberta, launched a light rail service to complement its bus system. The local population was about 600,000 people, according to Glen Radway, a Calgary city planner who visited Boise last week.

Fast forward a quarter century. Calgary's population has passed a million and is on track to hit 1.28 million by 2025. The two-line light rail system has spurred transit-oriented development near some of its stops, and the appetite is strong for more. But improvements and expansion take time; this page at Calgary Transit's website explains how, although an added line was approved in 1990, its construction has not yet begun.

The lessons here for Boise? Although many here say that Boise doesn't have the population base to support light rail, the Treasure Valley's current population is closing in on the level at which Calgary launched its CTrain system. But even more critical is the fact that our rapid growth will make it more difficult in the future to secure the right of way and funding necessary to make light rail work here. That, of course, is what the proposed local option tax would have made possible - along with a much-improved bus system that has to come before light rail, anyway.

Transit planners need to think and budget decades ahead, which is why Boise's current lack of adequate transit is so alarming. If we're this far behind in 2007, how far behind will we be when our population hits a million?

My family rides the bus!

Because my husband's working hours don't jibe with the bus schedule, transit isn't an option for him. And because buses don't run in the evenings when we usually go downtown for fun, we usually haven't taken transit, period.

But Friday, we had plans to meet friends downtown for an early supper at 4:30. The last bus home would leave at 6:15. "Let's take the bus," I said.

The three of us got to the corner of Vista and Overland well ahead of the bus expected there at 4 p.m. We waited ... and waited ... and waited. Finally, just when my husband was ready to walk home and get the car, I saw the bus in the distance, about 10 minutes late. It turned out a new driver was learning the route. Even with the delay, we made it downtown in plenty of time.

My husband commented that it was like being on vacation, since that's the only time he usually uses public transit. My daughter, a more frequent transit user, was nonchalant behind her white-rimmed shades and inscrutable adolescent demeanor. I was just happy that we were able to take a rare ride on our local bus as a family. Hey, it doesn't take much to make my day!

Canadian urban planners visit

Public transportation will be among the items up for discussion when urban planners from our neighbors to the north visit Boise as part of Boise State University's Canada Week events.

"Planning, Growth, and Development: The Vancouver and Calgary Experience" will be the topic at a talk from 3 to 5 p.m. Thursday in Room 110 of the Enginering and Technology Building. Presenters Glen Radway of Calgary, Alberta, and John Madden of Vancouver, B.C., will share their thoughts and expertise on sustainable growth, transit, housing affordability, and more.

Madden and Radway will also be at a sustainable growth planning session from 9 to 11:30 a.m. Friday at Boise City Hall. People interested in attending that are asked to email lsamuels@cityofboise.org.

Transit got us here!

My daughter and I visited California for spring break. Aside from a few rides from friends and family, we took transit the entire week. The San Francisco Bay Area has a terrific website, Transit 511, that makes it easy to plot your travels by transit.

After flying to Oakland, we took the airport shuttle and BART to San Francisco, where my brother picked us up at the 16th & Mission subway station. The next few days, we mostly used the SF bus and trolley systems to get around, including the new Muni "T" line that is linking key San Francisco areas and adding economic development potential to some of the city's poorer neighborhoods.

Midweek, we headed down the coast to the Point Montara Lighthouse Hostel. (The view above was the one from our window!) We got there by taking Caltrain to San Mateo, then the 294 samTrans bus. We also took the latter to Half Moon Bay and back one night for dinner. When it was time to head home, we took the 294 to Pacifica, the samTrans 110 bus to Daly City, then BART and AirBART back to Oakland Airport.

The Bay Area's transit systems seem extremely well-used and mostly well-loved. My biggest beef was a sign at the Powell Street Muni station downtown that seemed to show which lines served which stations. On closer inspection, I saw the sign was actually describing transfer points at those stations.

It's always a little confusing to navigate in a city you don't know well, especially one served by multiple bus and rail lines. But we found that transit personnel and local transit users (and my brother-in-law, Kevin) unfailingly pointed us in the right direction. As we fretted about finding the right side of the street for our bus in suburban San Mateo County, my daughter asked me why we just didn't rent a car. Three reasons, I said: to save money, to keep one more car off the road, and to have an adventure. We succeeded on all three counts.

Final March stats

I rode the bus 25 times in March. (I also spent spring break out of town, taking all sorts of public transit ... more on that in my next post.) I drove only 251 miles in March, for a grand total so far this year of just 822 miles. At this rate, I could drive fewer than 3,500 miles this year, except I know some long road trips will boost my totals. That's OK: I drive when I must, and I take transit when I can.

I last bought gas a month ago, and I still have close to a quarter tank left. That's a good feeling as prices edge back up toward $3 a gallon.

A 'surface subway' plan

Dave at the Boise Guardian has a plan:

We feel public transit needs to be dependable and frequent to get riders. Trains, light rail, trolleys, etc. have a major drawback—they are limited to riding the rails and they cost more than the entire budget of God. Buses can use existing streets and with existing technology they can make traffic signals go green (like the fire trucks do). The GUARDIAN plan calls for buses to pass by the “stations about every 20 minutes. Rather than wind around neighborhoods in ill fated attempts at being all things to all people, the GUARDIAN LINES will intersect for transfer purposes and get the average rider pretty close to their destination. We don’t claim to have a perfect solution, but with 3 buses on each of the streets identified in our route map we will have the ability to move a lot of people effectively. It will use 30 buses. The GUARDIAN has offered up the basic system. The rest of you can chomp on it, but we are seeking suggestions to get people to our “stations” which will be at each intersection on the map as well as at each end of the line. Think in terms of STATIONS and straight line routes. We can already see a potential Federal Way route in the future.

Read it all here. What do you think?

City bus destroyed in fire

This probably won't help Valley Ride's efforts to entice new riders. From the Idaho Statesman:

Traffic was partially blocked in Downtown Boise this morning while crews worked to put out a fire on a city bus this morning.

Shortly after 8 a.m., Ada County dispatchers received a report that the engine compartment of a city bus had caught fire near 9th and Main streets.

No injuries have been reported in the incident, but the natural-gas powered bus was a total loss.

The fire began at about 8:15 a.m., when the bus driver was on a break, Boise Fire Department Capt. Tom Pawek said.

Another bus driver spotted the flames and called emergency dispatchers, but by the time police arrived less than a minute later, the rear of the bus was totally engulfed.

Pawek said a venting system built into the engine prevented a large natural gas explosion. Still, flames shot nearly three stories into the air.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known. Witnesses heard a whooshing and popping sound as the flames began, but Pawek said that could have been the safety venting system.

Similar natural gas bus fires are not uncommon in Boise, said Deputy Fire Chief Dave Hanneman.

“This is the fourth or fifth bus that I’ve seen catch fire in the past four or five years,” Hanneman said. “The natural gas fuels the fire, and that’s that.”

Read more here. Four or five bus fires in four or five years? That's too many.

My letter to the editor

I have a letter in the Idaho Statesman today, pasted below. Thanks to any newcomers who are checking out the blog after seeing the link:

Buses use ads

I had to laugh at Fred Birnbaum's March 19 letter accusing ValleyRide of silk-screening its buses so people can't see how few riders are inside. Actually, Fred, those buses are rolling billboards that help keep ValleyRide on the road. ValleyRide needs all the help it can get since our lawmakers refuse to give Treasure Valley citizens local control over transit funding.

Speaking of those ads, one is from a major local homebuilding company. I don't want to pick on this company, but the philosophy behind its bus slogan — Live Large — explains why our air is foul and our roads are clogged. People who buy big homes usually live far away from work, shopping, schools and entertainment. When we choose instead to live a little smaller and closer to our workplaces, our kids' schools, and shopping, we can take the bus, walk or bike more often. For more on these issues, see http://boisebusblog.blogspot.com.

I wasn't surprised to see rural legislators like Lenore Barrett and Ken Roberts deny local control to the Treasure Valley. Local Reps. Mike Moyle, Gary Collins and Robert Schaefer are the fellas who ought to be ashamed — and who ought to be replaced next November.

Julie Fanselow, Boise

Otter admits secret transit passion

You know, admitting you have a problem is the first step in solving it. Gov. Butch Otter admitted last week we have a transit problem in the Treasure Valley. And he told how, while living in Washington, D.C. as a congressman, he never had a car. He usually walked to work, but if the weather was bad, he'd take the city's popular (but still subsidized) Metro subway to work. Despite the taxpayer subsidies, he apparently enjoyed it.

Alas, now that he's back here in Idaho, Otter drives to work by himself. It's the Idaho way, and Otter doesn't see that changing any time soon. He says he would've signed the local option taxing authority bill had it hit his desk, but he'd have opposed the tax at the ballot box. Read more at the Idaho Business Review and Boise Weekly.

Itty-bitty Jackson trumps Boise bus sked

I was in Jackson, Wyoming, on business last week. Jackson and Teton County have a population of about 20,000, or one-tenth that of Boise - but Jacksonians enjoy bus service from Southern Teton Area Rapid Transit from 6:30 in the morning until 10:30 at night, as this sign attests. What's more, the in-town circulator bus is free. Did I mention it runs seven days a week?

START is funded by city and county tax dollars as well as some federal money. In addition to the free in-town bus, a favorite with skiers this time of year, it has fare-based routes to Jackson Hole Resort and the commuter communities of Star Valley to Jackson's south. Next month, START will begin service to the Idaho side of the Tetons, with two daily round-trip runs from Jackson to Victor and Driggs. There's even talk of extending service to Grand Teton National Park.

START buses are beautiful vehicles, some of them wrapped in scenic shots of the Teton area. The system had 625,000 riders last year - a new record. I wonder how that compares to Valley Ride's annual ridership.

Was transit bill kill GOP payback?

Writing on his blog at the Idaho Business Journal, er, Review, John M. Foster wonders whether the House Rev & Tax committee killed the local option transit bill partially as political payback to Treasure Valley GOP legislators who favored Nampa businessman Bill Deal over Lawerence Denney for House speaker. Read Foster's blog here. Thanks to The MountainGoat Report for the tip.

So ... now what?

The local option funding idea is dead for 2007. The issue will probably resurface in next year's legislature, but since the players won't change, I can't see the results being different. New leadership in the legislature in 2009 could certainly make a difference - both in local option progress and maybe even some general fund money for public transit needs - but that's two years away at best.

So what are other ways the Treasure Valley could improve its public transit with the existing funding, or via funding that could come without the legislature's assent? This is an open thread.

Committee torpedoes transit chances

I guess this shouldn't surprise anyone, but farmers from Rexburg, Donnelly, and Rigby today helped deny the right of a half-million Treasure Valley citizens to decide for ourselves whether we want a decent public transit system.

On a 11-7 vote, the House Rev & Tax Committee killed House Bill 246. The vote was mostly along party lines, with only Rep. Leon Smith - a Twin Falls Republican - joining the panel's five Democrats in an effort to defeat Rep. Ken Roberts' motion to hold the bill in committee.

After more than two hours of testimony yesterday and today that overwhelmingly favored the bill, Smith - a mediator and attorney by profession - moved it be sent to the full House. Failure to do so, he added, would "destroy the work of so many people over several years" to give Treasure Valley residents a shot at passing a local option tax to fund transit.

As galling as it is that rural legislators can decide urban issues, the panel's western Treasure Valley contingent didn't help matters. Reps. Mike Moyle of Star and Gary Collins and Robert Schaefer of Nampa all voted to kill the bill, and all sat mostly silent during the hearings. The panel also was stone-faced on bill sponsor Roy Eiguren's challenge, offered yesterday and repeated today: If a local option tax isn't the answer to the Treasure Valley's pressing transit needs, what is?

Update 11:45: I just got an email from House Minority Leader Wendy Jaquet, a panel member, who said committee chair Dennis Lake, also voted to send the bill to the House.

It's up to you, Rev & Tax

The Idaho Statesman editorializes:

Do 18 legislators want to do the thinking for 500,000 people?
We'll find out this morning.

Today, the House Revenue and Taxation Committee will vote on a bill to allow the Treasure Valley to pursue a local sales tax for public transit.

If these lawmakers recognize the Valley's traffic and air quality problem is on a fast lane to crisis, they'll vote yes.

If they value a conservative but responsive tax code, they'll vote yes.

If they mean what they say about local control, they'll vote yes.

Read more here. I'm heading back to the Statehouse in an hour or so for the conclusion of yesterday's hearing and the vote. I'll report more later.

Transit hearing continued ...

The House Rev & Tax Committee began hearing House Bill 246 this morning, but since a greater-than-expected number of people signed up to testify, the hearing will continue at 9 a.m. Wednesday in Room 404. Presumably, the panel will also vote Wednesday on whether or not to send the legislation to the full House.

About three-quarters of the people who testified Tuesday favored the bill. The major exceptions were three representatives from the National Federation of Independent Business, who complained that a local option tax for transit would put small businesses at a competitive disadvantage and prove onerous for businesses to collect and report. Rep. Nicole LeFavour noted, however, that a local option tax would be collected and administered by the state tax commission.

Other speakers in opposition included one man who said he ran the city bus system a quarter-century ago (when it did just fine for ridership, he said) and another whose long and rambling testimony seemed to center on his assertion that local air quality isn't as bad as everyone thinks. Fortunately, the panel was able to accommodate the folks who came from out of town to testify, as well as several visually impaired transit users who made the trip to the statehouse.

Here are a few comments from those who spoke in favor of the bill:

Bill sponsor Roy Eiguren reiterated that Boise State University found that 85 percent of people surveyed this winter believe that the state should allow transit expansion via local option taxes. He challenged the committee that if it decides not to allow this bill to go to the full House, "we would implore you" to suggest another acceptable means of funding transit.

Chuck Winder, co-chair of the Coalition for Regional Public Transportation, noted that many opponents point to empty seats on the buses as reason to oppose enhanced transit. But he noted that most passenger cars and trucks have empty seats, too, and that the Treasure Valley needs to move beyond the Old West mentality that demands a horse - or vehicle - for every person.

Coalition co-chair Mayor Garret Nancolas of Caldwell reminded legislators that no one is asking them to approve a tax, but simply to authorize the mechanism by which local citizens can decide for themselves whether to better fund public transit. He also noted that commuter service between Caldwell and Ada County is already running above capacity.

Boise Mayor Dave Bieter remarked how, since Salt Lake City implemented its light rail system,
demand has been far beyond what anyone expected. He also noted that a Boise-based manufacturer of commuter locomotives, MotivePower, has seen its employment more than double in recent years due to national demand for its products.

Several speakers noted how more people would use Valley Ride if it had better hours and more frequent service. Boise resident Kevin Bayhouse said it best when he noted that most people won't use transit systems that are perceived as incomplete, and that people deserve a chance to vote on a transit system that can "compete with their cars."

Stay tuned ...

Update: Idaho Statesman opinion page editor Kevin Richert writes in his blog, "Testimony ran in favor of the bill by a 14-5 count. My guess: The committee vote Wednesday will be a lot closer."

Reminder: Transit bill hearing is Tuesday

Just a reminder that tomorrow - Tuesday, March 6 - the Idaho House Revenue & Taxation Committee will hear House Bill 246, which would amend Idaho law to allow regional public transportation authorities in Idaho to seek a local sales and use tax to fund better public transit.

The hearing is set for 9 a.m. in the Gold Room - the room where hearings are scheduled when the committee expects a crowd. Even there, seating is limited, so arrive early if you plan to testify

Final February stats

I rode the bus 23 times in February, including one new route (#4 Roosevelt). Back at the end of January, I challenged myself to get through February without buying gas, and I easily achieved that. (I still have about a quarter-tank!)

So far this year, I've driven 571 miles. Last year, my total mileage was 9,646 (including two road trips to Wyoming and some medium-distance driving around Idaho, to the Magic Valley and McCall). I aim to get that below 6,000 this year.

My goals for March: Ride the bus 25 times. Take at least one new route. Buy gas once. Advocate for passage of House Bill 246, the bill that would allow Idaho communities to pursue local option funding for better transit. The Idaho House Revenue & Taxation Committee will hear the bill Tuesday, March 6, at 9 a.m.

Transit funding bill will be printed

The Idaho House Revenue & Taxation Committee on Tuesday voted to print a bill that would allow local communities to ask voters for funds to greatly improve public transit.

This is an important first step toward helping the Treasure Valley get a 21st century transit system, attract economic development, improve our quality of life, and avoid federal penalties for air quality "non attainment." If the bill runs the remaining gauntlets, it would allow Ada and Canyon county (along with other localities in recognized transportation districts) to ask voters whether to adopt a local option sales tax of up to one-half cent. In the Treasure Valley, such funding would mean much more frequent bus service with longer hours; expanded routes to outlying communities; and funding to preserve rail corridor for possible future light rail. (Read more here.)

The bill will now move on to a regular hearing by the committee, although today's print hearing was quite extensive. Rep. Leon Smith (R-Twin Falls) moved that the bill be printed, noting, "I don't think anyone denies the need for public transportation in the Treasure Valley," and adding that the Coalition for Regional Public Transportation - including more than 40 area legislators, officials, and business leaders - did "a tremendous job" of setting out its case.

Rep. Ken A. Roberts (R-Donnelly) countered with a motion to return the proposed bill, suggesting that instead of a sales tax, proponents ought to pursue a head tax on Ada and Canyon county residents who would benefit most from better transit. "Let the people pay for it that cause the problem," he said. "Bring the bill that has it based on a head tax, and I'll help get it through."

In the end, Roberts' motion to return the proposed bill failed by two votes. Smith's motion to print was approved 11-6, with six Republicans (Treasure Valley reps Gary Collins, Mike Moyle, and Robert Schaefer plus Leon Smith, Dell Raybould, and R.J. Harwood) joining all five Democrats (George Sayler, Wendy Jaquet, Nicole LeFavour, Bill Killen, and James Ruchti) in assent.

The bill still faces daunting odds in its committee hearing - and even if the legislature approves the local option taxing authority, a sales tax would need a two-thirds supermajority to pass. It may still be a very long time before the Treasure Valley gets a decent transit system, but today's action was an important first step in that direction.

This is the week

The legislation to OK a vote on a local option tax for transit will finally come to the House Revenue & Tax Commitee this week. The print hearing for the bill is set for 9 a.m. Tuesday in Room 404 of the Statehouse in Boise. Please contact your legislators, especially the following folks, in support of giving local citizens the right to seek funding for better transit!

Chair Dennis M. Lake Republican District 28, Blackfoot
Robert E. Schaefer, Republican District 12, Nampa
R. J. Harwood, Republican District 2, St. Maries
Scott Bedke, Republican District 27, Oakley

COMPASS forum this Saturday

The Community Planning Association of Southwest Idaho (COMPASS) plans a forum this Saturday (February 24) on putting its long-range Communities in Motion transportation plan into action. The event runs between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. at the Best Western Vista Inn at the Airport, oh-so-convienently located along the #3 Vista line, by the way.

People can stop by anytime during the day to look at exhibits or sit in on presentations and panel discussions. (Here's a list.) The most interesting panel may well be one planned for 4 p.m., titled "Politics and Reality." Or, in other words, how do you create a public transit system for a growing metro area when a few obstinate state legislators hold the power to approve or deny local communities' ability to adequately fund decent transit?

81 miles in three days

Two steps forward, one step back.

Just last week, I was crowing about how I managed not to use my car for nearly a full week. Well, this week, I managed to put 81 miles on the car in just three days. Bleah.

My cell phone died on Monday, and I had to drive all the way to Meridian to exchange it. Fortunately (I guess), I already had previous plans to attend a meeting in Meridian that day, so I was able to combine the two errands. Unfortunately (but predictably), the line at the cell-phone store was moving like molasses, so - although I'd allowed 20 minutes for that - it wasn't enough. I had to leave the line, drive across Meridian to the meeting, then return to wait in line some more. Then I had to go out of my way on the way home to pick up my daughter and her friends, whom I'd left at the mall three hours earlier. Total: More than 40 miles. (Aside to people who drive on Eagle Road every day: How can you stand it?!)

Tuesday and Wednesday, I had two short dental appointments of about 10 minutes each. In neither case - given the hourlong midday wait time between buses - did it make any sense to take the bus like I did for my cleaning last week. Tuesday night, I had a meeting and had to drive downtown. (I added a few errands en route to make the trip more worthwhile.) Wednesday morning, my daughter had an orthodontist appointment. That afternoon, she stayed after school to see her teacher and missed the bus. Then Wednesday night, she had a youth group meeting at our church in Garden City, so there was another 16-mile round trip.

Those little trips really add up, and over the course of two days, I somehow added another 40 miles. On the other hand, as of this morning, I've driven only 481 miles so far this year and my fuel tank is just now nudging the halfway mark after my last fillup (January 29). Time to climb back on the wagon - er, the bus!

85% of Idahoans want transit tax power

The Idaho Statesman reports this morning that a new Boise State University survey found that an overwhelming majority of Idahoans want the power to tax themselves for better public transit. Read the story here.

Reporter Greg Hahn also wrote that House Revenue and Taxation Committee Chairman Dennis Lake "said he received a copy of a tax-for-transit bill Tuesday. He already has two other local option proposals in hand, he said, and the committee should consider introducing them early next week."

Also of interest from the BSU survey: "Just 2 percent said they use mass transit now, but 16 percent said they would consider it if gas prices were between $2 and $3. If gas prices reach $4 to $5, 57 percent of Idahoans would consider commuting via mass transit."

Gas prices are already between $2 and $3. Hey 16 percent - what are you waiting for?! Oh yeah ... more frequent transit with longer hours, probably.

Advocates for blind seek bus boost

I wish I had something new to report about the local option tax legislation. I'm checking the House Revenue & Taxation Committee calendars daily to see if it's coming up. You can do the same; click here. (The committee usually meets at 9 a.m., so it's best to check the day before.) I understand Rep. Nicole LeFavour will introduce it to the committee before too long.

Meanwhile, I heard Rep. Phylis King (D-Boise, District 18) say tonight that she recently met with leaders from the National Federation for the Blind and they had only two requests: better public transportation and more opportunities for blind students to be taught by blind teachers. It's no surprise that people with all sorts of disabilities rely heavily on bus transportation. Some us ride the bus by choice; people with disabilities ride as a necessity, and their ranks are growing fast as our population ages. The needs of disabled and senior riders ought to be paramount as legislators decide whether or not we ought to improve our bare-bones Boise bus system.

A compromise in the works?

UPDATE Friday, Feb. 16: A letter from state Rep. Nicole LeFavour - who sits on Rev & Tax - makes it clear: More voices are needed from outside Boise to press for local option taxing authority for transit. Nicole also believes it's a mistake to settle for the supermajority level, since that is mainly used for emergency school bonds (many of which do not pass at that level). She writes: "If we wait until public transportation is an emergency, it will be many times more costly to build. Also in some cases it will then be too late to prevent the need for more and more very costly urban highway projects."

So bottom line - please contact your friends and family outside Boise and ask them to contact the committee in support of a local option tax bill that allows passage with a 60 percent majority.

The folks from Idaho Smart Growth have sent word that a compromise may be in the works on a local option transit bill, and that the legislation will probably hit the House Revenue & Tax Committee next week.

Basically, since Rev & Tax balked at lowering the supermajority for a community college district last week, transit advocates know they'll need to seek a 66 2/3rds percent vote for transit, too. However, they're hoping that in return, the law would permit the issue to appear on any May or November - not November in an even year, as advocates would have accepted in trade for a lower pass threshold.

So again: It's time to tell everyone you know who lives in districts represented by the folks below to contact their legislator(s) and express support for local option funding authority for public transit. The lawmakers are:

Chair Dennis M. Lake Republican District 28, Blackfoot
Vice Chair Gary E. Collins, Republican District 12, Nampa
Lenore Hardy Barrett, Republican District 35, Challis
Mike Moyle, Republican District 14, Star
Robert E. Schaefer, Republican District 12, Nampa
Leon E. Smith, Republican District 24, Twin Falls
Dell Raybould, Republican District 34, Rexburg
Ken A. Roberts, Republican District 8, Donnelly
JoAn E. Wood, Republican District 35, Rigby
Jim Clark, Republican District 3, Hayden Lake
R. J. Harwood, Republican District 2, St. Maries
Scott Bedke, Republican District 27, Oakley
Phil Hart, Republican District 3, Athol
George C. Sayler, Democrat District 4, Coeur d'Alene
Wendy Jaquet, Democrat District 25, Ketchum
Nicole LeFavour, Democrat District 19, Boise
Bill Killen, Democrat District 17, Boise
James D. Ruchti, Democrat District 29, Pocatello

I drive for the first time in a week

Hey, I have a new record: I went from last Thursday night through this morning, nearly a week, without driving. I broke my chain of car-less days only because my daughter woke up late today, missed her bus, and needed a ride to school.

On top of that, I drove only twice the week before: to church, because there's no bus service on Sundays, and last Thursday because my daughter needed something at a shop 3 miles away after the buses stopped. Granted, I was in the Seattle area last weekend, but I relied on transit and friends to get around there.

This week back in Boise, I took a brand-new-to-me route (#4 Roosevelt) to my dentist. That was especially cool: The bus arrived five minutes before my 9 a.m. appointment, and the next one came at 10:25, about 15 minutes after I was done.

I'm learning to consolidate errands very well. For example, after my dentist appointment, I had a noon meeting at the Statehouse, so I filled that hour-and-a-half with errands I'd "collected" for that morning: buying my brother's birthday present and my husband's Valentine's Day gift, picking up some office supplies, and visiting the library.

And this morning, when my kid needed a ride, I combined that with the car-based stuff I'd been "saving" for the next time I needed to drive: taking two bags of glass to the recycling bin at BSU and making a major grocery run. (I do most of my shopping on foot to the Albertsons three blocks away, but once every two weeks or so I make a trip with my car to buy the bulkier stuff.)

I will need to drive again tomorrow, since my daughter and I are attending something that'll keep us downtown into the evening. (Well, I may be able to convince her to walk!) But after that, I'll start gunning for another record and see if I can break my near-weeklong stretch of enjoying the car-free life.

Keeping the pressure on Rev & Tax

There's still no word when the House Rev & Tax Committee may take up a measure to allow a vote on local option funding for public transit. But the Idaho Statesman has been sounding a steady drumbeat for the issue this week, mostly along the lines of how better transit is a must if we are going to curb worsening air quality.

In an editorial in today's edition, the newspaper implored Gov. Butch Otter to make air quality as much a priority as water supply, and noted that he could hold sway over recalcitrant Canyon County lawmakers who are loathe to pass local-option measures. The Statesman editorial board wrote: "As a former legislator who represented Canyon County in the 1970s, Otter understands the area's constituency. Canyon County voters know Otter and gave their favorite son 61 percent support three months ago. They may not heed air-quality warnings from Ada County officials — but they may give Otter a hearing."

And on Sunday, in an editorial chiding the Rev & Tax panel for its vote against lowering the supermajority for community college districts, the Statesman got in another strong argument for a local-option transit tax:

Don't think for a minute that this desire for control stops at the community college issue. It extends, now as ever, to the Legislature's historic reluctance to reduce the unrealistic two-thirds supermajority for approving school bond issues.

And it could extend, later this session, to the perennial question of local-option taxes.

A local coalition is working on a bill which could allow the Valley to collect a voter-approved sales tax for public transportation. This week, Stark said, the group could have a draft of a bill to take to Rev and Tax Chairman Dennis Lake, R-Blackfoot.

The details remain in flux — as local-option supporters try to find a magic number.

A bill establishing a simple-majority threshold could be dead on arrival. A 60 percent threshold may be a tough sell, especially considering the community college vote. The committee might go for a two-thirds supermajority. Then again, Stark says he doesn't know of a single state that requires two-thirds support for a local sales tax — and he's not sure a local-option sales tax could garner a two-thirds vote. "That's where our struggle comes in."

And it's the Valley's struggle. As the Valley's population grows toward 2030 projections of 1 million, it's time now to start planning for public transportation systems that relieve gridlock and reduce vehicle exhausts. And it's certainly time to give locally elected leaders the authority to make their pocketbook pitch to voters, and trust an engaged electorate of taxpayers to make a sound decision.

Kudos to the Statesman editorial board for following this issue so closely, and for calling on the Rev & Tax Committee to allow local control on local issues.

Airport bus service

I'm at the airport, through security, an hour and fifteen minutes early for a flight to Seattle. It was either this or take the next bus and arrive at the airport just a half-hour before the flight. That's never a good idea, even here at BOI.

Fortunately, with free, easy-connect Wi-Fi (thank you, Idaho Business Review) and the spacious food court area - complete with lovely natural light and the awesome "fire fountain" - BOI is a perfectly good place to wait for a flight. Still, if we're ever able to get expanded bus service, more people will take transit. Think of the parking fees and cab fares you can save - but not if the buses don't run when you need 'em.

As always, my top gripe is the lack of evening service. Last week, I flew home Friday from another trip and arrived 15 minutes after the last bus had departed. Of course, when I get home from this trip Sunday, there will be no service at all. Oh well - at least the taxi companies are happy. (Or maybe not: My cabbie last week told me that the city has licensed way too many rigs and he'd been waiting in the queue three hours.)

Better bus service would be an even bigger boon for visitors. Think of it: When you go to "real" cities, there's no need to rent a car because you can either take transit, hail a cab, or walk everywhere you need to go. For now, Valley Ride could do a better job promoting the bus to visitors, perhaps through an airport display or information in the city visitors guide. But in a city where "nobody rides the bus" is a constant refrain, even the transit company sometimes seems to believe it.

New links

I've added a few items to my links list at right. Inspired(?) by Bikeboy's reporting on the growing number of yellow-or-worse air days, there's a link to the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality's daily air quality report, as well as to Bikeboy's blog (the charmingly named "Bike Nazi"), and Communities in Motion.

Enjoy, and if you have other transit-related sites to suggest, post them in the comments.

Transit funding may come up soon

My state Rep. Bill Killen tells me that the local option funding measure for transit may be coming before the House Revenue and Tax Committee soon - possibly this Thursday (February 8), and if not then, next week. As I wrote a few days ago, now is the time to contact the Rev & Tax members to express your support for the measure.

Boise-based legislators strongly favor local options authority for public transit. Rep. Branden Durst of District 18 explains two reasons why on his blog:

First, there is vicious storm on the horizon and if we don't act now the citizens of the Treasure Valley will lose out in a major way. This storm is the worsening air quality that will inevitably lead the Treasure Valley to falling into something known as non-attainment. ... Once this happens, the EPA is required to force the offending community to make a plan to fix the problem and get back to attainment status. This is a costly venture and can cause significant negative economic impacts. Not good. Increased access to mass transit, which can help be made possible by local option taxes, will take cars off the road resulting in better air quality.

The second reason I believe the Legislature needs to approve local option taxes ASAP is the long-term nature of capital improvement projects like mass transit. In other words, if we want to have a functioning mass transit system in 2015 we need to start planning and funding it right away. If we are content to plan for today's needs, we will always be a decade behind (have you driven on Eagle Road recently?). It is decisions where the payoff is in the distant future that are always the most difficult for elected officials, but that doesn't make it unworthy of our attention. In fact, I would contend it makes equally if not more necessary. Leaders have to have vision and this is a prime example as to why.

Vision really is the key to this whole debate. Are we going to continue to let things slide until worsening air quality degrades our quality of life and derails economic development? Or do we take proactive measures now to start building a transit system that befits one of the nation's fastest-growing metro areas?

Transit makes the top of Page 1

Local option transit funding is on the top of Page 1 of today's Idaho Statesman, with an article explaining how - although local business leaders and government officials are solidly behind the idea - it faces tough sledding since it must first get out of the House Revenue and Tax Committee. Greg Hahn writes:

This committee has thwarted local option taxes in all but a handful of cases over the years. This time around, business leaders and elected officials still haven't convinced the Treasure Valley Republicans on the tax panel.

For many years, public transportation was seen as a Boise issue. It still has the most support from the slate of Democrats who won four of the five legislative districts within Boise city limits.

But now Nampa Mayor Tom Dale and Caldwell Mayor Garret Nancolas support the local option tax. So do the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce and the chambers in Nampa, Meridian and Middleton. Meridian, Eagle and Star have joined the coalition, along with still-rural Middleton, Melba, Parma, Greenleaf and Notus.

The name of this blog notwithstanding, better transit is not just a Boise issue. With better public transit, West Ada and Canyon county residents would gain the freedom to ditch their vehicles and enjoy a ride to work, with time to read, listen to books or music, or even catch a few more Zs on their commute. Older folks who no longer drive would enjoy much better access to shopping, medical facilities, and more. And everyone who wants to do something easy to help ease traffic, counter climate change, and breathe cleaner air would have better opportunities to use the bus, too.

Opponents say people don't currently ride the buses, but that's largely because service is sporadic and inconvenient - and some buses, including the current intercounty service - are packed. With much more frequent and widespread service (including evenings and weekends), ridership will go way up.

Now is the time to write the members of the House Rev & Tax Committee and ask them to approve local option funding authority for public transit, so citizens have the right to vote on this issue for ourselves. You can click here to send an email to everyone on the committee, or write these uncommitted Treasure Valley lawmakers individually - especially if you live in their districts: Gary Collins (District 12, Nampa); Mike Moyle (District 14, Star); Robert Schaefer (District 12, Nampa). Letters to individual legislators are especially effective if you live in their district - so if you have friends and family in Star or Nampa, let them know their voices are needed now.

Clean air and mobility for everyone ought not be partisan issues, and they shouldn't be decided by an 18-member panel in the Statehouse. Send those emails, or better yet, talk to your legislators now.

Fill-up free February?

My final stats for January: 25 bus trips on five different routes (Park Center, Broadway, Vista, Warm Springs, Overland). Next month, I want to take at least two routes I haven't been on before.

I filled my Chevy Cavalier's not-quite-empty gas tank the other day for the first time in three weeks. Now I'm challenging myself to make it to March without refueling again. It seems doable since this is a short month and I'll be out of town without my car for about five days.

Maybe people will use transit more if, like me, they find ways to make a game out of it. (That, or if gas climbs back to $3 a gallon.) What's the longest time you've ever gone between fill-ups?

What a half-cent would buy

The Coalition for Regional Public Transportation plans to introduce legislation that would seek local option transit funding permission. Coalition leaders addressed a gathering of Treasure Valley legislators on Friday, seeking support for a proposal that would allow Idaho communities to seek voter approval (in the 2008 general election) to levy a local option sales tax to fund better public transportation.

How much better? A half-cent increase would generate $29 million in its first year. (Valley Ride currently operates its bare-bones system on $7 million to $8 million a year.) Asked what that would buy, Valley Ride director Kelli Fairless said it would provide for:

• Greatly enhanced bus service in the urban areas of Ada and Canyon counties, with buses running from about 5 a.m. to 10 or 11 p.m. (Service now stops before 7 p.m., earlier on some routes.)
• Expanded intercounty service between Ada and Canyon counties.
  
• Buses every 15 minutes, instead of the 30- to 60-minute intervals we have now.
• More service for smaller communities throughout the two-county area, such as "demand response" or dial-a-ride transit.
• Money to start planning for future needs, including acquiring right-of-way for a possible light-rail system.

Fairless noted that in two recent surveys, Valley Ride asked what it would take to get people onto transit, and respondents said it needs to be almost as convenient as using their own vehicle. Greatly expanded hours and much more frequent service are the keys to that satisfaction, and this plan would deliver both.

Expanded transit also would help our local business leaders who are trying to attract new companies. These days, economic development officials must "tap dance" (in the words of Boise Metro Chamber senior VP Ray Stark) around the issue of whether we have adequate public transit. Dan Stevens, CEO of Home Federal Bancorp and a co-chair of the coalition, says relocating companies want to know how employees can get to work, and that they view public transit as part of that equation. "In order to be competitive, it's important that we have that arrow in our quiver," he said.

Coalition co-chair Mayor Garret Nancolas of Caldwell added that the mass transit issue is inextricably tied to local air quality. All the pending legislation seeks is the chance for local officials to ask voters whether they want improved transit and are willing to pay for it. "We can't even ask them that now," he said.

Stay tuned to the Boise Bus Blog for more coverage.

Idaho ranks #47 in urban mass transit

CFED, formerly the Corporation for Enterprise Development, has released its 2007 Development Report Card for the states. Idaho ranks favorably in many areas, including energy costs, patents issued, and charitable giving. But we are near the bottom of the barrel in other areas including - no surprise here - urban mass transit, for which we rank a dismal #47.

During 2004, the last year measured, Idaho's mass transit systems traveled 1.27 miles per every Idahoan for the entire year. Contrast that with Washington state, which ranked 3rd in the nation with 20.43 miles per capita, and Utah, which ranked 12th with 12.25. New York was tops with 35.81 miles traveled per capita. See the rest of the rankings here.

CFED includes mass transit in its listing of infrastructure resources, noting "The extent of mass transit availability is an important measure of workforce mobility and overall transportation capacity."

Fear of dependence ... take 2

Two weeks ago, I wrote how I drove to an evening event in Garden City because I wasn't sure I'd find a way home if I took the bus. I said, "I can't begin to count the times I'd have taken a bus to an evening event but wound up driving because the buses stop at dinnertime. If Valley Ride added evening hours, my own personal ridership would double, triple, even quadruple. But in the meantime, maybe I can take more leaps of faith about one-way bus trips."

Well, I'm already getting better. Monday night, my daughter and I took the #29 Overland to BSU for the Al Gore speech. Especially given Gore's topic, I felt compelled not to drive. Of course, that meant we'd either be walking home (about a 20-minute trek, not bad, but not fun in the dark on Boise's badly lit sidewalks) or catching a ride. It turns out we were able to do the latter - scrunching into a compact car with four other people (friends of ours) who had carpooled from the west Bench!

Why ride to the Y?

Under the current only-once-an-hour midday bus schedules for many Valley Ride routes, it isn't easy to make a quick trip downtown. Since the first of the year, I've been riding the Vista #3 a few times a week for my regular workouts at the Downtown Y. My routine goes something like this:

Leave the house at 12:20 for my five-minute walk to the bus (just to be safe; it doesn't come until 12:30).

Get downtown at 12:35ish and walk to the Y - another 5 to 7 minutes from the bus stop.

Get changed, do my workout, get dressed again. Total one hour or so.

This leaves me with a half-hour or so to kill until the 2:15 bus leaves. I've usually spent it reading. The bottom line is, this schedule takes me twice as long as it would to drive downtown and back (which takes me 15 minutes round trip, tops). But I really haven't minded. I've extended my workout a little, I get in some extra walking, and I'm getting some extra reading done, too. Plus I am doing my part to reduce those nasty CO2 emissions ...

Today, I had a noon meeting at the Statehouse, so I took the 11:30 bus. Yes, I arrived pretty early! After the hourlong meeting, I high-tailed it to the Y, worked out (cutting it a little short this time), and made it to the 2:15 bus.

Granted, using the bus makes very little sense at all to people who have desk jobs and little flexibility in their schedules. That's why it'd be great to see Valley Ride eventually have service every half hour at a minimum, all day, on all of their routes.

Tell me about times when you've taken the bus, even though it would be faster to drive.

Bus riders on Page 1

The Idaho Statesman's Page 1 coverage of Al Gore's visit includes a sidebar about the Chavez family of Boise, which has reduced its carbon footprint from 64,989 to 41,541 pounds of CO2 each year, for a per capita footprint of 13,847. (The U.S. average was 44,000 in 2003.) Natalie and Todd Chavez are shown on their daily commute on the #10 Hill Road/Maple Grove bus, which takes them from their northwest Boise home to their downtown jobs, helping them keep a net 7,437 pounds of CO2 out of the Boise airshed each year - just by driving less and taking the bus.

Although the Statesman story makes it clear that plenty of skeptics still doubt whether the Earth is really warming, people like the Chavezes aren't waiting for definitive proof. They're taking action now: riding the bus, driving less, taking fewer vacation flights, and offsetting a quarter of their electrical use via a $5 a month contribution to Idaho Power's Green Power program.

All these steps create significant carbon savings. One area in which the savings doesn't seem to be worth their sacrifice is heating. Since 2001, they've turned their gas heat down from 70 to 60 during the day and 64 at night, but that resulted in a reduction of just 1,452 pounds of CO2. I know every little bit helps, but in my opinion (as someone who still shivers with the thermostat at 70 and a sweater on), that's way too little benefit to be that cold!

Hooray for the Madigan kids!

Today's Idaho Statesman carried an editorial about how Treasure Valley residents must begin changing our behaviors to help curb the region's worsening air quality. The paper gave props to two local children for just that sort of smart action:

Conner Madigan, 13, and Aaron Madigan, 9, are stellar examples of making small sacrifices for the greater good of the community's air quality.

Because they attend a charter school, there is no school bus transportation from their home, which is about three miles. Their mom asked them to think creatively about getting to school every day. Was there another mode of transportation beside their family vehicle?

The boys decided it was an easy bike ride on nice days and they researched public transportation and found they could take the bus along with commuters. They ride the bus into Downtown and transfer to a second bus to get to school, but they are saving gas money as well as our air quality.

Way to go, Conner and Aaron! Here's the full editorial. Unfortunately, in a separate article about Saturday's salute to the BSU Broncos, no one thought to suggest that fans take the bus to avoid parking hassles on campus and downtown.

All together now: At least we're not LA!

On my way to look up something else, I stumbled on the Bottleneck Blog at the Los Angeles Times. It doesn't look to be a blog so much as the response to a recent story about LA's ever-worsening traffic. At last count, close to 250 people have posted comments, vents, and possible solutions to the dilemma. Obviously, the Treasure Valley's traffic situation will never come close to being as bad as LA's - but I-84 is starting to look a little bit like this during rush hours most weekdays. And remember: Los Angeles has multiple major freeways. We have ... one.

SLC loves its light rail

From The Arizona Republic, a story on Salt Lake City's embrace of light rail:

When light rail opened here seven years ago, people lined up around the block. From the first day, the trains carried more people than were forecast for 2025.

Seats are still scarce as the boxlike trains thread through downtown. On a bitter cold day last month, they filled up with office workers heading north and construction workers and retail clerks going south. Lines of trains waited for Utah Jazz fans. Families flocked back from a downtown mall with armfuls of gifts.

Residents of the Salt Lake area have embraced light rail to a degree that few imagined. ... The area has voted for five light-rail extensions, including to places that once shunned rail. One was a suburban county where 88 percent of voters backed President Bush in 2004. The first time they were asked to vote on rail, 60 percent backed it.

So far, Salt Lake has invested $2 billion in local funds as part of a plan to build 50 miles of light rail and 120 miles of commuter rail.

Over the next 75 years, suburbs are planning to put residents of big luxury homes into trains, while uranium plants and Superfund sites are becoming stations and station communities.

This is a slightly longer version of the story that ran in the Idaho Statesman today. Read it all here. One of its lessons: It really helps if some big players get behind the idea. (In SLC's case, these included the LDS Church and auto dealer/Utah Jazz owner Larry H. Miller.) If Boise State or Micron did the same thing here - teaming with Valley Ride and encouraging and subsidizing employees to take transit - who knows what would be possible?

Light rail seems to be a ways down the wish list for Treasure Valley transportation advocates, but it's certainly good to see it succeeding in another area that's "conservative, tax averse and fond of the open vistas and open roads."

Fear of dependence

I had an evening event at the Doubletree Inn in Garden City earlier this week. It started between 5:30 and 6, and I considered taking one of the last Chinden (#8) or Fairview (#7) buses to get there.

But then how would I get home? My husband, with a rare night off, had plans to take our daughter out to dinner and then come home and relax. I didn't want to ask him to make another trip. I knew I'd know a lot of people at the dinner. Surely I could get a ride home from someone, but I feared being an imposition. I wound up driving.

As it turned out, I sat at the banquet with Vince and Kara, who live less than a mile from me. We talked, among other things, about transit. Vince mentioned how he used to take the bus to work at Micron, and how he loved the chance to read during his commute. (Now, however, he works in Nampa, and his schedule doesn't mesh with the measly intercounty service offered.) We all laughed over how, sure, we could have carpooled that evening - or I could have hitched a ride home with them, no problem.

Boise needs evening transit. I can't begin to count the times I'd have taken a bus to an evening event but wound up driving because the buses stop at dinnertime. If Valley Ride added evening hours, my own personal ridership would double, triple, even quadruple. But in the meantime, maybe I can take more leaps of faith about one-way bus trips.

Otter: No mention of transit

Gov. Butch Otter made no mention of local option taxing authority in his State of the State address today - a somewhat surprising fact considering the issue is one of the most critical to the Treasure Valley. But with many local officials from both parties lining up behind the idea, here's hoping it will get a fair hearing and that the Legislature and Otter will give Idahoans the right to decide on the issue.

Update 1/10/07: The Democratic caucus, in its repsonse to Otter's address, had this to say Tuesday ..."This legislature also must recognize the fact that much of the state is becoming more urban. As such, cities and counties need to have the tools that allows them to plan smartly for the growth that is coming. Local option taxes that would pay for public transit could prevent the kind of Los Angeles sprawl that ruined the natural beauty of their area. Let’s not let Idaho become another California."

Read all of Otter's address here and all of the Democratic response here. I don't think local option taxing authority is a partisan issue so much as a rural-urban issue (especially given the gravity of air quality on the decision, as yossarian_22 suggests in the comment below), and, I submit, a libertarian-communitarian issue.

Transit future on TV Sunday

The Coalition for Regional Public Transportation will be the focus of the Sunday, January 7, edition of "Eye on Idaho" on KBCI (Channel 2) in Boise. The show airs at 7:30 a.m. If you see it, feel free to post comments and thoughts from the discussion here.

With the Idaho Legislature opening Monday, this also would be a good time to write letters to the Idaho Statesman and the Idaho Press-Tribune in support of local option taxing authority so Treasure Valley residents (and citizens of other growing areas in Idaho) can have a chance to vote for better public transit.

Saturday bus blues

Saturday is an especially inconvenient day for bus riders in Boise, since the routes only run once each hour. (Almost as inconvenient as Sunday, when they don't run at all.) My plan today was to catch the #3 Vista at Overland at 9:05. I was within sight of the stop by 9 and waited there until 9:20. No bus. So either it was more than five minutes early or more than 20 minutes late. My guess is the latter; I saw a #17 Warm Springs about six minutes early yesterday afternoon.

While I waited, a heavy snow started to fall. It was beautiful. So it wasn't an entirely wasted walk to the bus stop.

What are your experiences with the on-time performances of most Valley Ride routes?

Al Gore speech moved to Taco Bell Arena

If you are reading this blog, you may have hoped to catch former Vice President Al Gore when he speaks at Boise State on January 22 - and you may have been disappointed to hear the tickets disappeared in 10 minutes.

BSU announced today that due to high demand, Gore's keynote talk for "Global Warming: Beyond the Inconvenient Truth” conference has moved to the Taco Bell Arena and plenty of tickets will be available. There's more info here.

Update 1/10/07: The additional public tickets for Gore's speech at Taco Bell Arena sold out within five hours when they became available Tuesday. BSU has held back 2,000 tickets for students returning to campus next week.

A full bus!

Yesterday afternoon, I experienced something Boiseans rarely see: a totally full, standing-room-only bus, the 3:15 departure from downtown on the Vista route. The bus was packed mostly with Boise High School students, who ride free with their student IDs - an arrangement made to help cut down on students driving to school.

I'd be interested to know how many teens take the bus instead of driving or catching a ride from their parents. Judging from yesterday, it's a lot, but that may be because Boise High is very convenient to bus service. I'm not sure the same can be said for Borah, for example.

Of course, it's great that students have the option to learn early that the bus can be a great alternative form of transportation. Particularly for younger teens who don't yet have their licenses, the bus is a ticket to freedom. For older students, it's a chance to make a stand for a healthier environment and new ways of thinking in our car/SUV-dependent culture.

Voters like transit funding

... at least in other states. A recent post on Rob's Idaho Perspective notes that in the November elections ...

Across the nation, $40 billion in new public transit funding was approved. Voters in 13 states approved 21 of the 33 ballot measures, including 7 statewide initiatives. This provides me hope for the future of the Treasure Valley of Idaho. As I have mentioned before in this blog, Idaho is one of only 4 states which provide no state funding for transit and restricts local funding of transit - Hawaii, Alaska, and Mississippi are the others. The coalition is working with the Idaho legislature to allow local option funding. This isn't an initiative to raise taxes, its an initiative to allow us to ask the citizens if they want to pay for public transit. Today in Idaho, we can't even do that.

As commenter Yossarian_22 mentions in the New Year's resolutions thread below, the Idaho Legislature will decide in its upcoming session whether to allow Idaho voters to make local public transit funding decisions. Now is the time to contact your legislators and ask their support for allowing Idaho voters to decide whether they want enhanced transit.

New Year's resolutions for Valley Ride

If you could suggest transit-related New Year's resolutions for Valley Ride and Boise leaders, what would they be?

Tops on my list: Evening service to and from downtown Boise, including BSU. Even if we could only get buses to run until 10 p.m. or so (maybe midnight on the weekends), it'd be a huge improvement and help cut down on the traffic that now snakes around 9th and Front streets whenever there's any sort of event at Qwest Arena.

We've all heard a lot about a downtown circulator trolley, too. It's already been offered for special events (for BSU games, during the holidays). Can 2007 be the year it becomes fully operational?

I'd also love to see special concert-night transportation to and from the Idaho Center in Nampa. Imagine catching a ride from, say, downtown, the BSU campus, or Towne Square Mall and not having to deal with pre- or post-concert traffic hassles. And now that our Broncos have hit the big time, how about park-and-ride game-day service next fall from convenient spots around the valley?

Finally, how about Sunday morning bus service so folks could ride to and from church?

Reasons to park your rig in 2007

Happy new year! I took these photos on my annual New Year's Day walk and - as you can see - it's wintertime in Boise and that means inversions. (These photos are from about 11 a.m.; a few hours before that, you wouldn't have seen any blue sky.) The gray cloud blanketing the Treasure Valley many days in winter and summer seems reason enough to try and reduce our reliance on personal transportation and use other options - public transit, walking, or biking - whenever it's feasible.