In July, 2006, a subway car on Chicago’s famous El line careened off the tracks in a dark tunnel. The crash injured 150 people and sent 1,000 passengers scrambling for safety as a fire began to smolder.
New York subways suffer from chronic overcrowding; Boston’s system is so far in debt that any funds not gobbled up by loan-interest go towards basic maintenance, with none left for improvements; Washington D.C. faces a soaring ridership without the funds to invest in new cars to keep operations running smoothly; and Chicago’s tracks are in such poor shape that in many sections subways are forced to travel at 5 miles per hour rather than the typical 50 these sections should allow. One-third of the cars in Chicago’s service exceed the 25 year-old maximum age recommendation by federal authorities. The El line has suffered numerous derailments, fires, and evacuations.
The problem is a lack of funding. National spending on mass transit (including federal, state, and local funds) totals about $40 billion per year. Cambridge Systematics issued a report recommending a $25 billion budget increase; other groups are calling for a doubling or tripling of the existing budget.
Without good mass transit systems, our cities will die. Car traffic can’t handle citizen’s transportation needs in dense urban areas. The nation’s subway lines are literally cracking at the seams causing injuries, delays, frustration, and a decline in productivity.
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