America's Rail Revival

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While critics on both right and left come armed with economic studies showing buses to be more cost-effective, they ignore light rail’s proven record of luring motorists out of their cars with a smoother ride, the absence of diesel fumes, and a separate right-of-way, which means rail cars don’t get bogged down in traffic like buses. The new southwest line in Denver carries six times as many passengers as express bus service that once covered the same route, notes Rail magazine (Winter 2000). It’s telling that almost all cities that have built light rail lines—with the exception of economically strapped Buffalo and Baltimore are constructing or planning expansions.

Some rail opponents tout busways—rail lines without tracks—as a lower-cost alternative. This idea was conceived in the eco-friendly Brazilian city of Curitiba and busways have been built in Ottawa, Ontario, and Pittsburgh. But Scott Bogren, communications director of the national transit advocacy group Community Transportation Association of America, says busways make sense in some situations, but generally don’t save as much money as promised or spur the same kind of urban revitalization as light rail.

While buses will remain the heart of public transportation in most American cities, and busways may show potential in some situations, it’s clear that light rail enjoys a clear record of success in transforming public transit into something more than just mobility of the last resort. As G.B. Arrington, former director of strategic planning for the transit authority in Portland, (which is now building two new light rail lines) says, 'This is not just a transit system for the poor, the elderly, and people with DWIs.'

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