NE2: Expand Mass Transit Act

[pikachu]

First, I see this as only a starting point, and I'd love to see some amendments to help further flesh it out. The Northeast is most likely the most mass transit dependent region in Atlasia, and while our main systems are good, they haven't been updated to 21st century (or even the end of the 20th in some cases). Take a look at New York Area. The subway hasn't seen any major expansion since almost WW2, and since then, population in the area has shifted dramatically from Manhattan to the other boroughs. Along with this, the Hudson River tunnel is in dire need of supplementation to help deal with rising commuters to the city. As we continue to see these population shifts (most notably the rich going back to the city center and the poor starting to move to the inner suburbs), it is necessary for us to build new transit infrastructure to adjust.

I also will note that $5 billion is a more conservative estimate of how much it would cost to just complete current projects under construction. I've put in one funding mechanism for congestion charges, and would like to maybe see a small increase in the gas tax, but I'm not sure if these are palatable to the Assembly.

[pikachu]

I like the idea of a lockbox for infrastructure renewal, it's one of the biggest challenges facing western nations-espeically one as large as ourselves. We need up to date, and effective infrastructure.

I'd like to see this Scheme expanded, as the Lt.Gov said this is a conservative effort. I'd be happy for a $3-4 billion fund to improve, and upgrade infrastructure, with focus on 'greener' forms (I'm not talking full on hippie mode, just more efficient, hydrogen etc).

I'd then like to see a big capital project, taken with as JCL said the Mideast in mind. This is something we can go to the Senate with, or to the Mideast Assembly.

I do think we can add something for investment in new, more energy efficient fleets of buses and trains. We'll have to some more research on the exact technology, but an upgrade to new fleets will allow to improve future economic ad environmental efficiency while also making mass transit a more appealing option to commuters.

I do have some ideas for high speed rail expansion to the Mideast (Philadelphia-Pittsburgh-Cleveland and Boston-Toronto).

[pikachu]

My reasoning for congestion charges is that the Northeast (for the most part) has excellent commuter rail infrastructure, and we really should be encouraging the more environmentally responsible action of taking mass transit to center cities rather than driving. I foresee congestion charging to really only be in CBDs with existing mass transit options (Midtown/Downtown Manhattan, Center City Philadelphia, downtown Boston)

@clyde, I'm not opposed to raising the gas tax, and if it's popular with assembly than congestion charging, I'm willing to replace the congestion charging or add it to the bill.

@Winfield, The same thing holds true for mass transit riders, and they see regular fare increases. While I have sympathy for motorists, I struggle to see how we can start new projects along with the ones that are already being built without raising some money from them.

[pikachu]

Going from what Clyde said, is anyone else in favor of a higher gas tax? On one hand we could probably fund more things with it but on the other, it's a deeply regressive tax.

[pikachu]

Maybe we can index the gas tax to inflation (if that's not already done in Atlasia)? In the IRL United States, the gas tax is much lower in real terms than it was about 20 years ago, causing the US to have to fund much high subsidies for roads than normal.

[pikachu]

Aye