Connecting Wisconsin: Public Transportation Projects for the 21st Century

A new WISPIRG study examines ten specific opportunities for enhanced and expanded public transportation across the state and inding that such projects would save Wisconsinites money, boost the economy, and reduce oil consumption.

Report

WISPIRG Foundation

Executive Summary

Wisconsin’s transportation system is in trouble. High and wildly fluctuating gas prices add to Wisconsin residents’ economic woes, traffic congestion wastes valuable time and energy, and our cars and trucks produce pollution that harms Wisconsin residents’ health and contributes to global warming.

Public transportation makes a vital contribution to Wisconsin’s transportation system, supporting economic development, curbing pollution and congestion, reducing our dependence on oil, and helping to sustain healthy, vibrant communities.  In recent years, Wisconsin transit systems have made these vital contributions despite funding levels that have often threatened service and left important projects on the drawing board.

Wisconsin needs a transportation system that meets the needs of the 21st century – one in which public transportation plays an even bigger role than it does today. To get there, we need to start investing now in critical public transportation projects.

Our public transit system has not kept up with growing need.  Wisconsin residents drive more miles, spend more on gasoline, experience more congestion, and produce more global warming pollution from transportation than they did two decades ago.

•    Vehicle travel on Wisconsin highways increased by approximately 90 percent between 1980 and 2007.  This is largely due to more driving per person – the number of vehicle miles traveled per person has increased by 60 percent over that same period.

•    Wisconsin residents spent about $2.7 billion more on gasoline in 2006 than they did in 1998, a product of more miles being driven in less efficient vehicles, coupled with higher gasoline prices.

•    Congestion on Wisconsin roads imposes a real cost on the state’s economy. In 2005, Milwaukee area residents spent about 15 million hours in traffic delays, while congestion cost the area’s economy about $282 million.

•    Transportation is a leading source of global warming pollution in Wisconsin. Wisconsin’s transportation system produced 25 percent more carbon dioxide in 2005 than it did in 1990.

•    Cuts in transit service in Milwaukee have added to these problems.  Between 2001 and 2007, bus miles in Milwaukee were cut by 19 percent and fares rose by 30 percent, leading to a 34 percent drop in ridership over the same period.

Wisconsin’s investments in public transportation to date help address Wisconsin’s economic, transportation and energy challenges.

•    Public transportation pays dividends for Wisconsin residents and our economy.

•    In 2006, public transportation in Wisconsin saved approximately 700,000 gallons of oil, saving consumers more than $1.8 million at the pump.

•    Public transportation prevented more than one million hours of traffic delay – equivalent to about 25,000 work weeks – in the Milwaukee metropolitan area in 2006, saving the economy more than $23 million in wasted time and lost productivity. 

•    More and more Wisconsin residents are choosing to take public transit rather than drive.  Outside Milwaukee, where severe service cuts have led to dropping ridership, transit ridership has continued to rise, increasing by 17 percent since 2001.

•    In 2008, ridership on the state’s transit lines jumped 1.8 percent compared to the year before, and vehicle travel dropped 3.9 percent.

•    However, 80.1 percent of Wisconsin residents drive to work alone while only 1.7 percent take public transportation, meaning that there are plenty of opportunities to entice new riders to transit.

There are dozens of worthy public transit improvements that would give Wisconsin residents alternatives to the rising cost of driving, reduce congestion by removing cars from the road, save oil and reduce pollution.

A comprehensive transit system for Wisconsin would include the following (not in order of priority):

Connecting Southeastern Wisconsin

•    Connecting Kenosha, Racine and Milwaukee by commuter rail to provide better options for commuters between the southeastern Wisconsin cities.

•    Expanding Kenosha’s streetcar line, revitalizing more parts of downtown Kenosha.

•    Building a modern streetcar in Milwaukee to help residents, workers and tourists move quickly and easily around the downtown area.

Strengthening Transit Across Wisconsin

•    Building a commuter rail line through Madison to support the University and manage growth in Dane County.

•    Connecting Green Bay to Appleton by commuter bus to provide better options for commuters and build the corridor’s economy.

•    Connecting Janesville to Milton and Whitewater by commuter bus, connecting residents with job markets and making the cities’ businesses accessible to more people.

•    Expanding bus service in the La Crosse area, making the city easy to reach for residents of surrounding rural towns

•    Connecting Eau Claire with Chippewa Falls and Lake Hallie by bus to restore transit connections between the cities and prepare for expected growth.

•    Improving bus service in Superior to provide better options for the growing population of people commuting to Superior from Duluth.

Building a High Speed Rail Network in Wisconsin

•    Building on the current passenger rail system to create a fast and efficient Midwest high speed rail system that would take passengers between the major cities in the Midwest in 50 to 70 percent of the current travel time.

To build a 21st century transit system that will allow Wisconsin to meet our current and future challenges, the state needs forward-thinking regional plans for public transportation with stable, dedicated and long-term sources of funding.  Wisconsin should do the following to address its transportation needs:

•    Permit local governments to create Regional Transportation Authorities, providing regional planning and dedicated funding for transit, empowering communities to make decisions about their local transportation systems, and leveraging more federal transportation funding for Wisconsin.

•    Require that all proposed transportation investments be evaluated for their impact on oil dependence and global warming pollution. State government buildings should be located, to the extent possible, in areas with transit service. And Wisconsin should encourage local governments to adopt land-use plans and zoning reforms that allow for and encourage compact development in and around transit stations.

•    Prioritize public transit in plans for state transportation investment.

•    Coordinate with the other Midwestern states and take a leadership role in ensuring the implementation of a modern regional rail system. Wisconsin should work to secure its share of federal high speed rail funding.

•    Urge the U.S. Congress to revamp federal transportation policy when the federal transportation funding law comes up for reauthorization in late 2009. Revisions should include shifting resources from highway expansion to transit projects and focusing federal money on strategic goals such as transportation system efficiency and safety, energy conservation, environmental improvement, and the creation of compact, sustainable communities.