DOVER — High gas prices a year ago and a desire to help the state's
environment pushed more New Hampshire and Maine residents to use public
transportation in 2008, according to a study released Wednesday.
Caitlin
Seeley, a spokeswoman with Environment New Hampshire in Concord, said
New Hampshire residents saved 545,000 gallons of gasoline by riding
transit in record numbers, which is the equivalent that 945 cars would
have used.
She said her group's report, "Getting On Track:
Record Transit Ridership Increases Energy Independence," shows
ridership on public and private bus companies, such as C&J
Trailways and the Downeaster passenger rail train, increased 6 percent
in 2008 compared to 2007.
She said more than 14,000 people in
New Hampshire used the public transit system to get around in 2008
compared to slightly more than 13,000 people in 2007. The report shows
that Maine saw a 3 percent increase in public transit ridership.
The report states that more than 3,000 Maine residents rode buses and the Downeaster in 2008 compared to 2,915 people in 2007.
"People
are voting with their feet by driving less and taking more public
transportation," Seeley said. "Congress should listen to these voters
and invest more in public transportation, which will increase our
energy independence and reduce global warming pollution."
New
Hampshire residents also drove their cars 125 million miles less in
2008 than they did in 2007, which represents a 1 percent decrease,
according to Seeley.
"A big factor was the higher gas prices
where people didn't want to pay $4 per gallon for gasoline," said
Seeley during a telephone interview on Wednesday morning.
Nationwide,
Seeley said the increase in transit ridership saved more than 4 billion
gallons of gasoline, the equivalent of the fuel for nearly 7.2 million
cars, which she added is almost as many registered cars in the State of
Florida.
Besides high gasoline prices, she also believes more
state residents are consciously trying to help the state's environment
by driving less and reducing New Hampshire's carbon monoxide footprint.
According to the study, public transportation reduced global warming
pollution in New Hampshire by 5,000 tons in 2008.
Patricia
Quinn, executive director of the Northern New England Passenger Rail
Authority in Portland, said ridership on the Downeaster continues to be
strong in 2009, even though it is down 5 percent from 2008.
She
said ridership spiked 34 percent from 28,800 passengers in April 2007
to 42,800 passengers in April 2008 when gasoline prices soared to $4
per gallon for regular unleaded.
But ridership thus far in 2009 is still 20 percent over where it was in 2007, Quinn said.
She
said her group and the Maine Department of Transportation are moving
foward with plans to extend the Downeaster from Portland to Brunswick,
Maine, which will let the train carry passengers all the way to
Rockland on a separate existing rail line.
She said the
passenger rail authority also plans to submit an application to the
federal government by Oct. 2 deadline in conjunction with Pam Am Rail
Service and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority in Boston to
create a high-speed rail corridor from Boston to Portland, Maine. If
approved, Quinn said the Downeaster could offer seven daily round trips
instead of five round trips.
Quinn said her group is one of many
that hope to obtain some of the $8 billion in federal economic stimulus
money set aside for high-speed rail corridor projects nationwide.
The
New Hampshire Railroad Revitalization Association in Weare also hopes
to obtain $300 million from the federal government to complete the New
Hampshire Capitol Corridor project, which would link Boston and Concord.
Meanwhile,
the state Department of Transportation's park and ride facilities in
Dover off Exit 9 and at Pease International Tradeport are often
jam-packed with cars as more commuters take advantage of the C&J
Trailways bus service to and from Boston and Logan International
Airport.
New Hampshire DOT Rideshare Coordinator Joan Clinton
said the number of available spaces at Park and Ride lots in the state
has been steadily increasing over the last five years.
A
significant increase of more than 1,000 spaces occurred in 2008 with
the development of new Park and Ride facilities that offer bus service
in Dover, Salem and North Londonderry, Cook said.
"We won't know
until October if the percent of spaces used of the spaces available
increased from 2008 to 2009, when we conduct an annual survey," wrote
Cook in an e-mail forwarded by state DOT spokesman Bill Boynton.
Attempts
to get comment Wednesday from Jim Jalbert, owner of the bus line, or
Jamie Lesniak, C&J's operations director, about the report were
unsuccessful.
Seeley said more of these type of public transit
projects must be funded by Congress in order for future ridership to
keep growing.
"Overall, we were really pleased that there was an
increase in public transit," Seeley said Wednesday. "Of course, we
would love to see more of it."
Seeley said the playing field
between federal funding for highway and road projects and public
transit projects needs to be leveled so the public will continue to
have more alternative transportation options. She said ridership
numbers on local, regional bus and passenger rail service should
continue to grow as more options are added in states like New Hampshire
and Maine.
"Both nationwide, and here in New Hampshire, it's
clear that more and more people want and need public transit," said Tom
Irwin, a senior attorney with the Conservation Law Foundation in Boston.
He
said states such as New Hampshire need to invest more money to develop
better public transit. He said more public transit could also help the
state achieve the goals of the Governor's Climate Action Plan, and
reduce energy consumption and dependence on foreign oil.
More
public transit can also reduce traffic congestions on highways such as
I-95 and I-93 and it could save households money if they drive their
vehicles less, Irwin said.
Seeley said her group will also call
on Congress to incorporate the full provisions of Senate Bill 575,
known as the Clean, Low Emissions, Affordable New Transportation Equity
Act, into the climate bill being debated now in the Senate.
She
said the legislation would direct 10 percent of climate bill allowances
to clean transportation efforts that will save oil and reduce emissions.
She
said her group will continue to urge Republican U.S. Sen. Judd Gregg
and Democratic U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, both of New Hampshire, to
support what she described as "forward-thinking legislation."
