Draft GPUS Platform Amendment Transportation
Section title: Transportation
Section subtitle: Mass transit for America
Our position: Greens support expanding mass transit, and the use of bicycles and other alternatives to cars.
Our transportation policy encourages the growth of mass transit and alternatives to cars and trucks. We call for major public investment in mass transportation, so that such systems are cheap or free to the public and are safe, accessible, and easily understandable to first-time users. We embrace the "complete streets" concept that calls for streets to be redesigned to better and more safely accommodate all users including cyclists, pedestrians, children, and the elderly.
Green Solutions
MORE SAFE SPACE FOR PEDESTRIANS AND CYCLISTS
1. Make streets, neighborhoods and commercial districts more friendly to pedestrians and bicyclists.
2. Increase the amount of appropriate (native/drought tolerant/etc.) greenery in street design.
3. Utilize traffic-calming methods, where the design of streets promotes safer speeds and safer interaction with pedestrians. Create auto-free zones in urban cores.
4. Develop extensive networks of bikeways, bicycle lanes and paths. Include bike racks on all public transit.
5. Maintain free community bicycle fleets, and provide necessary support for cyclists.
6. Develop affordable mass transit systems that are more economical to use than private vehicles.
MASS TRANSPORTATION
6. Encourage employer subsidies of transit commuter tickets for employees, funded by government congestion management grants.
7. Use existing auto infrastructure for transit expansion where possible. Light rail should be established in expressway medians through metropolitan high-density corridors.
8. Expand our country’s network of rail lines, including high-speed regional passenger service.
9. Build rail lines for the exclusive use of passenger trains.
REDUCE ENERGY-INTENSIVE TRANSPORTATION
10. Place a moratorium on highway widening then use the money for mass transit and facilities for pedestrians and bicyclists.
11. Mandate HOV (high occupancy vehicle) lanes on freeways, and lower toll fees for carpools.
12. Discourage unnecessary auto use by eliminating free parking in non-residential areas well served by mass transit, and establish preferential parking rates for HOV.
13. Support ambitious increases in motor vehicle fuel efficiency, including the use of hybrid electric designs. Legislate a “gas guzzler” tax on new vehicles that get a lower MPG than the CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standards and offer “gas sipper” rebates for vehicles that get a higher MPG. Schedule an increase in CAFE standards to 60 MPG for cars and 45 MPG for light trucks by the year 2014.
14. Develop and market the conversion of existing, used cars and trucks to electric vehicles, so that such conversions are cheaper than purchasing new vehicles.
15. Develop and market quick-charging electric batteries or battery exchange stations so that electric vehicles can be used for long-distance travel.
16. Support government procurement of high efficiency motor vehicles.
17. Encourage carpooling programs, telecommuting, and other creative solutions to reduce commuter traffic congestion. We advocate fair buy-backs of the most polluting and least efficient vehicles to remove them from the road.
18. We call for incentives to get long-distance truck hauling off of our highways and on to railways. Governments on all levels must take the initiative in eliminating administrative and logistical obstacles to efficient rail freight transportation.
19. Make airports accessible by local transit systems.
20. Reduce airplane noise and air pollution.
2004 PLATFORM SECTION ON TRANSPORTATION
The Green Party supports a transportation policy that emphasizes the use of mass transit and alternatives to the automobile and truck for transport. We call for major public investment in mass transportation, so that such systems are cheap or free ot the public and are safe, accessible, and easily understandable to first-time users.
We need ecologically sound forms of transportation that minimize pollution and maximize energy efficiency. Surfaces impermeable to rainwater, polluted storm run-off; paved over or polluted wetlands, the heat island effect, air pollution, and acid rain are all directly related to a transportation system run amuck.
Massive subsidies to the auto and fossil fuel industries, as well as an unworkable approach by urban planners, maintain the auto’s dominance of our cityscapes. The present-day approach of upgrading streets to accommodate increased traffic generates new traffic because access is now easier, and people will now take jobs further from their homes or purchase homes further from their jobs. Some people shift from public transit to private cars due to the trip time in cars being shorter. As patronage for public transit decreases, public transit loses funding, becomes less viable, and service deteriorates thus encouraging even more people to use their cars.
To counteract these trends and reduce auto use, the Green Party advocates the following strategies:
Pedestrians and Bicyclists
1. Make streets, neighborhoods and commercial districts more pedestrian friendly.
2. Increase the greenery of streets.
3. Utilize traffic-calming methods, where the design of streets promotes safe speeds and safe interaction with pedestrians. Create auto-free zones.
4. Develop extensive networks of bikeways, bicycle lanes and paths. Include bike racks on all public transit.
5. Maintain free community bicycle fleets, and provide necessary support for cyclists.
Mass Transit
6. Redirect resources that currently go to enhancing auto capacity into expanding human-scale transit options.
7. Develop affordable mass transit systems that are more economical to use than private vehicles.
8. Encourage employer subsidies of transit commuter tickets for employees, funded by government Congestion Management grants.
9. Use existing auto infrastructure for transit expansion where possible. Light rail could be established in expressway medians through metropolitan high density corridors.
10. Include land use decisions in transportation issues, with consideration of the need for mass transit to have a market and be viable, and with attention paid to cross-commuting – the practice of people commuting to a place where they could and should live.
11. Expand our country’s network of rail lines, including high speed regional passenger service.
Automobiles
12. Place a moratorium on highway widening then use the money for mass transit and facilities for pedestrians and bicyclists.
13. Mandate HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle) lanes on freeways, and lower toll fees for carpools.
14. Discourage unnecessary auto use by eliminating free parking in non-residential areas well served by mass transit, and establish preferential parking rates for HOV.
15. Substantially increase the taxes on gasoline, but allow some compensation for low income drivers.
16. Support ambitious increases in motor vehicle fuel efficiency, including the use of hybrid electric designs. Legislate a “gas guzzler” tax on new vehicles that get a lower MPG than the CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standards and offer “gas sipper” rebates for vehicles that get a higher MPG.
17. Schedule an increase in CAFE standards to 60 MPG for cars and 45 MPG for light trucks by the year 2010.
18. Develop and market to the general public fuel efficient cars as well as solar, electric and other non-fossil fuel powered vehicles for local travel. Support government procurement of high efficiency motor vehicles. Electric components of vehicles should not be put “on the grid” while we still have polluting electricity generation sources providing power to that grid.
19. Encourage carpooling programs, telecommuting, and other creative solutions to reduce commuter traffic congestion. We advocate fair buy-backs of the most polluting and least efficient vehicles to remove them from the road.
Air Travel
20. Make airports accessible by local transit systems.
21. Legislate further incremental reductions in airplane noise and air pollution.
22. Emphasize the use of light and heavy rail for freight transportation.
Freight
23. We call for incentives to get long-distance truck hauling off of our highways and on to railways. We favor the removal of any administrative impediments to efficient long-haul freight transport by rail. Time is lost when switching goods from one railroad to another, even when the trains are the same size and gauge, and this waste can be eliminated.
