Transportation

The ticket to getting widespread transit adoption in U.S. cities? Invest in convenient service upfront. The riders will follow.

The ticket to getting widespread transit adoption in U.S. cities? Invest in convenient service upfront. The riders will follow.

In part 2 of our story on New York’s failure to get a full build-out of the Second Avenue subway, we focus on the area’s politicians — especially those who claim to be advocates of mass transit. Most hid from our questioning; some accepted the idea that key infrastructure needs will not be met; a few insisted that the decision to shortchange the Second Avenue subway was indefensible.

A fully realized Second Avenue subway would replace service lost decades ago, help meet ever growing transit demand, and provide a wide range of economic and environmental benefits to New York City and its residents. Even though the entire line could be built at one time, and even though delay is more costly than action, all that has been funded is a less-than-two-mile stub.

The Cuomo administration says it is “on track to the rail system of the future,” but but the speediest options — true high-speed rail service — have already been ruled out. The remaining options won’t go all that fast, abandoning the potential benefits that some say true high-speed rail would bring to New York.

Miss this? For all the talk among “pro-business” politicians about spending and tax cuts as the formula for economic recovery, many leaders of coal, oil, agribusiness, and barge and shipping companies want Congress and the Army Corps of Engineers to get serious about maintaining and upgrading the nation’s inland and coastal waterways.

Barge companies are among those asking Congress to take better care of America’s waterways. It could mean spending, and maybe even taxing.