September 1992 Home   Newsletters

October 1992

November-December 1992

President's Message (Arlene Ellis)
Testimony before the Planning Commission 9/2/92 (Arlene Ellis)
League Recommendations on Proposed Charter Amendments
Viewpoint
Statement on Policy and the Environment - 1 (Astrid Monson)
Statement on Policy and the Environment - 2 (Jean Aoki)
Statement on Policy and the Environment - 3 (Arlene Ellis)
Testimony on Bill 122, Excise Tax Surcharge (Arlene Ellis)
Testimony on Bill 122, Excise Tax Surcharge - 2 (Astrid Monson)
Rail Opponents Challenged to Find Alternatives (Astrid Monson)
Letters to the Editor - 1 (Arlene Ellis)
Letters to the Editor - 2 (Muriel R. Roberts)
Letters to the Editor - 3 (Katherine Kocel (P.K.A. Loew) & Susan MacKinnon)
Letters to the Editor - 4 (Barbara Farwell)
Membership

Testimony on Bill 122, Excise Tax Surcharge - 2

September 30, 1992

On the back of last Sunday's newspaper editorial urging rail transit advocates to keep trying was an article asking whether the $2.5 billion airport expansion plan was perhaps too grand and pointing out that anticipated passenger volumes and revenues have not materialized, and that the plan has to be reexamined.

A few days earlier, Governor Waihee had been quoted as saying that the Council's decision against rail "will definitely put us back to square one in terms of longrange planning."

In our opinion, as long as the rail pipe-dream was being smoked, no realistic transit planning -- long- or short-range -- was possible. Now, at last, perhaps we can start.

League has long advocated development of a "bus rapid transit system" using dedicated bus lanes and transitways ultimately serving all parts of the island. As a start toward such a comprehensive system we have suggested such immediate and relatively inexpensive steps as fitting buses with priority devices to trip light signals at intersections; designating certain highway and freeway lanes for buses only during peak periods; putting more express buses and private "Bus Plus" vehicles into service; designating more HOV and contraflow lanes; ending $30-a-month or free parking privileges for State and City employees; and, to pay the costs, taxing parking stalls. a dollar or two a day each, and adding $.05 or .10 a gallon to existing gasoline taxes.

Let us forget rail and start today on bus rapid transit. Thank you.

Astrid Monson
Chair, Transit Study Committee

September 1992 Home   Newsletters November-December 1992