At an average of 4.25 trips per person per day, that's almost four million new trips per day in the region. Many argue the solution is better transit and more bicycling, walking and carpooling. Some argue that the way to solve our transportation problems is to build more roads. Needless to say, the stakes are very high. The RTA is offering Puget Sound voters a package of light rail, commuter rail and regional bus improvements.
Rail transit is a smart investment.
But the real advantage is simply efficiency. Rail investments offer real people moving capacity at a far lower financial, social and environmental cost than more highways. The RTA plan also offers vastly improved bus service, serving major regional centers and destinations and providing new direct connections between suburbs. The express routes will free up 300,000 hours of bus service provided by local transit agencies that can be redirected into improved local service. Transit critics claim that public transportation is not cost-effective and that the key to solving congestion problems is to build more roads and highways.