An open letter to Joe Biden on Public Transportation
Tags: Democratic Party, Amtrak, Joe Biden, Politics

Transportation

On top of the Trump orders you can rescind on January 20th, 2021, here are some other things you could do as President. You should probably Nationalize Amtrak within the first few months of your Presidency. You and Secretary designate Buttigieg both said that you are big supporters and fans of Amtrak, I am too, I think that the idea and of implementation of Amtrak is not horrible. You and the future Transportation Secretary should work with Congress to completely Nationalize Amtrak and abolish all fees and ticket prices for everyone who chooses to ride Amtrak. You should also renovate abandoned railroad tracks in every state to make them use renewable energy and energy efficient. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) says that Amtrak operates passenger rail in 46 states, there are 48 states on the continental United States. A total of three states being left out of Amtrak coverage, one of which is Hawaii which is the only dominat island state in the United States. The two other’s are generally in the rocky mountains and great plains, it is unacceptable that three states and all populated US territories are forgotten by Amtrak. You should also expand Amtrak service to the Northern States of Mexico and Mexico City as many people from both the United States & Mexico cross the border daily or weekly and they require adequate public transport.

In regards to Amtrak you should renegotiate with the Canadian government(s) to expand Amtrak service to Canada as it already operates in Canada to some extent. The Canadian people have three public rail corporations, while we in the US or at least in the Eastern portion of the US only have one and that is Amtrak. An American, Bill Gates owns a decent amount of shares in the Canadian rail services so here is our chance to not be worse than Canada on privatization, if it is not healthcare, let it be rail transportation. If Conservative, Republicans who like to argue national security that attempt to stop you, say that our horrendous public transportation system is a national security threat. Say that the inconsistency could make it easier for non-preferable whether such as snowstorms, which we recently experienced in the Northeast about a week ago, to disrupt the business of government by focusing on road accidents instead of how to deal with Climate Change.

Amtrak has also curtailed freight transportation which is detrimental to the environment, because planes, boats, and cars/trucks are not viable choices for transportation. They require loads of fuel and gas that they emit and we are years or even decades away from universal renewable energy use for planes, ships, and cars/trucks. Meanwhile trains are probably the cleanest form of transportation we have currently and they are beginning to be phased out and replaced with trucks & vans along with planes & drones. Trains could easily be powered by magnets as seen with Japan and South Korea, trains could also relatively easily be powered by solar panels which the train could be adorned with. The Defense budget for FY2021 is $740 Billion compared to the $500 Million budget proposed by the Trump administration. This is nothing new, Mr. President-elect. Mr. President-elect more drastic action is needed to save Amtrak not be simply increasing funding to pre-2020 levels, you need “radical” change to keep public transportation afloat in the United States.

As you know there are many other elements to public transportation in the United States. The United States needs a National bus Transport service which should compete with Greyhound buses. Your administration should commit to a freeze on planning and building new road/infrastructure projects and rebuilding and maintaining our current road projects while also finishing planned projects that have not been finished or even started. From Detroit to the high country of South Carolina to Sierra Nevada to Northern Pennsylvania people are driving on destroyed roads that are not in an adequate shape for public safety. In the cities roads are nearly as bad as in rural areas, as many cities in the US are not meant for cars as seen by the design of their streets and sidewalks/thoroughfares. Cities on the east coast were not meant for cars or modern day motor vehicles and should establish a fund for cities in the East to implement a staggered car system as seen in countries where drivers can only use their vehicles on certain days depending on their license plate. You could also direct the EPA to work with cities with the most C02 emissions to discuss private car travel in that area completely.

Mr. President-elect you and the future Secretary of Transportation need to develop a high speed rail that goes from New York to Los Angeles.

In conclusion Mr. President-elect I know that you have a predilection to not propose big things that could drastically change the nation, but now is the time. If there ever was a time for a fundamental change in the United States it was now, like FDR in 1933 or Thaddeus Stevens in 1865 now is the time for substantial change. I hope to write another letter covering what I believe to be some of the most pressing issues for you as President besides to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sincerely,

Wesley Richards