One of the challenges that the Texas government is failing to keep up with is the state’s transportation system due to the increased population. From 2000-2010 the population has grown by over 4 million people. As of now Texas also has the largest transportation infrastructure in the nation. So can the state of Texas keeps up with the projected increased population of fifty million people by 2040? Or will the state cuts corners and let the infrastructure fall by the weigh side? These are two of the concerns that Texans want answers to. As member of our communities we have to hold the Texas Department of Transportation accountable to their mission statement; which is to provide safe and reliable transportation solutions in Texas. To get …show more content…
The truth is, Texans already spend more than they should on the Texas transportation system. By failing to invest in highways, the cost is shifted to consumers in the form of wasted time stuck in traffic, damage to vehicles, accelerated tire wear, and increased likelihood of being in a serious accident (The Cost). Drivers, truckers, visitors spend countless hours stuck in traffic, costing businesses time and money, polluting the air, and the wear and tear of the roads (Agency 8). Also due to congestion, costs the Texas economy 10.8 billion per year, which they push onto the citizens through groceries and goods you buy that have transportation cost. The average annual hours of delay a commuter has in a Texas Metro area are at or above 37 hours. The city of Houston leads delays with about 50 hours per year. In 15 years if the transportation system is still underfunded could rise up to 74 hours (The Cost 2). Every driver in Texas should know what the differences that they are paying for the transportation system being underfunded and well-funded. Currently households are investing $232 per year, which comes out costing drivers $6,095 in total vehicle use and maintenance cost. If drivers invest an additional $279 reduces total vehicle cost to $4,228 and saves them $1,558. An additional $402 more each year will also cut their cost to $3,652 and save them $2,041. So raising highway investments will save drivers money in the long run. Drivers all know that vehicle
Jerry Johnson is the site manager at a Department of Transportation (DOT) customer service office, where nine other employees also work. Mary Marshall, a former employee at that particular office of the DOT has reported to our office, the OIG of the DOT, that Jerry Johnson has been devoting his attention to his own personal things, such as engaging in “church work” and “political work” while on government time from the DOT.
Trains are everywhere in our society, we have jokes, toys, movies, and children’s television shows, but did you know rail transport started in 6th century Greece? The city of San Antonio, Texas is a fast-growing metropolitan city that has a very tremendous amount of people. It has been estimated that the city will grow by another million people in the next ten to twenty years. San Antonio’s traffic is becoming a huge issue and is quickly approaching to be one of the most congested areas in the states. The public transport in San Antonio consists of a very complex bus system, taxicabs, Trolley’s downtown, and the growing market of ridesharing drivers. San Antonio has had many talks and negotiations throughout the last two decades on getting a Light Rail system constructed to help with public transportation. This proposal is for specific businesses, the city of San Antonio and Bexar County to come to a funding agreement.
Fifty cents of the gasoline tax dollar increase will go towards making the public transit system more feasible to people. This includes more bus stop locations, more arrival and departure times, more accessible train and airplane facilities, and increased safety precautions. Cheaper fares would also be a good means to increase the use of public transportation. In Huntsville, Alabama where the town is trying to have an efficient city system and is doing well at it, the tourist trolley fare is one dollar per trip and two
Traffic in downtown Austin, Texas is becoming a sever issue and is continuing to become slower and more congested every day. Austin ranks 4th on a list of U.S. cities with the least efficient roadways, and with its remarkable growth rate, the issue can only get worse. After reading numerous articles based on opinions and statements from local city planners and engineers, the best way to see an improvement in the traffic issue is to increase the amount of public transportation in the Austin area. The increase of public transportation would provide fast travel time and would help reduce the amount of money, commuters and locals use on gas by a substantial amount per year. Though many may argue the that we have enough public transportation already, reducing the number of personal vehicles on the road would decrease the amount of bumper to bumper traffic experienced on a daily basis, as well as increase the options for those commuting to the city every day. there are many possible solutions, such as widening the highways or even building them underground, these solutions however are not the most economically correct and productive way to relieve traffic downtown.
The traffic problem in Atlanta drains both time and money for thousands. It has been shown that Atlanta drivers spend on average 51 unnecessary hours behind the wheel each year (WSB Radio, 2013). That’s more than two 24 hour days spent sitting in traffic. During all this time spent, Atlantans end up spending upwards of $1000 per year on gas and collectively use 63,000,000 gallons of gas each year while sitting in traffic (WSB Radio, 2013). Traffic in Atlanta has been a huge waste of time and money for Atlantans for years and something needs to be done to alleviate the
Evidence: A study presented by the white house on its website reported that 65% of roads rated in less than good condition. 25% of bridges require significant repair or cannot handle today's traffic. Also because certain roads cannot be used there is more traffic. The Texas Transportation Institute estimates that American commuters in urban areas collectively lost 5.5 billion hours stuck in traffic in 2011, meaning the average commuter lost nearly a week to traffic. their calculations further suggest that traffic congestion caused American commuters to purchase an extra 2.9 billion gallons of fuel, costing them more than $120 billion in added fuel costs and wasted time.
11.13). When it comes to addressing the performance issues facing Texas schools, issues facing the poor, the reality of a water shortage, and problems relating to transportation, there is great reluctance among Texas Republicans when it comes to expanding the government’s role in improvements, as well as in raising the necessary funds through taxation. The Texas Politics Project (2017) explains that when it comes to the current state of Texas schools, supporters of a more fiscally conservative approach feel that such an approach “at least achieves average results with below-average spending” (p. 11.9). The current conservatism that defines the overall political approach in Texas may not be adequate in the long term. As we are seeing, changing demographics are substantially impacting the state of Texas and will likely lead to necessary changes throughout the state.
Change is always good because our world is always changing and shifting, why not try something different, right? Texas has been a conservative state for far too long and obviously it’s not a hundred percent the right answer. What can we do? We can start by pushing for a better educational and government system. Yes, this will raise our taxes, but, wouldn’t you pay more for better in quality of service. It is hard for people to succeed in a conservative state because the government is worried about politics and the states state budget. In this paper, we will look at why Texas needs to reform and push towards a more liberal government. There are a few reasons why improving the education and health-care system will improve our state. These improvements will impact our state and by providing Texas with the tools to succeed and provide a stronger government for the future. First, we will go through why Texas policies do not promote the general welfare of our state. Second, we will go through why our society has an obligation to help the less fortunate and last “Should the state of Texas be morally compelled to assist the less fortunate.”
The state of Texas is well known for its fast grown as a southern state, due to the idea of better opportunities of employment and for having a cheap lifestyle such as housing and food. But not everything is so good, the transportation in Texas is not very efficient. Even when the state has more than 501 highways, they seem to not be on the best conditions. The infrastructures' bad shapes not only affects the state, in general, but it also affects the residents.
To solve most of Texas’ education dilemmas, we must ensure that state legislature along with every candidate and sate leader restores all funding and supports education for all Texas students. We must invest in high quality education as population continues to grow. This will help set the stage and make dreams reachable for the future leaders of
Nothing that has occurred in the last several years in Texas has been quite as controversial as the new and increased usage of toll roads for new road construction. We have heard many statements that the toll roads are being built as a money-making system for the state (and the Department of Transportation). Statements have also been made to the effect that the state is "selling" the state, one length of roadway at a time; that the current roads could be maintained by the state, with current state funding levels. The main complaint is that the roads of Texas have always been free, and should continue to be free. But are these arguments correct?
Phoenix is large city in the United States and it is also the biggest city in Arizona. There are lots of who people live, work and study here. Therefore, there are always traffic jams in the rush hours which are morning and afternoon. If the government could improve the public transportation, for example, by adding more buses, there would be fewer people driving cars. According to Tribune (2009) Arizona lobbyists criticize claims that spending more money to improve public transportation is important, not only for creating more jobs, but also for help for reduce traffic, air pollution, and our dependence on oil. This shows that the public transportation here should be improved. Improving public transportation will also be beneficial for citizens in Arizona. It is because there will be fewer traffic jams then people will be taking buses instead of
Our transportation system, quite arguably, may embody our most vital system, as Infrastructure and Democracy clarifies, “access is the hallmark of a great infrastructure” (Jones, Reinecke). By great contrast, our roads remain a current issue. 42 percent of America’s urban highways remain congested, costing the United States 101 billion dollars in wasted time and fuel each year. Also, the32 percent of roads, in poor or mediocre condition, cost the average traveler $324 per year (American Infrastructure Report Card). Unfortunately, updating the highway systems seems longer than it may seem, as the Government Accountability Office (GAO) estimates that from proposal to completion most highways will need nine to nineteen years to fix (Leduc, Wilson 129). In addition to the roads, our bridges are failing just as much. One of every nine bridges within the United States is categorized as structurally deficient. The average bridge 42 years old, and in order to eliminate the bridge renovation backlog, our country would need to invest twenty and a half billion dollars until 2028 (American Infrastructure Report Card). However, in 2013, the United States only invested 12.8 billion dollars in bridge reconstruction and repair (American Infrastructure Report Card). Also, our countries transit
Providing efficient transportation is all three governments’ responsibility. Interruption in rush hour commute. Recently, TTTC subway lines were broken; gas leakage electrical and commuting delay even subway lines closed for several hour for repair. Some bus routes don’t have enough service. I used the line in North York, I had a hard time to get to the bus on time to get to pale subway. The buses were crowded especially in the rush hours. I could feel the breath of the passenger who was standing next to me face to face. The city needs more buses and street cars. According to TTC, last winter, many street cars were pulled out from service because they were very old their mechanism
Recently the City of Wichita has begun to experience problems, providing and maintaining its transportation services. The City of Wichita has traditionally operated a standard transit system common in other cities. This transit system included large busses on fixed routes and smaller busses for specialized transportation needs. This system does not cover the entire scope of public transportation needs required by citizens. Citizens have voiced a need for change in the city’s transit system. In this memo I will propose two alternatives, a public/private partnership and a reciprocal community transport system, that aim to improve the Wichita transit system.