"Kurt Ullman" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"Pete C." wrote:


There are other ways to make a more significant improvement without any
change in vehicles. A substantial amount of our vehicle use is in
unnecessary commuting and solo commuting. The current fuel prices are
already improving the situation by triggering more carpooling and more
telecommuting.

Also, we need pull some of the "Highway taxes" away from highways and
let it go to building other forms of transportation like light rail,
etc. We well and truly blew that over the years.


Good idea (light rail), except for one problem: They *TEND TO BE* run by
municipalities. By comparison, highways are big money makers for the
construction industry. Until we cut off the cash flow from that industry to
politicians' pockets, you won't see light rail become a reality in much of
the country. Here (Rochester NY), a light rail plan was presented some years
ago as an alternative to widening one of our highways. There was a rail bed
already in place alongside the highway. For that and other reasons, the plan
was nearly perfect. It never got a serious evaluation by the county's
elected slobs. Instead, the highway was widened, which of course provides a
nice annuity for the companies that need to maintain it constantly.