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21st Century Transportation for Arizona

CONNECTING ARIZONA WITH RAIL—Arizonans drive more miles, experience more congestion and produce more pollution from transportation than they did two decades ago. Arizona PIRG is working to provide more transportation options for our state.

ARIZONANS NEED TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS

Our highways are plagued with congestion, regardless of how many we build or how quickly we expand them. Pollution is a growing problem, with more of our children being affected by asthma. And a strong economy relies on having strong infrastructure.

It’s clear that Arizona needs to update and expand our transportation system to meet our needs in the 21st century.

Passenger rail between Phoenix and Tucson, light rail, efficient bus systems, vanpool services and other public transit options should play a greater role in Arizona’s transportation future.

Working To Make Passenger Rail A Reality

No matter how many times we widen the I-10, it’s nearly impossible to drive between Phoenix and Tucson without getting stuck in traffic. The Arizona Department of Transportation estimates that by 2050 it will take more than 5 hours to drive between Phoenix and Tucson — after factoring in expansion of the I-10.

ADOT is moving forward to determine the best route and funding options for a Phoenix-Tucson passenger rail line. While important progress is being made, there are still a number of steps needed, including public input meetings, to bring passenger rail to Arizona. With your support, we can ensure Arizona’s leaders know that Arizonans want better transportation options.

Issue updates

News Release | Arizona PIRG Education Fund | Transportation

New Report: Reduction in Driving Likely to Continue

As the average number of miles driven by Americans heads into its eighth year of decline, a new report from the Arizona PIRG Education Fund finds that the slowdown in driving is likely to continue. The report, A New Direction: Our Changing Relationship with Driving and the Implications for America’s Future, noted that demographic changes will likely keep driving down for decades.

> Keep Reading
Report | Arizona PIRG Education Fund | Transportation

A New Direction

The Driving Boom—a six decade-long period of steady increases in per-capita driving in the United States—is over. Americans drive fewer total miles today than we did eight years ago, and fewer per person than we did at the end of Bill Clinton’s first term. The unique combina­tion of conditions that fueled the Driving Boom no longer exists. Meanwhile, a new generation—the Mil­lennials—is demanding a new American Dream less dependent on driving.

> Keep Reading
Blog Post | Transportation

It's time to restore transit funding in Arizona | Serena Unrein

Arizona PIRG is urging lawmakers to pass HB2594 and restore funding for the Local Transportation Assistance Fund, or LTAF, which was a vital source of funding for communities across the state to have transit programs.

> Keep Reading
News Release | Arizona PIRG Education Fund | Transportation

Flagstaff Transit Highlighted in New National Report

A new report by Reconnecting America highlights Flagstaff as one of 14 midsize cities in the country setting an example for the next generation of transit projects. Transit advocates celebrated the inclusion of Flagstaff’s Mountain Link bus rapid transit in the report.

> Keep Reading
Blog Post | Transportation

A Trillion Fewer Driving Miles? | Serena Unrein

It’s now common knowledge that annual changes in the volume of driving no longer follow the old ways. In July 2012, Americans clocked over 258 billion miles behind the wheel, a billion fewer miles than the previous July despite a slightly stronger economy and cheaper gasoline.

> Keep Reading

Pages

News Release | Arizona PIRG Education Fund | Transportation

New Report: Reduction in Driving Likely to Continue

As the average number of miles driven by Americans heads into its eighth year of decline, a new report from the Arizona PIRG Education Fund finds that the slowdown in driving is likely to continue. The report, A New Direction: Our Changing Relationship with Driving and the Implications for America’s Future, noted that demographic changes will likely keep driving down for decades.

> Keep Reading
News Release | Arizona PIRG Education Fund | Transportation

Flagstaff Transit Highlighted in New National Report

A new report by Reconnecting America highlights Flagstaff as one of 14 midsize cities in the country setting an example for the next generation of transit projects. Transit advocates celebrated the inclusion of Flagstaff’s Mountain Link bus rapid transit in the report.

> Keep Reading
News Release | Arizona PIRG Education Fund | Transportation

Consumer Group to ADOT: Arizonans Need Passenger Rail

As the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) takes public comment on a proposed passenger rail line connecting Phoenix and Tucson, the Arizona PIRG Education Fund, a statewide consumer group, urged ADOT to continue moving forward with the rail plans and provided the agency with a set of recommendations for the rail line.

> Keep Reading
News Release | Arizona PIRG | Transportation

Federal Transportation Bill is a Step Backwards

Statement of Serena Unrein, Public Interest Advocate for Arizona PIRG, regarding the final Federal Transportation Bill as released today. The nation has been without a new transportation bill since the 2005 law expired in September 2009 and has been subject to nine temporary extensions.

> Keep Reading
News Release | Arizona PIRG Education Fund | Transportation

Phoenix-Tucson Rail Creates Jobs, Save Millions

A new report released today by the Arizona PIRG Education Fund highlighted the benefits of connecting Phoenix and Tucson with passenger rail. The report, Connecting Phoenix and Tucson: The Benefits of Intercity Rail in the Sun Corridor, estimates that the economic benefits of intercity rail include: expanding labor market access for businesses, creating at least 30,000 job-years of employment, boosting local economies, and ensuring that the Phoenix-Tucson area remains attractive to young people, who increasingly prefer alternatives to driving.

> Keep Reading

Pages

Report | Arizona PIRG Education Fund | Transportation

A New Direction

The Driving Boom—a six decade-long period of steady increases in per-capita driving in the United States—is over. Americans drive fewer total miles today than we did eight years ago, and fewer per person than we did at the end of Bill Clinton’s first term. The unique combina­tion of conditions that fueled the Driving Boom no longer exists. Meanwhile, a new generation—the Mil­lennials—is demanding a new American Dream less dependent on driving.

> Keep Reading
Report | Arizona PIRG Education Fund | Transportation

Connecting Phoenix and Tucson

Over the past few decades, explosive population growth in Phoenix and Tucson has led the two cities to grow increasingly interconnected, socially and economically. It has also resulted in increasing traffic congestion problems, particularly on Interstate 10, which connects the two cities. With this growth expected to continue in years to come, Arizonans face a pressing need for improved transportation options. Passenger rail between Phoenix and Tucson can help meet the future transportation needs of the Sun Corridor.

> Keep Reading
Report | Arizona PIRG Education Fund | Transportation

Transportation & the New Generation

From World War II until just a few years ago, the number of miles driven annually on America’s roads steadily increased. Then, at the turn of the century, something changed: Americans began driving less. By 2011, the average American was driving 6 percent fewer miles per year than in 2004. The trend away from driving has been led by young people.

> Keep Reading
Report | Arizona PIRG Education Fund | Transportation

High-Speed Rail: Public, Private or Both?

Private sector companies are likely to play a major role in the construction of high-speed rail lines in the United States. Public-private partnerships – or “PPPs” – have come to play an important role in the construction of high-speed rail lines around the world. The experience with high-speed rail PPPs, however, has been mixed.

> Keep Reading
Report | Arizona PIRG Education Fund | Transportation

Do Roads Pay for Themselves?

Highway advocates often claim that roads “pay for themselves,” with gasoline taxes and other charges to motorists covering—or nearly covering—the full cost of highway construction and maintenance. They are wrong.

> Keep Reading

Pages

Blog Post | Transportation

It's time to restore transit funding in Arizona | Serena Unrein

Arizona PIRG is urging lawmakers to pass HB2594 and restore funding for the Local Transportation Assistance Fund, or LTAF, which was a vital source of funding for communities across the state to have transit programs.

> Keep Reading
Blog Post | Transportation

A Trillion Fewer Driving Miles? | Serena Unrein

It’s now common knowledge that annual changes in the volume of driving no longer follow the old ways. In July 2012, Americans clocked over 258 billion miles behind the wheel, a billion fewer miles than the previous July despite a slightly stronger economy and cheaper gasoline.

> Keep Reading
Blog Post | Transportation

US House Transportation Bill for the 19th Century, not the 21st Century | Serena Unrein

With much fanfare and 854 days late, the U.S. House last week introduced bills to fund our nation's transportation system for the next five years. The new rules for spending $260 billion over five years would be tilted more toward highways with less going to buses, rail, biking and pedestrian trails.

> Keep Reading
Blog Post | Transportation

New TIFIA Rules Will Hurt the Public | Serena Unrein

The one major transportation program that was significantly expanded in last week's new surface transportation bill was TIFIA, the federal loan program meant to complement other forms of financing for major transportation projects. In expanding the program, Congress also transformed the program from one in which performance critieria were used to select which proposals most deserved tax dollars into a first-come-first-served pool that will no longer prioritize projects that provide the most public benefits.

> Keep Reading
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Tools & Resources

Priority Action

Tell the Arizona Department of Transportation why you want to see a passenger rail line built between Phoenix and Tucson.

Comment Here

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