Smart Growth America

Double our return: invest in public transportation

Through the first 10 months of spending from the 2009 stimulus package, investments in public transportation created twice as many jobs per dollar as investments in highways.

With unemployment reaching the double digits, we need to invest our dollars wisely to create as many as jobs as possible with limited money. If the Senate’s jobs bill invested equally in public transportation and highways, we could produce year-round employment for 5,951 more workers, without spending a dime more than the House’s jobs bill.

Read the letter below and click submit to send this message to your Senator, asking them to ensure that the Jobs for Main Street bill creates jobs quickly while providing a down payment on a clean, green transportation infrastructure for the 21st Century.

September 03, 2010

Subject:

Dear Senator

As your constituent, I’m urging you to put more Americans back to work. Through the first ten months of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), investments in public transportation have created twice as many jobs per dollar as investments in highways. A new analysis by Smart Growth America, the Center for Neighborhood Technology and U.S. PIRG shows that by mimicking funding levels for transportation set out in ARRA, the Jobs for Main Street Act (H.R. 2847) missed an opportunity to create additional jobs where they are needed most. If the Senate version invests equally in public transportation and highways, we could produce 71,415 additional job-months, equivalent to year-round employment for 5,951 more workers, without spending a dime more than the House bill. See: http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/stimulus2009.html The evidence from ARRA shows that investments in public transportation are most effective at producing jobs — creating more jobs faster. Allocating federal funds in response to this evidence would speed job creation. The Senate version of the Main Street Act, once introduced, should balance spending between public transportation and the Surface Transportation Program. I urge you to learn from the lessons of ARRA, because Americans need jobs. We also need to get the biggest bang for our buck. Public transportation doesn’t just reduce emissions and keep our cities and towns livable; it makes a difference to the thousands of Americans who would otherwise be out of work. Please, support public transportation in the jobs bill. Thank you for your time. Sincerely,
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