Give me liberty, by giving me mass transit

Commentary

Orlando Romero |

5/4/2008 - 5/4/08

Imagine for a moment or two that you've left Paris, France and you're on the TGV traveling through Bordeaux and on your way to Irun, Spain, on the Biscayan coast.

You sip your excellent French wine while munching on a baguette. When you arrive in Irun you take a slower train through the mountains, marveling at snow-covered peaks while Basque sheepherders tend white sheep on lush green slopes that look like a fairy tale or a scene from The Sound of Music.

After thoroughly enjoying the beautiful Basque country, you take another train to Valladolid. After spending time there with a friend, you decide to take the bus to Madrid so you can see even more of the beautiful countryside. Spanish buses have wide comfortable seats, seat belts and movies if you like.

Now imagine a bit further, after enjoying four days at the Prado and other museums, you want to visit friends in Valencia. No problem. You get tickets on the Ave, and while you sip an excellent Rioja and munch on a delicious jamón serrano baguette, the 100-mph train delivers you safe, sound and ready to enjoy Valencia, then Granada, Córdova, etc.

You can stop imagining now, because after numerous trips to France, Italy and Spain, you know that excellent public transportation is not a fantasy but a reality.

And last November, my wife and I, and another couple, took trains from Rome to Florence, Venice and Verona. And while not all the trains in Italy were as impressive as those of France or Spain, they are more than adequate for our needs.

One of the most serious mistakes Americans visiting abroad make these days is renting a car. Not only is it ridiculously expensive, but also Americans are shocked when they can't find parking and also are denied access to some centers like Florence, Toledo or other town centers where cars are either banned or allowed only by permit.

Where am I going with this? Simple: We are one of the only "industrialized" countries in the world that has less than Third World public transportation. And with cheap gasoline ending and supplies dwindling and manipulated by our own oil barons, we have only ourselves to blame. Can you imagine how much easier evacuation could have been accomplished during Hurricane Katrina if commuter trains had been available to the public?

What are the benefits of public transportation? The most obvious — stress. It eliminates the danger of road rage and you can relax, read the newspaper, or chat with a fellow commuter. Second, it reduces the maintenance and insurance on the infernal combustion engines and can't help but reduce emissions. The only downside is that the government (we) must subsidize it. But it's a long-term investment that will not only benefit us aging baby boomers but also our grandchildren.

Most of us out here in the county don't get much for our taxes. We have no public sewage system, garbage pickup, public libraries, nor police protection. If we call 911 we get a tribal officer who may not have authority on private property. If it weren't for the fire station at Pojoaque, the county presence would be almost invisible to us out here in the valley.

That is why County Commissioner Jack Sullivan needs to reconsider his dropping out of the transit district. This is not an option. What is a viable option is a hard look to see if the Rail Runner Express tax could be expanded to cover the public (bus) transportation being planned. As a taxpayer, I can't help but thank Sullivan for asking tough questions, but as it is now, most of us here in the valley see few services for our taxes.

Public transportation is not only highly visible but also a benefit to all of us. Sullivan and all the other commissioners need to approve public transportation and break our wasteful and primitive habit of SUV (single-user vehicle) use.

Now close your eyes, one more time, and imagine cleaner skies, less-noisy roadways, less clearing of land for more and fatter highways, and just maybe a little more change in your pockets after giving up pump addiction. Wouldn't that be a practical dream worth pursuing? I'm not Patrick Henry, but how about giving me liberty through a good bus and train system.

Writer/historian Orlando Romero can be reached at Nambe1@aol.com.