News Release

The Need for Mass Transit

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National Transportation Safety Board officials have stated in recent days that they had warned the D.C.-area Metro that trains were in need of upgrades or replacement. Video is here.

FRANK HAMMER
Hammer is a retired GM employee of 32 years. He was president of United Auto Workers local 909 and also worked in the GM department of the UAW. He said today: “Auto workers have been saying that to address the global climate crisis and at the same time the crisis of the auto industry, we could be the ones to build the trains for mass transit systems that are obviously needed — not just for the systems we have now but for train systems we should have.”

ANISE JENKINS
President of the Stand Up! for Democracy in D.C. Coalition (Free D.C.), Jenkins said today: “What were they thinking? Wasn’t it obvious to our elected officials that upgrading those subway cars as recommended by the National Transportation Safety Board was a much better choice than spending over $700 million of our tax dollars on a new baseball stadium that D.C. doesn’t even own?”

HARVEY WASSERMAN
Author of the new book Solartopia: Our Green-Powered Earth, AD 2030 (which includes an introduction by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.), Wasserman said today: “The fatal crash on the D.C. Metro system underscores the critical funding needs faced by our ailing mass transit system. The crash of America’s auto industry reflects more than bad management — it signifies an epic shift from the car to light rail. Passenger train service both between and within our cities holds the key to a green future. This is where the Obama administration must re-focus its attention. If Detroit is to be re-made, it must be in building passenger rail cars rather than private automobiles.”

Wasserman’s recent articles include “Is this the end of the age of the automobile?” He can also address aspects of the energy bill.

For more information, contact at the Institute for Public Accuracy:
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167