Transit Initiatives & Communities

ConferenceSalt Lake City

June 2, 2009

Jennifer HenryNatural Resources

Defense Council

Partnering with Business examples of and advice on how to enlist the private sector to support transit

I. Federal and State Examples in NRDC’s Experience

II. Local/Regional Examples in Your Experience

III. Concluding Advice

IV. Blatant T4B Plug

V. Other Examples & Advice?

Preview

Federal & State Examples in NRDC’s Experience

Climate: • USCAP (U.S. Climate Action Partnership)

• BICEP (Business for Innovative Climate & Energy Policy)

• E2/C2 (Environmental Entrepreneurs Climate Campaign)

• SB 375

Local/Regional Examples in Your Experience

• Silicon Valley Leadership Group– Transportation has always been an area of concern– Led 2 sales tax efforts, most recently to get BART

extension & operations– Did 40-50% of the campaign fundraising, donated staff

time, space, supplies– Long-standing relationship with VTA– Driving issue is employee access to jobs > recruitment &

retention

Local/Regional Examples in Your Experience

• Business Alliance for Northeast Mobility– “Verizon New Jersey’s decision to retain its 700-employee

presence in Newark, and to invest more than $25 million, was influenced strongly by the City’s rail connections and access to the Northeast Corridor. As a company that spends hundreds of millions of dollars each year on our own infrastructure, we understand the importance of returning the Corridor to a state of good repair,” said Dennis M. Bone, President, Verizon New Jersey.

Local/Regional Examples in Your Experience

• Unnamed smallish city– “they are starting to recognize the benefits to certain

groups of employees, customers, and they are particularly excited about certain improvements like real-time signs or guaranteed rides home…but they tend to disappear into the background…they don’t have staff time to devote to long-term planning or advocacy”

Concluding Advice

Concluding Advice

• Why– Cross-cutting support– Credible messenger– Resources (leadership & $)

Concluding Advice

• Who to Approach

– The obvious: Chambers– Otherwise: no particular sector—open-minded people

wherever you find them, then leverage their friends/competitors.

– “Find business leaders that want to work on larger community issues.”

– Business community not monolithic

Concluding Advice

• How to Approach– Time efficiently– Convince them a) that it’s a solution to a problem, b) that it’s

going to be cheaper in the long run.– With evidence that transit IS being used.– With surveys or suggest surveys.– Figure out what they want; give some ownership of the

campaign.– “find areas of agreement, don’t force ideology or be unwilling to

compromise”– “It’s always good for the transit agencies to reach out,

regardless of existing support”

Suggested Messages

“Transportation shapes our economy”

– Movement (or congestion) of goods– Movement (or congestion) of customers and employees—the 100 largest metro

areas contain 65% of population and account for 78% of GDP.

– In 2005, congestion (based on wasted time and fuel) cost about $78.2 billion in the 437 urban areas, compared to $73.1 billion in 2004.

“Increases Disposable Income”

– Average of about 20% of household budgets spent on transportation.

– Affordable living is less attainable as fuel prices and trip lengths increase.

“Transportation Drives Real Estate Market”

“Opportunity Cost of Spending Public $”

– Increasing awareness that infinitely expanding lanes doesn’t solve the problem

“Jobs” (service, but also manufacturing up the supply chain)

“Makes Business Travel Easier/More Productive”

“Reduces Need (Cost) of Parking”

In 2009, we have a unique opportunity for change in the next

transportation cycle.

A Broke & Broken System

Demographics

Gas PricesEnergy/Climate

Concerns

Blatant Plug for T4B

• T4B = The Transportation for Business Network

• Purpose(s):– Match business voice with policymakers

and media audiences– First and foremost about the federal

reauthorization– Minimize time commitment, maximize

impact– Help organize a voice that has been

historically—mostly— absent from the debate.

• Current status: recruiting…who do you know?

Blatant Plug for T4B

www.transportation4business.org

Other Examples & Advice?

Contact Info:• Jennifer Henry (jhenry@nrdc.org / 312.651.7912)• www.transportation4business.org

• A nation's transportation system underlies its economic strength - the movement of goods, services, employees, and customers depend upon it, and it impacts the long-term health of its people and environment. Because of this, and because imminent federal legislation provides a rare opportunity to transform our approach to national transportation infrastructure investments, the Transportation for Business (T4B) Network represents a unified business voice, championing policies that will:

• Base transportation investments on performance criteria related to clear national objectives, which should include:

– improving the overall efficiency of the system, to move people and goods faster and at lower cost;

– reducing our dependence on oil; – reducing climate-damaging emissions, soot or smog-forming pollutants, and other

environmental and public health impacts; and – expanding economic opportunity and access to jobs for all Americans.

• Allocate a significant portion of federal transportation dollars, and the authority to invest them, to metropolitan regions across the country, where the vast majority of economic activity takes place - the 100 largest metro areas contain 65% of population and account for 78% of GDP.

• Support the completion of a world-leading, multi-modal 21st century transportation system by bringing balance to our infrastructure investments. Compared to our current allocation patterns, invest a proportionally greater amount of federal transportation dollars to maintain, expand, and better connect rail, bus, ferry, bicycle, and pedestrian networks to complement the existing road and highway network.

• Place priority for federal highway dollars on intelligent management of traffic and bringing existing roads and bridges up to a state of good repair, before considering expansion of our extensive highway network - a commonsense "fix-it-first" requirement.

• Allocate a significant portion of federal transportation dollars to maintain, operate, improve, and expand freight and passenger intercity rail.

• Ensure that revenue streams to support needed transportation investments are sufficient, stable, and consistent with the need to build a new low-carbon transportation infrastructure network.

Appendix: T4B Goals (full detail)