Sad stimulus update

February 12, 9:12 PMDC Transportation ExaminerKatherine M. Hill

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As the stimulus bill gets tossed around, and I grow disheartened, public transit--or high speed rail since that's all that remains at this point--is losing more. From Transportation for America:

 

We now have what appear to be the final numbers for transportation infrastructure in the stimulus. While the totals for transit and highway spending were both in the same ballpark as what they were in the original House and Senate bills, the sum for high-speed has drastically increased from the numbers in the first two versions. Here’s a rundown:

• $29 billion for highways and bridges
  
• $8.4 billion for transit
  
• $8 billion for high-speed rail
• $1.3 billion for Amtrak

Although it’s too early to know exactly how things played out behind the scenes, the Associated Press reports that President Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid helped push up the funding for high-speed rail.

Maybe I was too hard on Obama this week on The Perils of Public Transportation. Then again, maybe not. I wanted more. That said, this is better than I expected!


Virginia has its own stimulus site (via).