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COMMON GROUND - 08/13/2008
(by Anita Yarossi - OpEd Columnist - August 13, 2008)
The Silver Bullet
Air travel has taken the stage with road travel as being one of the newest transportation woes concomitant with this nation’s energy crisis. Airlines have responded by raising prices more than 10 times since December of 2007, cutting back the number of flights and adding a la carte fees for what used to be givens in air travel. Various airlines have imposed such fees as $7 for a pillow and blanket, $15 for checking a bag, $2 for a bottle of water. The capacity quotas on airplanes are ever more important because of the direct relationship between the airline’s ability to break even and the cost of fuel if a plane is not full.
Even with the increases in revenues, most airline companies have dismal financial outlooks for the coming year and lousy financial quarters for the first half of this year. In addition, some remain on the verge of bankruptcy as they have since 9/11, when air traffic shut down over fear and safety issues.
Air travel in the United States has been a growth industry since 1978 when deregulation allowed route and price setting competition without government interference. It was the sky with no limits for nearly 30 years. All this has now changed.
Leisure travelers, reconsidering vacation plans, do so with options for activities closer to home. Business travelers, who travel out of necessity, have to rethink some of their marketing, sales and business strategies - particularly as overhead relates to profits.
The transportation industry, which has now come under fire to reduce emissions, develop vehicles with greater mileage capacity and ultimately reduce reliance upon fossil fuels, has been allowed to ignore the 800-pound gorilla in this equation. Airline emissions account for an enormous part of our carbon footprint. We know that airplanes cannot readily be retooled to run on electricity, but guess what – light rail and high speed rail already does!
For the short haul airline routes that are the most vulnerable right now, this is both a sane and viable alternative. Europe and Japan embraced this form of transportation years ago developing bullet trains with speeds of close to 200 miles per hour. For example, currently if a business traveler wants to go from New York to Washington, San Francisco to Los Angeles, or Chicago to St Louis, he would have to arrive at the airport an hour ahead of his flight. He would have to travel an hour by plane and then get from the airport to his destination.
High-speed rail would cut his total time almost in half and generally leave him in or close to a city center. He or she could arrive at the station just before departure, get up and move around and sit in much greater comfort on these short trips, which are now done on regional jets with very limited and cramped seating. There would be no air traffic control delays, weather delays, or baggage issues.
Currently, California has a High Speed Rail System Bond on its November ballot. It would connect San Francisco, Sacramento and the Central Valley with Los Angeles and San Diego. There is also a Midwest Regional Rail Initiative, a joint venture between nine state transport agencies, Amtrak and the Federal Railroad Administration. The rail industry, which was deregulated in 1997, would have to prove it could cover its operating costs in these initiatives, but those who don’t support high-speed rail, currently have no reasonable alternatives to put on the table.
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