After seeing months of rising gas prices, Maryland PIRG launched a major transit campaign this spring.

Marylanders commuting to the Washington, D.C., area wasted more than 127 million hours of additional time on the roads, and over 90 million gallons of gas as a result of traffic congestion in 2005.

“We need to expand bus and rail systems to reduce the number of drivers on the road,” said Maryland PIRG State Director Johanna Neumann. “Doing so will reduce our nation’s dependence on oil and address congestion problems before they cripple our metro areas.”

In Maryland, large-scale transit projects like the Purple Line in the D.C. suburbs, the Corridor Cities Transitway from Montgomery County to Frederick, and Baltimore’s Red Line and Green Line are stuck on the drawing board. The proposed MARC expansion is also pending depending on adequate funding.

Funding For Public Transit

For decades, powerful developers and the road construction industry have lobbied to spend taxpayer dollars on highway projects while under funding transit.

In the coming months, Congress will begin talking about how to divvy up billions of transportation dollars through a new federal funding bill. Maryland PIRG is fighting for funding that will prioritize  maintenance and repair, public transit, and smart spending over new highway projects.

We are asking Maryland’s leaders, including Gov. O’Malley and city mayors,  to sign a pledge in support of expanding Maryland’s current public transportation system, and will work with them to make sure Congress gives transit the funding it deserves.