Thank you, Senator Freestone, members of the Committee. My name is Bill Lindley, a member of the Action Mesa Transportation Task Force, and a director of the Arizona Rail Passenger Association.
We have heard a great deal today about roads, but roads alone are not the answer. I have here a brochure from the Union Pacific Railroad, the cover of which reads, "They pollute our air. They waste billions of gallons of fuel. And, they cost $100 million per mile to build. So why are they called freeways?"
According to the recently released report "Dollars and Sense" [a report by Donald H. Camph and supported by The Campaign for Efficient Passenger Transportation], the existing Valley Metro buses here carry the equivalent of 96 lane-miles of freeway.
We have also heard of the growth our State anticipates. Now, much of this growth will be in our elderly population, many of whom cannot drive; and in our youth, many of whom similarly cannot drive, or who cannot afford an automobile. Even among those who can drive, many will look at the growing congestion on our roads and seek alternatives.
This State has been studying rail passenger rail transportation for years. In this 1980 study -- after the flood which closed many of the bridges over the Salt River -- it describes how a temporary commuter train was well received.
In 1993, a study for the Joint Legislative Study Committee on Rail Passenger Transportation concluded that a regional system, linking Phoenix, Tucson, and Nogales, could be built for $518 million. Compare this cost to that of the highways discussed here today and you can see that rail is an excellent return on investment, especially since it offsets the requirement to upgrade highways, such as I-10 between Phoenix and Tucson.
Julie Brown of the Union Pacific Railroad says that commuter rail can be operational here in as little as eighteen months. The rails are there -- right through downtown Mesa, Tempe, and Phoenix -- let's use them.
Thank you.
* Maricopa Oversight and Input on Transportation Legislative Committee