South County
Building to be razed at transit center
San Diego Union-Tribune, June 7, 2008
Bus and trolley riders who pass through the busy El Cajon
Transit Center will soon lose access to the restrooms, concession
stand and Greyhound Bus Lines office at the Marshall Avenue hub.
That's because the Metropolitan Transit System plans to demolish the
building that houses those services sometime in the next several
months. There are no immediate plans to rebuild, though the agency's
goal is to attract commercial or residential development there.
Bicyclist will just have to wait for lockers at downtown train station
San Diego Union-Tribune, June 18, 2008
THE SITE: Santa Fe Depot in downtown San Diego
THE PROBLEM: Doug Austin rides the Coaster from North County to the Santa Fe Depot in downtown San Diego and would love to store a bike in a locker there for the final leg of his commute. But there aren't any available. It takes 45 minutes to reach his office by trolley. Riding a bike would cut the time in half, he said. The Santa Fe Depot has four lockers. All are being used, and there is a waiting list of 22 people, said Thomas Bruccoleri, a senior transportation planner with SANDAG. Throughout the region, there is a waiting list of about 200 people. SANDAG is looking for a business interested in purchasing lockers in exchange for advertising or sponsorship. A locker costs about $2,700. The agency also is looking into charging locker users an annual fee.
Run on diesel fuel creating public transit crisis in Tijuana
San Diego Union-Tribune, June 18, 2008
A critical shortage of diesel fuel resulted Wednesday in cancellations and delays in public and private transportation. Gas stations still selling diesel have reported huge lines of semis, pickups and municipal buses, something never before seen. ... The shortage of diesel is the result of several days of heavy buying from California motorists looking to escape record prices. Mexican government subsidies keep the fuel price lower than in the United States. A gallon of regular unleaded (87 octane) sells for $2.54, premium (91 octane) for $3.19 and diesel for $2.20. Rationing of diesel began on Friday, with gas stations nearest the border crossing receiving no new shipments since then.
North County
Transit District Cuts Bus Routes, Raises Fares
San Diego Business Journal, June 20, 2008
The North County Transit District board voted unanimously June 19 to cut bus routes, raise fares and eliminate some services to balance its $91.8 million budget. Effective Aug. 10, fast service routes, those provided in communities that can't support a fixed route service, will be eliminated in Encinitas, Ramona, Fallbrook and Vista. Along with the elimination of the Encinitas Coaster connection, the cuts called for less-frequent Saturday service for six routes and the elimination of three more. An additional 14 bus routes will discontinue weekend and holiday service beginning in August. Since May, the district has laid off 10 percent of the portion of its work force not represented by a union, out of the 600-person total staff. The district has not yet determined the number of union employees to be affected by the latest changes.
Monthly Sprinter train and Breeze bus passes will rise from $54 to
$59, and Coaster fares will increase $1 by Jan. 1. Kelleher says
money that would go to transportation funding has been continually
applied to the state budget deficit, currently placed at $22 billion.
"While we're dealing with declining sales tax revenues and doubled
fuel prices in two years, Sacramento has reduced our funding annually
for the past six years," Kelleher said.
Rail 2 Rail program will end Monday
North County Times, June 25, 2008
On July 1, a Coaster monthly pass will no longer buy Coaster commuters free trips on Amtrak Surfliner trains. Rail 2 Rail allowed anyone who buys a Coaster monthly pass - which ranges in price from $115 to $154, depending on the distance traveled - to also ride any Amtrak train on the route without paying an extra fee. ...Though it does not pay the full fare, the transit district reimburses Amtrak for every Coaster rider who hops on an Amtrak train. Those reimbursements were expected to total $125,000 in the coming 2008-09 budget year.
Since it started in April 2004, Rail 2 Rail has provided extra convenience to Coaster riders traveling to and from several local train stations. Unlike the Coaster, which makes a total of eight stops in San Diego County, Amtrak only serves Oceanside and Solana Beach and the Old Town and Santa Fe stations in San Diego. That means Coaster commuters traveling to or from Carlsbad, Encinitas or Sorrento Valley have no opportunity to use the Rail 2 Rail program, because Amtrak trains cruise through those stations without stopping.
President Bush proposes offshore oil drilling
Oil-rich basin off North County could yield 1 billion barrels
North County Times, June 18, 2008
President Bush on Wednesday urged Congress to end a federal ban on offshore oil drilling, saying the nation's untapped reserves - including an estimated 1 billion barrels off North County - are needed to ease soaring gas prices. ... Two North County congressional representatives said they supported offshore drilling, while mayors of two coastal cities, the California Coastal Commission and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger dismissed it as a risky, short-sighted solution to the current energy crisis that ignores more innovative alternatives. ... About 11 billion barrels may be off the West Coast within 21 basins, including the potentially oil-rich Oceanside-Capistrano basin between Dana Point and La Jolla. The local basin could yield 1 billion barrels of oil and 1.25 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, according to figures from the Interior Department's Minerals Management Service.
Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, said Congress has been inactive on the energy crisis and he preferred the president lift the ban through executive order. Another congressman, Rep. Brian Bilbray, R-Solana Beach, has supported revising the moratorium.
The governor said the ban was not to blame for soaring gas prices, adding that technological innovations and expanded fuel choices for consumers ultimately will lead the way to reduced fuel costs. "We are in this situation because of our dependence on traditional petroleum-based oil," Schwarzenegger said. Schwarzenegger, who said Wednesday he opposed lifting the moratorium, called California's coastline "an international treasure."
Locally, some officials and environmentalists said they opposed any change to the moratorium. "It's probably not something I can support," said Encinitas Mayor Jerome Stocks. "I'm not a big fan of high gas prices, but I think the reality of simply increasing the crude oil supply won't do that much to affect prices because we don't have the refinery capacity." Carlsbad Mayor Bud Lewis said the city has opposed drilling in the past. "I doubt that even if we had an abundance of oil that it would reduce gas prices," he said. "I really have misgivings about the feds."
Regional
Unfriendly Skies? Airlines Scaling Back Flights Out of Lindbergh
San Diego Business Journal, June 16, 2008
Lindbergh Field, the nation's busiest single-runway airport, will be
less busy this fall when airlines cut flights to help reduce
operating costs. That some major airlines serving Lindbergh Field
have announced they're cutting the number of flights they operate
this fall isn't the worst news to hit the local tourism industry.
That was the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. But the current
situation does not bode well. In all, there will be a 6 percent net
reduction in the number of flights coming in and out of Lindbergh to
3,755 in November, 244 fewer than in November 2007, and a 4.5 percent
reduction in the number of seats to 459,600, according to the San
Diego County Regional Airport Authority.
'The age of cheap fuel' is over. Let Lindbergh be.
San Diego Union-Tribune, June 15, 2008
Ed note: Six pithy letters about Lindbergh Field expansion...
There will be fewer airlines and fewer flights no matter how much San
Diego grows. The decline has already begun. Unless somebody finds a
way to use avocados for fuel in jet engines, San Diego has no
recourse. ... The present, and continuing, increase in the price of
oil will keep reducing the flights to smaller cities. I suggest that
the San Diego metro area double-track the existing railroad to Los
Angeles, including elimination of the serpentine path it now takes
through Rose Canyon. Passenger rail travel, as well as freight, will
increase significantly in the near future, especially if there are
good tracks. Virtually all groceries come to San Diego on
diesel-powered tractor-trailers on the freeways. This will eventually
have a significant impact on the price in the stores for food for us
and our pets, toilet paper and toothpaste.
Can San Diego move forward for once, instead of digging another hole?
New-car shoppers in California will soon see an easy-to-read label revealing a vehicle's greenhouse gas emissions. The California Air Resources Board said the window sticker will give consumers the information they need to choose a cleaner-burning car or light truck.
The board will assign vehicles a global warming score of 1 to 10 using data auto companies submit to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The average new car is expected to score a 5, while a cleaner car will score higher. For example, the Union of Concerned Scientists estimates a Toyota Corolla will score 7 points and a Dodge Caravan will score 3. The Honda Civic Hybrid will score 9 points. The labels are the product of a law passed in 2005. Californians could start seeing them on new cars and light trucks as early as next month. All new vehicles must feature the label by Jan. 1, 2009.
National
Ford explores new mobility solutions in large urban centers
Ford Motor Company
With two-thirds of world's population expected to live in large and congested urban areas, Ford Motor Company is exploring mobility solutions that go beyond building great cars and trucks. The initiative is called "Ford Urban Mobility Networks." The new program is designed to efficiently connect individuals to a variety of transportation options - buses, trains, taxis, car-share fleets, mopeds and bicycles - in urban areas where population growth is beginning to affect access to affordable personal mobility. These transportation options are available through a transfer point or 'hub' where various modes of transportation and services come together. The first cities chosen to pilot "Ford Urban Mobility Networks" - Cape Town, South Africa, and Chennai and Bangalore, India - seek to offset these emerging infrastructure stresses by providing alternatives to personal vehicle ownership that reduce vehicle miles traveled and CO2 emissions.
Traffic taking a toll on psychic health, experts say
Los Angeles Times, June 8 2008
As society hurtles forward in an age of instant messaging and
one-click shopping, motorists paradoxically find themselves moored
between bumpers for hours a day, with a psychic toll that experts are
still trying to tally. ... How gridlock makes us feel depends on what
we tell ourselves about the experience, says Ronald Nathan, a
psychologist in Albany, N.Y., who has treated both perpetrators and
victims of road rage. "Some people say, 'Great, I can kick back and
listen to some music,' " Nathan said, but others feel like life is
passing them by. "We can start to over-generalize by saying, 'My life
is worthless. All I am is somebody who gets into a piece of metal and
goes from one place to another.' "
... studies have found little correlation between motorists' personalities inside and outside of the car. Road rage can overtake those who are models of agreeability at home or at the office. "People tell me, 'I'm amazed at myself. I'm not an aggressive person. I'm not this way. Why do I feel this way?' " James said. He has concluded that asphalt aggression is not an anger-management problem but one of socialization -- people absorb their driving mores in the back seat at an early age, watching grown-ups curse, pound the steering wheel and cut each other off. Even as kids learn self-control on the playground, he said, they are taught the opposite on the road. "What we need is traffic emotions education starting in kindergarten," he said. "You can't just act the way you want."
International
Norway's Think to Produce, Sell Small Electric Cars in U.S.
Wall Street Journal, May 30, 2008
Norway's Think Global AS, with backing from U.S. venture capital
investors, plans to produce and sell a small all-electric car in the
U.S. that could go as far as 110 miles when fully charged - fresh
evidence that the race to woo American consumers with electric cars
is heating up and drawing interest from the same investors that
helped build Silicon Valley... Think plans to sell the City, to be
priced less than $25,000, in densely populated cities because of the
car's limited range. The car is just hitting the market in Norway,
Sweden and Denmark where a typical user drives the vehicle for a
relatively short commuting distance and plugs it into an electric
outlet in his garage to charge it overnight.
Fast Facts
