For The Herald Bulletin
State Rep. Terri Austin, D-Anderson, an advocate of expanding public debate on mass transportation across the United States, has been chosen to help lead a national group that will explore transit policy at the state and federal levels.
Austin’s selection as vice chair of the National Conference of State Legislatures’ Transportation Committee was announced recently by NCSL President Joe Hackney, speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives.
The Transportation Committee, which consists of state legislators and legislative staff from across the country, provides a forum for officials to review and develop policy positions on state and federal issues.
“By meeting with elected officials from all over the U.S., we can compare problems and share solutions that can benefit us all,” Austin said. “In an era of rising gas prices, there are many of us who serve at the state level who believe in the need to focus transportation policy toward transit systems that move large numbers of people and reduce stress on our roadways, local governments and the pocketbooks of families.”
In Indiana, legislation that Austin sponsored in 2007 created a joint House-Senate committee to study state and federal systems of mass transportation as a way to reduce congestion in travel, examine ways to finance transit systems and consider how transit can promote economic development and sustain our quality of life. She currently serves as the co-chair of that committee, which has conducted hearings that have drawn public transit experts from across the U.S.
Austin’s work on transportation issues in Indiana led to the legislator being invited to testify on the matter before a congressional committee in Washington, D.C., last year.
“We need to look beyond the idea that road construction is the only answer to our transportation problems, because I do not see a commitment toward providing the revenue needed to handle either new construction or maintenance of local roads, bridges and other infrastructure,” Austin said. “In such an environment, we must be willing to look forward and seriously pursue alternative methods of travel that address long-term needs, such as high-speed rail.
“Indiana has the chance to take substantive action on exploration of mass transit alternatives in the next few years,” she continued. “As gasoline prices move toward $4 and $5 a gallon, the public’s growing dissatisfaction gives us a perfect opportunity to explore these options now. I believe we need to make the commitment now, because we are reaching a breaking point on so many of these issues.”
The NCSL committee’s charge includes research on potential legislation affecting all modes of transportation, including railroads, water craft and motor vehicles.
“My goal is to use these meetings as an avenue to look at what’s being elsewhere, then see if those solutions can be adapted to benefit transportation in Indiana,” Austin said. “Our work could not come at a better time. The average Hoosier family's budget now requires almost as much for transportation costs as they are spending for housing. We simply cannot afford for this to continue.”
