BEGICH, MENARD TO CREATE REGIONAL TRANSIT AUTHORITY
Pledge to Work to Improve Mass Transit Opportunities in Southcentral

With both gasoline prices and commuter traffic between the Matanuska-Susitna Borough and Anchorage on the rise, the mayors of the two regions signed an agreement today designed to improve mass transit in Southcentral Alaska.

Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich and Mat-Su Borough Mayor Curt Menard agreed to develop a Regional Transit Authority to better serve the 14,000 people who regularly commute between the Mat-Su and Anchorage, a number projected to increase to 30,000 within about 15 years.

“With gas prices exceeding $4 a gallon and rising what seems like daily, increasing numbers of Alaskans are demanding alternatives to long and expensive commutes in their cars and trucks,” Begich said. “Improving mass transit in Southcentral will be good for residents, good for the air and good for reducing the impacts on global climate change.”

“The Mat-Su Borough is a steward of mass transportation and has continually invested in a public bus system, MASCOT,” said Mayor Curt Menard. “Now we're stepping up our efforts by expanding commuter bus service, expanding the van-pool program, and by starting ferry service. Our new ferry will carry workers, commuters, snowmachiners, fishermen, and others between Point MacKenzie, Anchorage, and points along the Upper Cook Inlet. The ship will reduce hours of commute time and tanks of fuel consumption in a single trip.”

The mayors pledged to have their governments work together to devise strategies to improve mass transit opportunities between their regions. In just the last two months, ridership on Mat-Su Community Transit (MASCOT) buses between the Valley and Anchorage is up 28 percent. The Anchorage Share-a-Ride van service has a waiting list of 600 people and Park-and-Ride lots are overflowing. Residents of both areas are struggling to cover increased gas costs, which have more than doubled since 2003.

The mayors agreed that new options could include additional bus and van capacity, car-pooling, Glenn Highway improvements, commuter rail development, the Mat-Su ferry and exploration of other transportation modes.

Begich and Menard signed the agreement at the headquarters of the Alaska Railroad, which has spent millions of federal dollars provided by Alaska’s congressional delegation in the last five years to straighten track, build a new rail station at the Anchorage Airport and a rail depot in Palmer, as well as begin work on an intermodal hub in Ship Creek. Such infrastructure improvements make commuter rail a more viable option.

“The Southcentral commuter rail study that we completed in 2002 points to formation of a regional transit authority as the first critical step to establishing commuter rail service,” said Railroad Director of Strategic Planning Bruce Carr. “Local governments and state government coordination is key to this effort, and we are pleased to see the Mat-Su Borough and Anchorage on board.”

The agreement says: “For a regional public transportation system to be effective, the links between our communities must be properly planned and implemented in coordination with each other’s distinct needs and with the active involvement of our citizens and state, federal and private sector partners.

“Such coordination will require a new policy framework. Fortunately, other communities have previously tested various alternatives. Hundreds of communities in North America have developed regional transit authorities to better coordinate planning, prioritize funding, and implement comprehensive public transportation between and within regional population centers. It is our hope this joint effort will lead to public regional transit authority of this nature to meet the travel needs of Southcentral Alaska.”

The mayors noted that local governments in Alaska invest a modest $30 million in their mass transit systems, yet bus systems in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau and Ketchikan could potentially serve 74 percent of the state’s entire population.

Menard and Begich directed transportation officials from their governments to begin work immediately on ways to improve commuting opportunities between Mat-Su and Anchorage.

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