Presentation from Stephanie Vance, Program Manager, CFTE

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• Presentation from Stephanie Vance, Program
  Manager, CFTE

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Topics

• What is CFTE?
• Resources Available
• Personnel
• Events
• Website
• Specifics State-by-State Database
• Specifics Factoid Database
• Specifics Responding to Critics
• Becoming Involved!

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What is CFTE?

• CFTE is a clearinghouse of information on public
  transportation and its benefits in promoting more
  livable communities. Its goals are to
• Defend the merits of transit
• Provide local leaders with the information they
  need to promote transit in their communities

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Resources Personnel

• Stephanie Vance, Program Manager
• Former Staff Director for Congressman Earl
  Blumenauer and the House Livable Communities
  Taskforce
• Founder and Principal of AdVanced Consulting
• Jeremy Gunderson, Program Associate
• Has worked with a range of groups on
  transportation / livability issues, including
  STPP, the Delta Institute and the City of
  Alexandria.

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Resources Events

• Transit Initiatives Conference in Tempe, AZ, Dec,
  7-9, 2003. Based upon a highly successful 2001
  conference in San Jose, this event is designed to
  equip local groups with the tools they need to be
  successful at the ballot box.
• Closer to home come to our RailVolution
  reception Friday, Sept. 12th at 630pm in the
  Vinings room

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Resources Website

• The CFTE site is chock-full of resources,
  including
• State-by-state database of transit initiatives
  and resources
• Factoids database
• Responding to Critics package
• Briefings on current issues, glossary, profiles,
  recent reports, daily news stories and more

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Website State-by-State Database

• Click on your state to find
• Information on past transit initiatives
• Advocacy groups
• Media outlets
• Ballot information
• 2002 Federal transportation spending

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Resources Factoid Database

• Text-Searchable database of factoids on
  transportation issues
• Example
• Drivers in one-third of U.S. cities spend more
  than 40 hours a year (an entire work week) in
  traffic that is not moving.

We are constantly adding, so please send us YOUR
best facts!
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Resources Responding to Critics

• Responding to critics section includes
• Overview of what the critics always say and the
  best responses
• List of the critics
• Template LTEs, Op-Eds and Resolutions
• Information on submitting LTEs for the top 100
  newspapers in the US

Lets look at some examples
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Responding to CriticsOnly 2 of trips are on
transit

• This statistic is not an accurate method of
  determining the success of light rail. It is not
  a measure of transit or commute trips.  Rather,
  this figure accounts for all trips in the region,
  24 hours a day, including freight trips. 
• A more accurate assessment can be made by looking
  at the percentage of transit-competitive trips,
  those trips that are competitive to the
  automobile, in both time and convenience. 
  Transit-competitive trips are generally between
  22-40 in favor of transit.  In areas that are
  not served by transit, the only option is to
  drive, which, in part explains the high
  percentage of commutes by automobile.

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Responding to CriticsLight rail cannot displace
the same or a greater number of automobile
passengers

• This argument inaccurately compares the capacity
  of highways and rail transit to move passengers. 
  A look at any transportation engineering manual
  will tell otherwise.  According to the Highway
  Capacity Manual, i highway operations are
  described as Level of Service (LOS), ranging from
  LOS A to LOS F.  Peak highway capacity is
  typically regarded as LOS E (2,000 passenger cars
  per hour per lane).  If you multiply that number
  by the Average Vehicle Occupancy (AVO) which
  averages 1.25 persons, you get 2,500 persons per
  lane per hour on a highway.  For transit, a
  typical 6 car train can carry 750 passengers. 
  Running at 20 trains per hour, per direction,
  that equates to 30,000 passengers.  It would take
  a twelve lane freeway going in one direction to
  equate the same amount of capacity of one light
  rail line. ii
• Beware, critics like to make inaccurate
  comparisons between maximum highway capacities
  and actual light rail ridership numbers.

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Resources Additional Website Info.

• Briefings on current issues (find one on BRT
  under the trends link)
• Searchable glossary
• Daily news stories
• Success story profiles

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Coming soon! (Under Construction)

• How to manuals on setting up a conference in
  your community
• Effective advocacy resources
• Journalist guide
• and whatever else YOU suggest!

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Get Involved!

• Sign up for the newsletter
• Stop by our event Friday Sept. 12th 630 to 830
  in the Vinings room -- an opportunity to enjoy
  the more interactive features of the website
  some snacks!
• Save the Date Dec. 7h 9th for our Transit
  Initiatives Conference
• Let us know through our chat room or e-mail
  (info_at_cfte.org) what resources would be useful
  for you!