Cranston Urges Larger U.S. Role in Mass Transit

Saying “intolerable traffic congestion is choking” the state, U.S. Sen. Alan Cranston (D-Calif.) told a Senate hearing in Los Angeles Tuesday that the federal government “must play a more active role in helping develop mass transit systems.”

At a hearing conducted by the Senate Urban Affairs subcommittee, which Cranston chairs, the senator said he hopes to make the Urban Mass Transit Act--up for reauthorization next year--”the basis for shaping the nation’s mass transit policy over the next decade. It is unrealistic to expect state and local governments to shoulder the full costs of our public transportation needs.”

Damage caused by automobile air pollution and economic losses caused by traffic congestion are local problems, “but they have a national impact,” Cranston said.