utah transportation · web viewin picking my final 3 projects for my final portfolio i picked the...
TRANSCRIPT
Reflective Essay
Juliann Wallace
I am meeting the objectives of this course by following all of the instructions listed in the
course content folder that outlines the class schedule. I have spent a great deal of time
educating myself about transportation issues through in depth research so that I can provide
historical as well as up to date information for all of the different genre’s I have written this
semester on why public transportation needs to be expanded in Utah and how it will impact our
communities financially. We ultimately agreed upon the topic of transportation because it was
one I threw out there and people seemed interested in it more than the other topics. When I
chose to throw it out there as a topic choice it was because I had heard President Obamas
State of the Union Address and he was talking greatly about expanding transportation, it
seemed to be a big issue. Later it seemed that it was not as liked by the group but it was felt
that if we changed that it may be too late in the semester to be able to complete the assigned
tasks so we decided to stick with it even though it is a struggle for some of us to wrap our
minds around it and enjoy it.
When choosing how to complete the different assignments I found it helpful to be able
to communicate with my group for a better understanding of the assignment expectations as
well as referencing our book. I chose the aspect of financial effect of transportation because
that gave me a little bit more interest than some of the other aspects and I was able to get a
little more interested in the topic.
On the genre that I could choose my own, I was nervous to pick a genre that was not in
the book. However, I felt it was most appropriate for representing the angle I had taken this
term with my other papers and felt it would wrap things together nicely. A pamphlet seemed to
be more of a tying off of my project. I chose to include it in my final draft also because of this
same reason.
I spent a great deal of time researching and reading articles on this subject and have
read all of my peers comments in following all peer discussions. I actively participated in
offering suggestions and feedback as well as listening to and taking into consideration
feedback given to me.
I discussed issues with my group and provided feedback and support to my group
through the rhetorical discussions online by
1. Providing options for a topic.
2. Providing resources to the group so they could all share in my research.
3. Openly discussing the sample report readings.
a. Going into detail about which one I liked the best and why- I really liked
the report that had all the visual effects, I feel like this is what stimulated
my pick of formatting and graphics for my report.
4. Posting “extra helps” like the writing lab info and an MLA website that I was
referred to by the writing center.
5. Reviewing and carefully taking into consideration peer comments when revising
my report and position proposal papers.Some of the reviews I received were –
a. From Candice Waldron –
i. outline hard to follow (I had not yet included the page that kind of
tied things together. I really hope I solved this issue in the final
draft)
ii. Add some more graphs.
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b. From Tawni Thomas –
i. Put works cited on its own page
ii. Change inappropriate page breaks. Try to keep related information
all on same page together. (this was really hard to do because of
the depth of information provided in the report, but did my best.
6. Posting my discussion topics and responses by the posted deadlines.
7. Provided feedback to at least 2 of my peers on their rough drafts. (On one of
them I think I responded to 3 or 4 people.) My hope in providing thorough reviews
of my peers would result in the same return. I feel like both sides have offered
valuable and honest feedback.
In my assignments I implemented the suggestion to add more section headings
and visuals to my paper. I also modified my MLA citations to be easier to follow and changed
my page layout to allow the pages and page breaks to line up correctly. I tried to make it
easier to follow.
In providing peer reviews I was able to see more clearly the course objectives. I
especially learned more about citation and it’s importance in validating facts. I realized more
from doing peer reviews how important it is to have headings and visual effects in my writing
assignments. I saw how much they add to the overall feel of my work. I also realized more
how important it is to change specific parts of my writing to be more focused on the goal of the
assignment to draw out the point of that specific genre.
In picking my final 3 projects for my final portfolio I picked the Report, Review, and
pamphlet for the main reasons that they seem to be different enough in their outline and genre
to provide a good overall view of my process in this class. I hesitated with the
Position/proposal paper because the formatting is so similar to the one I used for the Report.
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However, the ultimate reason I put it in the final portfolio is because it does show how well I
was able to argue with credibility by being able to state positives for both sides of the issue. I
also like how nicely the 3 documents I chose tie together as a whole and help to reinforce one
another yet are so well written individually that they can stand alone without the others..
I feel that the report offers the most information and the other two offer different views
yet the same overall point. I especially like that the pamphlet show that I can provide a
solution and not just proffer a proposal. (even though the proposal was not included)
These assignments show that I have met the objectives of the class by their diverse
writing about the topic, my design capabilities, and my in depth research about the topic. The
amount of research and evidence of research included in these 3 pieces that I chose are in
depth and from credible sources. They show how I can cite sources appropriately for different
genres and research critically, analytically, and rhetorically.
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How familiar are you with your public transportation choices and how they affect you and
your community financially? This report will help you become more familiar with how public and
alternative transportation affect you and your community fiscally as well as economically. The
intention of this report is to give you a better understanding of mass transit systems in Utah and
compare and contrast with other mass transit systems in our country and better help you
understand some of the reasons why it is receiving so much attention as well as state and
federal funding.
UTAH TRANSPORTATIONMASS TRANSIT OPTIONS AND THE FINANCIAL EFFECT
IT COULD HAVE ON OUR COMMUNITIES
UTAH TRANSPORTATIONMASS TRANSIT OPTIONS AND THE FINANCIAL EFFECT IT COULD HAVE ON OUR COMMUNITIES
Transportation options in Utah:
In The Salt Lake area we have many choices for transportation
besides driving ourselves to where we need to be. I was able to come
up with eight alternatives to individual driving. These include not only
the common bus option but also high speed rail. They are highlighted
to the right.
How Utah Rates in our Nation:
According to US News and World Report, Utah is the second
best in the Nation for public transportation because of our
transportation investment, ridership and safety.
Adding to that status it is important to know that “though the
city’s population is just over 180,000, the system serves 1.7 million
people in the larger area. Those residents take great advantage of the
system.” (US News and World Report 2)
“Nationwide, more than $100 billion is spent annually on,
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PUBLIC TRANSPOR-TATION OPTIONS IN UTAH;Besides driving your car
to get to work or around
town, what options do
you have for public or
alternative transportation
in Utah?
UTA (Utah Transit Authority)
Bus
MAX
TRAX
FrontRunner
Other -
Car Pool
Shuttle Services
Cycling
Walking
ground transportation infrastructure, including repairing, maintaining,
and expanding it. Families spend more on transportation than any
other expense except housing. The big question is: Can we spend
transportation dollars more wisely? States like Arizona, California,
Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Utah, for example, recognize
that people and companies want more transportation -- choices
including public transportation, walking, and biking -- and that providing
more choices can save substantial money.” (NGA) This information
tells us that Utah understands there is financial benefit to the
community for good quality public transportation by saving money.
Envision Governors Association tells us that by improving our
public transportation or alternative transportation making it more
flexible and easy to use in smaller communities, it will increase the
population which can bring in new and or more income to smaller
communities strengthening their economic status. (NGA)
Still there are even more ways that local communities are
fiscally benefited by supporting public transportation growth. Here are
three ways other parts of our country have improved their local areas.
In addition to adding new and smarter growth in Utah, the National
transportation and improved their local economy–
1. Provide incentives to developers for transit-friendly
communities. Florida provides developers a financial incentive
to build infill projects and other developments that promote use
of transit. The incentive reduces local governments'
2
Deseret News.com
Picture of UTA TRAX
transportation impact fees, which support some of the costs associated with providing new
infrastructure, including roads.
2. Encourage businesses to provide commuting benefits. Maryland helps employers provide their
employees commuter benefits by allowing participating companies a tax credit of 50 percent of
the amount spent on commuter benefits, such as transit passes, tokens, fare cards, and
company-supported van pools.
3. Offer location-efficient mortgages. Fannie Mae has teamed up with nonprofit organizations and
communities to offer homebuyers these special mortgages. Because people in transit-rich
neighborhoods tend to own fewer automobiles and drive less, they can afford to finance
mortgages between $15,000 and $50,000 more than they would normally quality for. Fannie
Mae has committed $100 million in such mortgages over the next few years.
Utah estimated that with continued sprawling suburban development patterns, Infrastructure
costs would be $30,000 more per housing unit than those associated with a more compact, transit-
friendly, and walk-able alternative. By employing "smart growth" principles rather than continuing
current growth patterns, Utah could save an estimated $4.5 billion in infrastructure costs by 2020.”
(NGA)
What about Fare Increases?
According to a Deseret News article there is currently a fare increase being proposed to take
place over the next 3 years. Deseret News says that UTA is calling it a “modest” increase changing the
current bus and TRAX tickets go from $2 to $2.50 per round trip. Following is the rest of the article;
"Our goal is to keep our fares reasonable while still asking our riders to contribute a fair share toward
increased costs of operation," UTA General Manager Michael Allegra said in a prepared statement.
Along with the proposed fare increase, he said UTA plans to expand the Horizon discount fare program
to meet the needs of the large population of low-income individuals and families who use the service.
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If approved, the discount would increase from the current 16 percent to 25 percent off a regular
adult monthly pass. UTA is also working with communities to change eligibility requirements making the
discount more widely available and helping more people qualify.
Beginning May 1, the base fare would increase by 25 cents. Next year, another 10 cents would
be tacked on and in 2013, the full fare is proposed to be $2.50 for adult service on the local bus service
and TRAX lines.
If approved, monthly pass charges would increase 25 percent in the three years, increasing
$16.75 by 2013. Student access passes would see a 26 percent increase, increasing $13 to $62.75 a
month.
The agency is also looking to raise the baseline for its fuel surcharge program, which adds up to
a dollar to regular fares when fuel costs rise above certain parameters. The fuel surcharge has only
needed to be used three times since it was established in 2008, and is consequently removed when
fuel prices drop.
Instead of the current $3 threshold, UTA is proposing that the fuel surcharge not be
implemented unless costs rise above $4 per gallon. Raising the baseline, UTA says, will recalibrate the
program to a more appropriate level.
National Savings Average for Using Public Transportation
APTA also reported in January that in major urban areas, individuals on average save $9,656
annually by using public transportation instead of driving.
APTA (American Public Transportation Association) Is a non profit organization that promotes
public transit. Their February report notes that by riding public transportation individuals can save, on
average, $9,682 annually, and $807 per month based on the February 10, 2011 average national gas
price ($3.12 per gallon-reported by AAA) and the national unreserved monthly parking rate.” Although 4
these are not the specific dollars for a Utah resident they are quite astonishing. Think of what you
could do with an extra almost $10K a year!
APTA goes on to say, “Riding public transportation is a proven way for individuals to cut monthly
and yearly transportation costs, while also reducing their carbon footprint. APTA releases this monthly
“Transit Savings Report” to examine how an individual in a two-person household can save money by
taking public transportation and living with one less car.”
“The national average for a monthly unreserved parking space in a downtown business district
is $161.56, according to the 2010 Colliers International Parking Rate Study. Over the course of a year,
parking costs for a vehicle can amount to an average of $1,939.” (APTA)
Fatalities Related to Transportation
As you can see in the graphs below there is a significantly larger amount of passenger car and
overall motor vehicle fatalities than that of all public mass transit categories combined. Remember that
these are just the fatality rates, and are also for the single year 2009. There are far more accidents that
do not cause fatalities. Also notice the difference in the two charts. The black column chart is in the
thousands for the year 2009. Shifting from automobile to transit travel tends to reduce overall crash
risk. Transit passengers have about one-tenth the crash fatality rates of automobile occupants. Shifts to
transit also reduce total vehicle traffic, thus reducing risks to other road users. In the U.S., transit has a
relatively high fatality rate per passenger-mile (for both occupants and other road users) due to low load
factors (passengers per vehicle-mile), but strategies that increase load factors have small marginal
crash risk and so reduce crash rates, (thefreelibrary.com)
5(RITA)
Largest # of Transportation Fatalities by Mode
Financial Impact of accidents to your Insurance.
Because of the high crash rates and traffic issues outlined in the paragraphs and graphs above
you can see why “many car insurance companies follow the Insurance Services Office's (ISO) standard
of increasing a premium by 20 to 40 percent of the insurer's base rate (which is the average rate
charged in the state before discounts and other adjustments, plus the insurance company's claims-
processing fee). According to the ISO, for multicar policies the surcharge is 20 percent of the base rate
for the first two vehicles on the policy, and 40 percent for a single-car policy.
For example, say you insure two cars at a premium of $300 each and the insurer's base rate is $400.
After an accident, you may get a surcharge of $80 (20 percent of $400) on both, so your total surcharge
would be $160 — an increase of about 27 percent on the policy. But many insurers operate with their
own surcharge ideas – some higher and some lower.
According to a 2008 surcharge schedule from State Farm, for example, if you had an accident
within the first 12 months of your policy period, your base rate would increase by 10 percent after the
first accident (and another 45 percent after the second). In the same scenario, a person insured with
6
(
Distribution of other Transportation Fatalities by Mode
(RITA)
Progressive who is between the ages of 25-44, would see a 29.5
percent increase on his policy after the first accident (56.2
percent for the second), according to the company's 2002
surcharge schedule. A 2005 AAA Auto Club surcharge schedule
shows an increase of 30 percent for the first accident and 150
percent for the second major accident.
While a car insurance policy may look like a bargain
initially, a high surcharge level could send your rate through the
roof after an accident.
Surcharges vary by state and insurance company, and
some penalize you for moving violations while others focus only
on "chargeable accidents" (meaning at-fault accidents for which
your insurance company must pay out more than $500 or $750
per accident after your deductible has been applied). (Insure.com, Par. 7-12)
With information like this how can we not afford more public transportation?
Conclusion
Public transportation is expensive when you look at the big numbers in billions that the country
wants to invest in it. But when you compare the National statistics and the safety issues that intertwine
it to create a full picture, the facts seem to point toward the short term expense for a long term growth
and savings. What the average American spends and the economical long term benefits it seems an
investment worth making.
Our communities are safer and benefited by expansion of smart growth when we plan it with
public transportation encompassed in the plan.
7
Examples of insurance surcharges after accidents
After one accident
After two accidents
AAA Auto Club
30% 150%
Progressive
29.5% 56.2%
State Farm
10% 45%
WORKS CITED
1. Deseret News http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705365583/UTA-proposes-3-years-of-fare-increases.html
2. Thefreelibrary.com http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Creating+safe+and+healthy+communities.-a0215117713 Public Transit a little over half way down the page.
3. RITA http://www.bts.gov/publications/national_transportation_statistics/html/table_02_04.html4. Insure.com (Par. 7-12) file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Owner/My%20Documents/My
%20Pictures/MKTG%20project/How%20much%20can%20your%20car%20insurance%20rates%20go%20up%20after%20one%20accident%20.htm
5. NGA (National Governors Association, http://www.nga.org/portal/site/nga/menuitem.9123e83a1f6786440ddcbeeb501010a0/?vgnextoid=25e6303cb0b32010VgnVCM1000001a01010aRCRD
6. US News and world report 1 http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2011/02/08/10-best-cities-for-public-transportation
7. US News and world report 2http://www.usnews.com/news/slideshows/the-10-best-cities-for-public-transportation/10
8. APTA http://www.apta.com/mediacenter/pressreleases/2011/Pages/110210_Savings_Report.aspx
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JULIANN WALLACE9
TO INCREASE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, COMMUNITY
GROWTH SUPPORT, AND ECONOMIC BENEFIT
A Proposal To:
ENG 2010Position/Proposal
Utah Department of TransportationFebruary 22, 2011
555.555.5555555.555.5555555.555.5555email@address.comwww.webaddress.com
phfxmo
Position / Proposal
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Utah in Need of Transportation Expansion for Benefit of CommunitiesUtah is in serious need for expansion of
public transportation options and
availability. It will be very evident as to
why this is necessary as you continue to
read on. For now let’s focus on the most
prominent reason for need in increase of
transportation -
Growth in UtahAccording to the Salt Lake Tourist and
Visitors Center, Utah is one of the fastest
growing states in the country and ranks
35th in the nation in population growth.
(www.SaltLakeCityUtah.org, 2011)
Additionally the Visitors Center
goes on to say “Salt Lake City makes up
a very small portion of the Salt Lake
Valley. With Salt Lake County covering
756 square miles, Salt Lake City covers
only 90.5 square miles. Salt Lake City is
the largest city in the state with a
population of 181,743. Salt Lake
County's population is 1.2 million,
making it the most populous region in
Utah.
Overall, Utah is expected to
continue to have the youngest population
in the nation.” (http://www.saltlakecityutah.org,
2011)
Naturally with this kind of growth
traffic increases significantly.
When reviewing the fatalities
reported by the FARS encyclopedia even
with all of this massive growth in the Salt
Lake Region fatalities have dropped by
29% between 1994 and 2009. (http://www-
fars.nhtsa.dot.gov, 2009)
Although some could argue that it
is a pure coincidence that these fatalities
have declined. I believe it is no
coincidence that the majority of this
decline in fatalities started after the 1999
opening of the TRAX light rail system
between Sandy and Salt Lake City. And
continued to decline after the 2001 and
2003 extensions of another 4 miles of
downtown and University transit
systems.
COMPANY
11
Why some argue expanding transportation is not a priority:
With this kind of growth there is without a doubt much more need for transportation to get
people where they need to go. Roads become more crowded, people become more aggressive
behind the wheel, and accidents happen. It is no surprise that there would be an increase in
fatalities when there is an increase in traffic and aggressive and frustrated people behind the
wheel.
Some people argue that Utah already has great public transportation. It is already far
better than other states and countries. I say let’s not compete with adequate, acceptable or
subpar. We have the ability to make a great public transportation system and we should take
care of it before it becomes such a necessity that we are having problems that are unnecessary.
Do we really need to have higher fatalities in order to see the need to expand our safer forms of
transportation?
Utah has already been educated by the National Governor’s Association that if they were
to continue to incorporate “smart growth” principles like public transit and walk-able alternatives
they would save an estimated $4.5 billion in infrastructure costs by the year 2020.
(http://www.nga.org, 2000)
With savings like this Utah could sure add to other budget shortages like the education of
our children who are our future.
Additionally by building a great public transportation system now we have an advantage of
being prepared for the future expected growth of our state which is significant.
Cost of public transportation-$86 million per 1.5 miles
Cost of Human ~life saved~PRICELESS
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Cost of Expanding The competition is correct in their
perspective and concern about the
expense of creating more public
transportation. There’s no denying that
as reported by ProgressiveRailroad.com
there are significant amounts of money
needed to get these systems up and
running the numbers that strike the
biggest are the $312 million light rail line,
then the, $118 million 2.5 mile University
line, then another $86 million 1.5 mile
University extension line. (4,Cotey)
At face value one can’t help but
wonder is $86 million really worth the 1.5
miles of commuter line?
This especially raised my
eyebrow. I have to admit I even used to
be one of those who frowned upon
putting so much money into public
transportation that “I don’t use anyway.”
Until I did more research on the
financial benefits to the individual
communities that receive these
increases in public transportation.
The financial increase to
communities is phenomenal. From
shopping convenience to the money we
save every month in auto and gas
expenses.
But above and beyond all else
none of us can put a price tag on human
lives that are saved through a reduction
in the number of drivers on the road.
Why some argue expanding transportation is not a priority:
1 2
-6,000,000,000
-4,000,000,000
-2,000,000,000
0
2,000,000,000
4,000,000,000
6,000,000,000
8,000,000,000
10,000,000,000
12,000,000,000
initial expense future savings
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In summary, it seems that some may argue that there are financial downsides to expanding
public transportation options in Utah. It seems that the facts are stronger in support of expanding
public transportation options because of the strong economic benefits and the long term financial
pro’s to increasing the public’s options in transportation.
I currently agree with the growth plans for the Salt Lake Valley and surrounding areas. I
believe the increase in public transportation funding is worth the expense to move forward with the
plans in place right now. Additionally, there are many people who do not see the financial or
personal pay off for this service to our community so my proposal is to increase public awareness
about this issue.
My proposal that follows are ideas that can be implemented into the current market to bring
more social and community support to public transportation to change the view of the average Utah
citizen about its services and reduce any negative feelings our local citizens may have about this
wonderful service and what it has to offer.
Riding the bus to school, is still cool!
Even when you’re a college student!
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I strongly urge you to implement the
following strategies into your marketing
program -
1. Be more cautious about fare
increases.
2. Creatively advertise the public
transportation options.
3. Offer more education to your
potential riders.
4. Help people obtain a visual image
of how much they are saving and
helping our economy by using
your public services.
5. Build trust with your potential
customers through advertising.
6. Make your services more
appealing to the younger and
middle aged generations. (It might
not hurt to check out some of the
old campaign ads President
Obama used to get some ideas.)
Proposal:
By implementing these changes to your
marketing strategies it will help you
obtain more public support for smart
growth principles to be more widely
accepted. As a direct result you should
see an increase in your ridership and
revenues to be able to continue to
develop the transportation lines and keep
fares down. People need to see the
benefits and how they directly impact
them individually. People need to trust
that you’ll become and remain more
reliable and less expensive than their
current options.
COMPANY
15
WORKS CITED FOR PAMPHLETHill, Patrice. "Dramatic price in gas prices forecast." The Washington Times 2 January
2011: 3.http://farm3.static.flickr.com. n.d. 11 April 2011
<http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2123/2125183850_48933ef93f.jpg>.http://www.nga.org. n.d.http://www.saltlakecityutah.org. n.d.http://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov. n.d.Open Letters Monthly. August 2008. 11 April 2011
<http://openlettersmonthly.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/traffic_jam.jpg>.
Palacios, Renae. Customer Service Supervisor for UTA Juliann Wallace. 27 March 2011.protophoto.com. 05 09 2004. 11 April 2011 <http://protophoto.com/subject.html?
subject_id=226&start=60>.Utah Transit Authority. http://legacy.rideuta.com/. n.d. 09 April 2011
<http://legacy.rideuta.com/images/S70conceptStreetcar_large.jpg>.wikipedia.org. 26 April 2008. 11 April 2011 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FrontRunner>.Williams, Mantill. APTA.com. 11 February 2011. 10 March 2011
<http://www.apta.com/mediacenter/pressreleases/2011/Pages/110210_Savings_Report.aspx>.
www.Insure.com. 7 August 2009. February 2011 <http://www.insure.com/car-insurance/after-accident-rate-increase.html>.
I have been unsuccessful in being able to move the pamphlet over to this file so I have zipped it together with this so that you can see it still.
16
Works Cited
http://www.nga.org. (2000, 11 28). Retrieved March 2011, from NGA Center for Best Practices: http://www.nga.org/portal/site/nga/menuitem.9123e83a1f6786440ddcbeeb501010a0/?vgnextoid=25e6303cb0b32010VgnVCM1000001a01010aRCRD
http://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov. (2009). Retrieved 2011, from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: http://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/States/StatesFatalitiesFatalityRates.aspx
http://www.saltlakecityutah.org. (2011, April ). Retrieved March 2011, from Salt Lake City Demographics: http://www.saltlakecityutah.org/salt_lake_demographics.htm
www.SaltLakeCityUtah.org. (2011, April 25). Retrieved March 2011, from Salt Lake City Demographics: http://www.saltlakecityutah.org/salt_lake_demographics.htm
Cotey, A. (2008, September).