Maine news, sports, weather from Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram, Portland, Maine

Our View: Train vs. bus choice
should hinge on growth

Rail investments have potential to influence decision-making in ways that bus lines do not.

The real competition for bringing commuters from outlying communities into Portland is not between buses and trains. It's between those two modes of transit and the family car, the transportation mode choice that has shaped development patterns and land use for more than half a century.

When you ask how many people would leave their car at home in a subdivision in Yarmouth or Brunswick every morning and hop on a train or a bus into Portland, the answer is: probably not many. A $1 million study paid for by the federal government predicts that a mass transit route between Bath and Portland could expect to start out with less than 900 daily commuters.

But history shows that current development patterns would not necessarily continue if people had other transportation options. We may not now have large groups of people who live in one spot and commute to another, but reliable public transportation has been shown to influence private choices about where to live, work and build.

Later this year, the Maine Department of Transportation is scheduled to apply for more federal funds to start building a commuter transit service between Portland and Bath. The options include commuter rail and a tram-style bus service that would run on dedicated lanes on Interstate 295 and the Maine Turnpike.

According to the MDOT, the difference in start-up costs is significant -- a projected $100 million to build the train as opposed to as little as $19 million to start a bus line. But other factors should be weighed.

Most importantly, what kind of transportation choice would best spur development and private investment? In addition to businesses that cater to commuters, which choice would encourage the kinds of housing and commercial development decisions that would change development patterns and decrease reliance on cars, foreign oil and suburban sprawl?

Investments already made in Maine tell us that the train is the better option. A $100 million redevelopment of unused mills at Saco Island was inspired in part by its ready access to a train station for the Amtrak Downeaster. Although Portland-to-Boston bus service is excellent, there is no comparable private investment that was driven by proximity to the bus route.

When making this choice, the MDOT should not be swayed only by the up-front costs of these two modes. It should also consider the long-term benefits that establishing a commuter rail service would provide.