7am News, Sports and Obits
Latest WGIL news
Click to play or
Right click and "Save Target As" to download
Click for Galesburg, Illinois Forecast
Home - Cancellations - Community Events - Contact Us - Mornings - News - Obituaries - Pictures - Programs - Special Events Audio - Sports - Weather
Group: Rural Areas Need Transit Service
Residents of rural areas need transportation option other than their own cars, according to an environmental group.

The issue is not strictly environmental, says Howard Learner, director of the Environmental Law and Policy Center. He says rural residents have almost no transportation options other than their own car or truck, and that's a problem for children, the elderly, the disabled and the poor.

Learner says high-speed rail would serve a large part of rural Illinois, with catchment areas of 1 million people within an hour's drive of Normal, for example, and 750,000 within an hour of Springfield. Once those people are on the train, they have immediate access to St. Louis and Chicago, and to other major Midwest destinations, if the proposed Midwest high-speed rail network comes to fruition as envisioned.

He also suggests finding a way to supplant dying inter-city bus service with services dispatched on demand. He's not sure exactly what would work or how much subsidy would be needed, but pilot programs around the country could serve as laboratories.

(Illinois Radio Network)
07 05 10 by Newsroom
News management powered by Xpression News

Click here for the WGIL News Archive

Click here for national news

The following provision applies to all visitors (which shall include persons and representatives of legal entities, whether such representatives are persons or digital engines of a kind that crawls, indexes, scrapes, copies, stores or transmits digital content). By accessing this Web site or digital service, you specifically acknowledge and agree that: (i) Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium; (ii) No Associated Press materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use; (iii) The Associated Press will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing; (iv) The Associated Press is an intended third party beneficiary of these terms and conditions and it may exercise all rights and remedies available to it; and (v) The Associated Press reserves the right to audit possible unauthorized commercial use of AP materials or any portion thereof at any time.