by Jonathan Hiskes. The New Jersey-New York-Philadelphia Amtrak mess that left commuters stranded this week just goes to show you that widespread passenger rails will never be a viable competitor to America’s highway system. Transit just isn’t as reliable. People prefer to drive. Except not. Roadways didn’t automatically sprout up everywhere. Driving isn’t more convenient by nature. We chose to make it that way, thanks in no small part to the automobile and sprawl lobbies. When you look at federal capital investment in highways versus transit over the last half century, the difference is staggering: Cumulative spending (everything since 1956, when the Federal-Aid Highway Act was passed) is even more nutso: Governments at all levels have invested nine times more capital funds in highways than in transit since 1956, according to a report from the Federation of State Public Interest Research Groups ( U.S. PIRG ). Imagine how much better our rail system could be if we started evening out that funding. That’s what Ray LaHood ’s Transportation Department is, gradually, doing. Related Links: Wonder why climate bills stall in the Senate? Follow the money Gloom alert: Fossil fuels and climate change still suck Mystery island, magical bikes, and 8 other green stories to keep you in the loop

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Why our railways suck (in two graphs)

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