Taking the Bus Is Not an Option

¿ Finally, buses would not be an attractive alternative to driving a car. The Dulles corridor is an affluent area with two or more cars in each household. The experience nationally has been that rail encourages people to ride transit. Buses would not.

The Dulles rail project has consistently complied with all Federal Transit Administration project requirements. The FTA has spent nearly $100 million in federal funds to study the project and has issued nearly 20 separate approvals. The entire project will require less than 20 percent federal funding (about $900 million) -- reversing the traditional federal share for highway construction. This level of state and local commitment should be rewarded, not questioned.

Dulles rail is one of the most important transit projects in the country, and I don't understand why its cost effectiveness is being questioned. Members of Congress from both parties have urged federal approval, including members of the House Republican leadership. The Bush administration should approve this project.

-- Paul M. Weyrich

Washington

The writer was a member of the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission and is president and chief executive of the Free Congress Foundation.