Daily Trojan USC.edu

Issue date: 3/28/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Jonelle Thorpe | Daily Trojan Choo choo | CalPIRG members demonstrate a high-speed rail's capabilities in front of Los Angeles City Hall on Thursday.

Members of the California Public Interest Research Group at USC organized and attended a press conference in front of Los Angeles City Hall on Thursday to promote CalPIRG's spring break bike tour, a campaign raising awareness about the proposed high-speed rail line that would extend from Northern to Southern California.

The bike tour kicks off today in San Francisco. CalPIRG will carpool to different cities along the train's route and bike within those cities to raise awareness.

The $9.9 billion bond needed to finance the train - which would be owned by the state - will be on the November ballot, CalPIRG advocate Emily Rusch said.

The two proposed starting points for the train in Northern California are Oakland and Sacramento.

"What you're doing right now is important," councilmember Tom LaBonge said to CalPIRG students. "L.A. grew into a major metropolitan city, but they never updated the rail system. The high-speed rail is going to be a great thing."

Students from college campuses across the state participated in the bike tour by carpooling to cities and traveling the projected train route on their bikes, said Emily Rusch, an advocate and lobbyist for the high-speed rail.

Sacramento, San Francisco, Oakland, the Central Valley, Los Angeles and San Diego are among the cities the new train system will service, rivaling air and car travel, according to the California High-Speed Rail Authority website.

Although USC students are no longer on spring break, CalPIRG members still promoted the event.

"We're trying to show how immediate it is and to get people to find out more about it, and realize that it will be on the ballot this November," said Andrew Jones, a freshman majoring in history and transit coordinator for CalPIRG.

Jones also added that the high-speed rail proposal has been introduced several times, never making it to the ballot, but hopes that this time, Californians will support it and vote in favor of the high-speed train.

The proposal also looks at ways the new system will help the environment and decrease the amount of cars on the road.

"It will greatly improve California's transportation problems and take the right steps toward lessening our dependence on cars and oil. It's surprising [that] Californians can get from L.A. to San Francisco in a faster and more sustainable way than flying or driving," Ruchika Gupta said, a junior majoring in international relations and global business who also serves as chair of CalPIRG at USC.

Alejandro Savransky, the assistant canvass director of CalPIRG for the Los Angeles office, agreed.

"It would definitely reduce our emissions in the state and our carbon dioxide. It would also be a stress reliever for people who commute," Savransky said.

A CalPIRG press release predicts the train will take 92 million drivers off the road annually, which would reduce the need to expand highways and airports.

The total cost to build the high-speed rail is about $40 billion, however, on the ballot this November will be a bond of about $10 billion to begin the project. The estimated price for high-speed rail tickets from Los Angeles to San Francisco is expected to be around $55.

The $40 billion to build the high-speed rail system is less than the amount needed to expand California highways and airports, Rusch said.

Jones said many California taxpayers are worried about how much they will have to pay to implement and complete this proposed rail, but one student addressed that concern.

"The money is coming from bonds and money allotted to transportation and private investors. Transportation isn't getting all the money it needs, and every year we wait, it costs $2 billion more. Traffic isn't getting any better," said Adriana Lovera, a freshman majoring in international relations and a CalPIRG member at USC who spoke at the press conference.

Other students from different campuses also attended the event and sang songs showing support for the high-speed rail with chants such as, "From Sacramento to L.A. high-speed rail all the way."

"I've lived in California all my life, and I've only gone to San Francisco once by car and it's way too long and flying is too much money. I think this is a necessity and will unify California," said Neema Yazdani, a CALPIRG member at the UC San Diego campus.

The high-speed rail line would make California one of the leading places helping reduce global warming if the high-speed rail system happens, Lovera said.

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