FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, April 8, 1998
Contact: Gail Taylor
Tel.: (202) 366-4043
FTA 09-98
Mass Transit Critical to Chattanooga’s
Turnaround, Secretary Slater Says
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- U.S. Secretary of Transportation Rodney E. Slater, in a visit to an electric bus facility here, pointed to Chattanooga as an example of how mass transit can contribute to improving a city’s economy and environment.
"Chattanooga has undergone a renaissance, from being a city with severe environmental and economic problems to one with a revitalized economy and award-winning improvements to the living environment," Secretary Slater said. "The city’s mass transit has played a large role in this turnaround. Chattanooga’s innovations in streamlining the connections between automobiles and transit, and introducing electric buses and other alternative-fueled vehicles to its transit system, has played a major role in reducing traffic congestion, protecting the environment, enhancing mobility and revitalizing communities."
He added that Chattanooga’s experience underlines the need for a new surface transportation bill that maintains the strong support for mass transit, livable communities and advanced vehicle technologies that were part of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991. A new authorization bill is currently pending in Congress.
Secretary Slater made his remarks at the Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority's (CARTA) Electric Bus Facility. He was joined by Chattanooga Mayor Jon Kinsey and U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp.
CARTA operates an innovative shuttle system based on electric buses that has significantly and positively altered the transportation patterns of the community. It currently operates 17 electric buses in a free downtown shuttle service. The free downtown shuttle has been in operation since 1992, and it ties together the Chattanooga Choo Choo attraction at the south end and the Tennessee Aquarium on the north end of a 3.5 mile route. Parking structures were built at both ends of the routes to intercept automobile traffic before reaching the downtown core area. The parking revenues generated from these intercept parking facilities are used to help fund the operation of the electric bus shuttle and demonstrate CARTA's use of innovative financing in revitalizing the city of Chattanooga.
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