Why expand Shore Line East?
Southeastern Connecticut needs better commuter service. Expanding Shore Line East to New London will save the commuter money, improve the economy, reduce traffic conditions on I-95, and preserve the environment.
Gasoline is over $2 per gallon and rising. A round trip from New London to New Haven by car costs $58.50 (at $0.585/mile calculated by the IRS). A Shore Line East round trip ticket is only $16.50.
The economic benefits to the individual traveler (whether a daily commuter or an occasional tourist) are clear.
Shore Line East service in New London will also have far-reaching economic benefits. An affordable, convenient way to travel between New York, New Haven and New London will open up the job pool, giving workers greater access to employers and employers greater access to workers. For more on the economic benefits of pubic transportation, see “How Transit Benefits People Who Do Not Ride It: A Conservative Inquiry.”
Commuter rail service also consistently raises property values. A 2001 report carried out for the Ohio DOT found that in every major city studied (New York, Atlanta, Washington D.C., etc.) property values increased based on proximity to a commuter rail station, due to increased access to work, customers, employees, goods and services.
I-95 between Old Saybrook and New London is crowded, dangerous and sometimes deadly. Riding public transportation systems like Shore Line East is significantly safer than traveling by car and relieves dangerous commuter congestion from the highway.
Furthermore, the SLE ride from New London to New Haven is only 50 minutes. SLE riders avoid highway traffic backups that will get worse as much needed work begins on the Q-Bridge in New Haven and the widening of I-95 in southeastern Connecticut.
Commuting by car has a huge environmental impact. One car traveling between New London and New Haven generates 1,848 lbs of carbon dioxide and 84 lbs of pollution every month and consumes approximately 50 gallons of gas. Private automobiles use twice as much fuel and generate almost twice as much carbon dioxide and pollution as public transportation.
For more information on automobile emissions and the environment, visit Emissions Facts from the EPA and Commuting Costs and Emissions Calculator.