http://www.nrdc.org/amicus/01win/aaa/aaa.asp
I was diging up some dirt on AAA because one of the Members of the Board Of PAT or Pittsburg Port Authority is also a president of the local AAA. He supports Busways but not light rail. I was seeing if there is a conflict of instrest here.
It depends on how many conspiracy theories you buy into. If history is any indicator, look at what happened to the street car system (light rail) in Los Angeles after highway interests (GM, et al) bought into it.
By busways, do they mean future lanes for autos to travel on? Think about it.
I Like Busways myself but what is odd about pittsburgh is that there are some proposals to use trolley buses on the Busway that have not been taken warmly by PAT
Next thing you know AAA will be supporting the production of vehicles with restraints in them…
…oh yeah they call them seatbelts…
Okay now let’s try to get to the bottom of the deep rooted conspiracy…The American AUTOMOBILE Association supports legistlation that helps drivers and fights legislation that affects them…I can see where this might be a tad confusing. Kind of like the Association of American RAILROADS might work to help out RRs interests, or AARP might be focused on senior issues, or AOPA and civil aviation issues…lots of conspiracies to start tracking down…get to work…
Sure they aren’t involved with drinking?
No that’s AA - American Airlines …free drinks on overseas flights.
not to be confused with AAA - Anti - Aircraft Artillery which can create a bad day for us airdales…
Is AAA against mass transit and rail? that is the question
The American AUTOMOBILE Association is not neccessarily anti-rail or mass transit, but they are PRO automobile. They are in the business of making money. Money earned by drivers that use their various services, including me. They will lobby to support or resist legislation that affects their business. It’s pretty simple. A bill which would increase gasoline tax…for whatever purpose…means less money folks have to take trips and drive. A bill which diverts money from interstates to be used for light rail…yep that too.
AAA, remember… the AUTOMOBILE club, has a vested interest in us using our cars to take trips, get insurance, registration here in CA, etc…they want us driving and using their services. So do their associated companies, like tow trucks and garages, and motels that AAA refers members to…
No they don’t hate trains. They do support drivers. When the two aren’t mutually compatible, they’ll choose the drivers…it’s their business.
Mark, what you say is possibly true only to a point. When I drove, I was an AA member for a very short time . Why? Because I joined exactly for the reasons the Seirra Club stated, and then I realized I could not in all honesty be President ot the Electric Railroaders Association and a believer in good public electric transportation and be an AAA member. So I did not renew. I don’t blame the AAA for what it is. I do blame GM for trying to sell the USA on fuel cell Hydrogen economy research as a step toward energy independence when it simply cannot be that. It can reduce pollution by moving the source to better controlled power plants. But it will increase the use of fuel and not decrease it. An electric wire or even a battery or a flywheel is a much better carrier of energy than Hydrogen and is available now.
Read From Railway to Freeway by Eli Bail Interurbans Special #90 1984
You will find that the “GM” conspiracy is much overated. Cost and lack of ridership led to the demise of many of the interurban street car lines in LA , in many cases long before National City Lines entered the picture. The rail operaters wanted out of the passenger business. National City was the transportation company willing and able to buy them out. Yes they were as bus oriented company in part because of who owned them, but they were in busness to make money. The believed that buses being less expensive to buy and operate, more flexible in routing, and not having the infrastructure cost (maint and property taxes), would give better service (probably wrong in many cases) and was the way to go. They failed. Government then took over the transit system and converted what was left of the rail to buses…
Dear Paul,
Thank you for contacting AAA regarding the club’s views on funding for mass transit. AAA believes public transportation is a great complement to our road network. AAA’s advocacy efforts are focused on supporting full funding for the maintenance and enhancement of the nation’s transportation infrastructure including, but not limited to, public transportation. The fact remains that travel by automobile meets the transportation needs of most Americans, most of the time.
Maintaining dedicated revenues in the Highway Trust Fund is paramount to ensuring the highest level of safety and the greatest degree of mobility, safety and efficiency for all travelers, regardless of their transportation preferences or needs. AAA believes an efficient transportation system must provide users with choices, and AAA supports employing the full range of options.
Sincerely,
Bevi Norris, Director
Public Relations & Public Affairs
AAA East Central
Paul Rider wrote:
I live and drive in Cleveland and would like to know if AAA is in favor of Highway Funds for mass transit or should that money come from elsewere?
Can anyone here interprtet the public realionsease?
Doggone it, what trainfinder22 is saying is that THE CONFLICT OF INTEREST IS BETWEEN THE GUY’S SITTING ON THE P.A.T. BOARD AND HIS BEING PRESIDENT OF THE AAA. Has nothing to do with whether AAA as an organization might favor rubber-tired mass transit over rail transit, might in the past have been involved in evil conspiracies to wipe out traction companies, etc.
Personally, I think a busway is likely to be a cheap and relatively easy thing to arrange, as compared to exclusive light or heavy rail. As for driving automobiles over them… has anyone in the New York area wanted to drive in the counterflow bus lanes at the Lincoln Tunnel? Not many automobile drivers are comfortable at 45-to-55mph “track speed” in a 10-foot lane with no shoulders, pipe bollards on one side and a concrete Jersey barrier on the other…
In my opinion the AAA’ s California affiliate (CSAA) has shown some anti automobile leanings in recent years.
I wouldn’t under estimate the power of hydrogen just yet. Keep in mind that a hydrogen bomb which is the strongest of the nukes is a nuke plus hydrogen. Hydrogen is one of the most basic elements other than carbon and oxygen, on our planet and is easy to come by. Water is 2 parts hydrogen and 1 part oxygen. I don’t know how the fuel cell works but I would think that burning hydrogen which is flamable and oxygen which is also flamable, would produce a nice amount of combustion needed to power a vehicle.
I don’t really think batteries are the answer to our environment (Green Goat) because than you are having to dispose of a large amount of batteries which contains harmful chemicals-(unless they are rechargeable ones). I can’t see anybody in North America electrifying the entire system because our countries are too damn big and would bankrupt them accordingly.
Hydrogen just burns really well. A bunch of hydrogen powered cars isn’t a parade of H-Bombs. An H-bomb requires a runway nuclear reaction (along with a significant amount of calcium) to generate enough energy to cause hydrogen fusion. And its a special kind of hydrogen called deuterium. You also need tritium and lithium for a fusion bomb to work. I’m pretty sure a hydrogen fuel cell isn’t deuterium or tritium. The Hindenburg just burned, after all; it didn’t level northern New Jersey in a 60 megaton blast 
The problem with hydrogen is that while it is the most abundant elemement, it is not free. Most of it is locked up with other elements, for instance in the form of water. It takes more energy to separate the hyodrogen from the other elements (oxygen in the case of water)than you can get out of burning the hydrogen.
I think it says:
Don’t siphon off money from the Highway Trust Fund for other purposes.
Highway trust fund must be spent for mobility, which may include other modes.
What’dya think?
NO-! the question is to be or not to be-
AAA Really stands for-
Androids Against Animal labour- But AAAL sucked so they cut the “L” out