Mica helps college kids jump on board mass transit ideas

In the hurried and passionate tones of a man with a lot to say and little time to say it, Rep. John Mica stood on the platform of the Winter Park SunRail station and gave Rollins Democracy Project students a history lesson on the commuter rail system he helped secure as the former Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Mica was there at the invitation of the Democracy Project, whose members in a recent poll indicated that they wanted to know more about how the U.S. government funds transportation projects and what is being done to increase mass transit.

The students were offered a unique chance to meet Mica and take what was for many, their first ride on SunRail alongside the congressman.

With candor and a fair dose of humor, he explained how money collected from gasoline taxes (18.4 cents of every dollar) goes into the highway trust fund, which in turn helps to fund mass transit systems like SunRail.

He shared with them the struggles Congress has in fully funding the highway trust fund, in part due to more fuel economic vehicles.

“Today’s cars average about 23 mpg and each year cars are going farther and paying less, so there’s less money going into the trust fund,” Mica said.

“Right now, we’re down about $12 to $15 million, I’ll say. “

“So that’s one of the dilemmas I have…where do I find the money? If you raise taxes, you’re no longer in office and people don’t like you,” Mica said, earning a laugh.

He explained that new transportation projects including the expansion of I-4 are using a funding model that goes back to our founding fathers.

“They will be using a combination of public and private funding, just as they used in the earliest days of road building,” he said.

“You can’t do projects like this [SunRail] or the interstate with just a few dollars and a commitment for a year; you’ve got to have a more dependable long term stream of funding. The twenty miles of expansion of I-4 is an example of new funding,” Mica said.

As for improving mass transit, Mica explained that 20 cents of every transportation-funding dollar goes to states that operate some form of mass transit.

“In the past, we [Florida] were screwed, because there was no mass transit here, now that money is coming back here,” he said.

With more money coming in for mass transit, Mica expressed the hope that SunRail will be able to expand and eventually spread to Orlando International Airport and points east and west across the region.

As the train was about to arrive, Mica joked with the students saying, “You know more than most members of Congress now.”

Mica rode with the group as far as Florida Hospital, where they disembarked to learn about nearby volunteer and internship opportunities at the Ronald McDonald House and the Orlando Science Center.

The next stop was downtown Orlando where they learned about similar opportunities within easy reach by SunRail.

Many of the students had never been to downtown Orlando and were surprised at how convenient it was to take SunRail to get there.

“In Chicago, we have the ‘L,’ but they are gross; this is much nicer and easier to use,” said freshman Hannah Friedle.

Many students appreciated learning about SunRail directly from the congressman as well.

“I was really impressed by the amount of information and it was great to meet the people responsible for bringing SunRail here,” said sophomore Sam Wall.

“It was our hope that students would come away with a better understanding of the democratic process and I think we accomplished that,” said My Tien Doan, the Democracy Project’s student coordinator.