Transportation has never been a more important issue to the Mankato region. With skyrocketing gas prices, crumbling infrastructure and a growing need for the transportation have-nots to get places, affordable and efficient transportation will be sorely needed.

The transportation subgroup of the Envision 2020 project has put forth a rough draft report outlining solutions to the region’s transportation problems. Development of a regional transportation system requires cooperation among governments, and a system should include pedestrian and non-motorized transportation as well as systems that involve various modes of mass transit.

Transportation cooperation among governments may be easier than it sounds. Already, Mankato and North Mankato use the same bus system. Some county governments cooperate on their systems of transportation. Roads connect counties and cities more than any other category of public service, so there should be plenty of incentives to cooperate.

Mass transit has been problematic in the Mankato region. The city of Mankato’s bus system has been plagued over the years by underutilization and cost overruns even with state subsidies. Rural transportation efforts have been piecemeal, with some counties running bus services for seniors and others not.

With the increase in fuel prices of almost 100 percent in the last few years, these systems are likely to be more stressed than ever.

The Envision subgroup calls for creating incentives for the public and employers to use mass transit and for coordinating routes. These are low-cost steps that can be taken to help governments work together on single transportation plan for the region. In fact, federal and state grants often create grants for the idea of cooperative systems across government boundary lines.

The group also wants to develop a multi-modal transportation system with a hub that might involve transit systems to regional cities such as New Ulm, Waseca, Le Sueur and Fairmont. Such a system might include Mankato to Twin Cities passenger or commuter train service and exploration of commercial airline service to Mankato.

Of course, key to developing these new forms of transportation will be the available market for those services. It doesn’t make sense to set up a commuter service from here to Le Sueur if no one will use it. But with rising energy prices, the demand for carpooling or mass transit will grow.

Also key will be providing these services at a low cost. That can be achieved more easily if governments cooperate and buy one bus instead of two.

The group reasons that more effective and efficient transportation achieves goals of reducing energy use, providing transportation for aging and the needy and encouraging economic development.

You won’t find many governments who manage transportation systems that would argue with those goals. Now we just have to figure out how to achieve them together, across many cities, townships and counties.