their cars and into public transit, from the beginning to the end of their trips. It has a number of ancillary benefits: It literally increases safety. It raises energy efficiency and it reduces pollution.
Take a look at how that’s going to work here. In addition to having the Greyhound service, you’ll also have the Miami Dade Metrorail. And you’ll have Tri-Rail Commuter Rail. And you’ll have extensive city bus service. And you’ll have a people mover from Miami International Airport right to this center. And down the road, there are plans to have Amtrak run through this facility, as well. That’s why, when it’s all done, people believe this will be the “Grand Central Station” of South Florida.
Now. construction on this center is already underway — and was already underway before the recovery package was passed. So what does this recovery money mean, since it’s — already begun? Well, it means it will get done faster, and it will get done. And getting it done soon is important, because when it’s done, it’s estimated that there will be 22,000 — 22,000 — permanent jobs to operate these facilities, and hundreds of thousands of passengers will pass through this new center every year.
The recovery package has also made it possible for Miami Dade to purchase six energy-efficient, hybrid-fuel buses. That’s a step in the right direction of making more of the bus fleet energy efficient. Look at the stats: These new buses will save 25 percent on fuel costs and emit 50 percent less greenhouse gases. That means with just these six buses alone that the federal government and the act that it’s funding today, will save over 15,000 gallons of gasoline a year. And that’s with just six of these buses. And that number will only grow as more and more of the old buses are replaced with new buses, buses that run on green, hybrid technology.
What’s happening here in Miami we need to have happen all over the United States of America. And it’s beginning to happen. Resources are being put to work not only creating jobs now, but also investing in the future for long-term, good-paying jobs. The future that strengthens our transit system makes us much more energy efficient, increases safety, and again, provide long-term jobs that cannot be exported.
I’ve always believed, as the President does and, I suspect, all my colleagues behind me, the toughest times we face create the greatest and biggest opportunities. With this recovery package, we’ll be creating jobs, saving jobs, and putting money in people’s pockets.
And, ladies and gentlemen, it’s important to know and remember that this recovery package provides for immediate help. It will save or create 3.5 million new jobs. Or to put it the other way, almost every serious economist, left, right and center, acknowledges were we not to make this kind of move, we would lose another 4 to 5 million jobs this year on top of the 3.5 million jobs we have lost since this recession began — 600,000 last month,