The National Campaign for Transit Justice and over 120 partner organizations sent the following letter to members of the Senate Banking committee:
__________
Dear Chairman Scott and Ranking Member Warren:
When Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in 2021, it provided historic investments in transit systems and transit infrastructure across the country. For many communities – big and small, in cities and rural areas – it was a game changer. Now, Congress is considering the reauthorization of this important law, and we urge you to ensure that it continues to support transit.
Transit is how tens of millions of Americans get to work and school every day. Essential workers depend on and operate transit, employers depend on transit, and historically marginalized communities depend on transit. When people can count on the bus or train to get where they need to go, they can contribute to their workplace, receive needed medical care, and participate in the daily life of their communities. They benefit from greater economic mobility and lower household costs.
As you begin the reauthorization process, we ask that you consider the following recommendations:
1. Expand capacity with dedicated federal operating funds. The federal transit program primarily provides funding for capital investments, not for day-to-day operating expenses. Transit agencies can purchase new buses or build new rail lines with federal funds, but often lack sufficient funding to cover the costs of fuel and family wages for operators. Even in small and rural communities that can use federal funds for operations, resources are insufficient to address both operating and capital needs. A new bus serves no purpose without the money to operate it. Congress needs to establish a consistent, predictable source of funding for transit operations. Including service standards ensures the additional funding is used to improve service, not replace local funding. Given the workforce shortage, the bill should include a set-aside for workforce recruitment and retention. With additional operations funding, transit agencies of all sizes will be able to improve service, which will increase access to jobs and other key destinations, improving economic productivity and reducing household costs.
2. Match transit funding to demand. Transit is inadequate in America in part because it has been woefully underfunded for decades. There is far more demand for transit than the current federal transit program can support. According to the American Public Transportation Association, an additional $36 billion is needed above IIJA levels to build currently planned rail and BRT projects. The Federal Transit Administration and the Volpe Center have estimated that there is a transit state of good repair backlog of over $140 billion. The next reauthorization must meet this demand by increasing transit funding and making it easier to deploy those dollars, including streamlining requirements and accepting local match for new transit projects on par with that required for highways.
3. Strengthen transit in small and rural communities. Transit providers in small and rural areas often struggle to meet their communities’ needs due to a lack of funding and staff capacity. Rural Americans are isolated from jobs, healthcare, and other essential needs. We need to remove barriers and improve the federal transit program to increase access to quality transit in small towns and rural areas. This means:
Authorizing additional funding for rural transit programs.
Raising the federal share of rural transit operating funding from 50% to 80%.
Incentivizing coordination across jurisdictional boundaries and across multiple funding sources.
Requiring states to provide multi-year funding estimates to rural transit agencies to enable long-term planning.
Incentivizing innovative solutions and partnerships with competitive grant funding.
Expanding the federal procurement clearinghouse to help small and rural transit agencies right-size their purchases, increase efficiency, and facilitate lower capital costs.
4. Build transit-ready communities to increase safety and catalyze economic development. Transit operates most efficiently on roads designed to accommodate it, through transit lanes, traffic signal priority, and safe access for all road users, among other features. Transit also contributes to and benefits from economic development along transit corridors. To support the efficient operation of transit and grow transit ridership, the reauthorization should:
Increase flexibility in roadway design standards to support safe travel for transit riders (whether on the bus or train or traveling to/from the bus or train);
Dedicate funding for transit-supportive infrastructure such as sidewalks, bus shelters, ADA access, traffic signal priority, queue jumps, and bus lanes; and
Incentivize mixed-use, mixed-income private development near transit stations and hubs.
5. Prioritize road maintenance to improve infrastructure conditions, increase safety, and reduce families’ costs. We urge you to work with your colleagues on the Environment and Public Works Committee to prioritize maintenance on existing roads, bridges, and highways ahead of roadway capacity expansion. Deferring needed maintenance leads to increased costs down the road and inhibits effective asset management. Roads in bad repair increase costs for families who drive as well as undermining the reliability and safety of transit.
Abundant transit unlocks freedom of movement for everyone, regardless of age, income, or ability. We look forward to working with you to ensure that the next reauthorization bill will support high-quality transit service throughout America.
Sincerely,
National Campaign for Transit Justice, LeeAnn Hall
Transportation for America, Beth Osborne
America Walks, Mike McGinn
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Shruti Vaidyanathan
National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO), Josh Naramore
League of American Bicyclists, Caron Whitaker
Sierra Club, Katherine Garcia
Environmental Law & Policy Center, Ann Mesnikoff
Institute for Policy Studies Climate Policy Program, Basav Sen
Gamaliel, Ana Garcia-Ashley
Southern Environmental Law Center, Garrett Gee
Union of Concerned Scientists, Molly McKinley
1000 Friends of Wisconsin, Trevor Roark
Able South Carolina, Sandy Jordan
Activate St Pete, Max McCann
Active Transportation Alliance, W Robert Schultz III
Alabama Arise, Robyn Hyden
Allies in Advocacy, Shawn Latham
Arkansas Community Organizations, Neil Sealy
Better Eugene-Springfield Transportation (BEST), Rob Zako
Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, Chris Gale
Bike Durham, John Tallmadge
Bike JC, Tyler Newcomb
BikeLA, Eli Akira Kaufman
Capital Streets, Jackie Gonzales
CASA, Patrick Giuliani
Cedar Lane UU Environmental Ministry Team, Nanci Wilkinson
Center for Coalfield Justice, Sarah Martik
Central Maryland Transportation Alliance, Brian O’Malley
Chesapeake Climate Action Network Action Fund, Quentin Scott
Circulate San Diego, Colin Parent
City of Wheat Ridge District 2, Rachel Hultin
Clean Power Lake County, Mayra Mendez
ClimatePlan, Lesley Beatty
Coalition Against the Mid-States Corridor, Mark Nowotarski
Coalition for Economic Justice, Anthony Gault
Coalition for Smarter Growth, Stewart Schwartz
Conservation Law Foundation, Paulina Muratore
CultureHouse, Aaron Greiner
DC Transportation Equity Network, Kai Hall
Democracy for America Advocacy Fund, Charles Chamberlain
Denver Streets Partnership, Jill Locantore
Detroit People’s Platform, Renard Monczunski
Earth Day Mobile Bay, Inc., Gary Gover
East Metro Strong, William Schroeer
Elmont Cultural Center, Mimi Pierre Johnson
Environmental Law & Policy Center, Ann Mesnikoff
ForeverGreen Trails, Larry Leveen
GObike, Justin Booth
Grassroots Empowerment Mission, Jeremy Cuebas
Greater Greater Washington, Chelsea Allinger
GreenLatinos, Andrea Marpillero-Colomina
Grow Smart RI, John Flaherty
Health by Design, Taylor Firestine
HollywoodDemocrats.com, Charles Chamberlain
Hudson County Complete Streets, Emmanuelle Morgen
Illinois Environmental Council, Cate Caldwell
Institute for Policy Studies Climate Policy Program, Basav Sen
International Parking & Mobility Institute, Rachel Yoka
Labour Network for Sustainability, Bakari Height
Law Office of Dennis M Grzezinski, Dennis M Grzezinski
Madison Area Bus Advocates, Susan De Vos
Malone Complete Streets, Boyce Sherwin
Metropolitan Planning Council, Audrey Wennink
Mobilify Southwestern Pennsylvania, Chris Sandvig
MountainTrue, Susan Bean
Move LA, Eli Lipmen
Move Minnesota, MJ Carpio
MOVE Ohio, Akshai Singh
Move Redmond, Kelli Refer
Moving Maine Network, Zoe Miller
Neighbors for Clean Air, Mary Peveto
New Jersey Bike & Walk Coalition, Debra Kagan
New York Communities for Change, Olivia Leirer
No More Freeways, Chris Smith
Nondrivers Alliance, Anna Zivarts
North Lawndale Community Coordinating Council, Rochelle Jackson
One Fair Wage, Fekkak Mamdouh
Open Plans, Sara Lind
Oregon Walks, Zachary Lauritzen
Our Streets, Joe Harrington
Parks & Trails New York, Dylan Carey
Pennsylvania Downtown Center, Julie Fitzpatrick
Philly Transit Riders Union, Nat Lownes
Pittsburghers for Public Transit, Laura Chu Wiens
Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, Laura Martin
PSOB Bike Committee, Marsha Hanchrow
Reconnect Rochester, Cody Donahue
Respiratory Health Association, Brian Urbaszewski
Ride Illinois, Dave Simmons
Riders Alliance, Betsy Plum
Rise and Resist Elevator Action Group, Jessica Murray
Roosevelt Boulevard Subway Movement, Jay Arzu
San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council, Christine Canaly
Santa Ana Active Streets, Dorian Romero
Seamless Bay Area, Kaleo Mark
SEPA Mujer, Inc., Martha Maffei
South Pas Active, Casey Law
Southwest Energy Efficiency Project, Travis Madsen
Spokane Reimagined, Erik Lowe
Stop the Highway Widenings in San Mateo County, Mike Swire
Streets For All, Michael Schneider
StreetsPAC, Eric McClure
Sunrise Movement KC, Anthony Cunningham
Sustain Charlotte, Meg Fencil
TakeItBack.Org, Charles Chamberlain
The Equiticity Racial Equity Movement, Olatunji Oboi Reed
The Street Trust, Sarah Iannarone
The Transit Coalition, Kevin Dedicatoria
thirdspace pARTners, Lillian S. Cho
Together for Brothers, Baruch
Transbay Coalition, Carter Lavin
Transform, Abibat Rahman-Davies
Transit Columbus, Stevie Pasamonte
Transit For All PA, Connor Descheemaker
Transit Forward Philadelphia, Stephen Bronskill
Transit Riders Union of Connecticut, Fiona McElroy
TransitMatters, Caitlin Allen-Connelly
Transportation Choices Coalition, Kirk Hovenkotter
Transportation for Massachusetts, Pete Wilson
Transportation Riders United, Megan Owens
Unite North Metro Denver, Fran Aguirre
Virginia Interfaith Power & Light, Faith Harris
Virginia Organizing, Brian Johns
Vision Zero Maine, Paul Drinan