Buses are expensive, complex, often highly-customized workhorses of the transit sector that are at risk of being shorted in the ongoing negotiations over how and where infrastructure funding is going to flow.
"We've got the surface transportation reauthorization draft bill coming out that's making some big changes to what share of a bus the federal government is going to fund," said Michael Dorgan, policy manager at the Center for Transportation and the Environment.
"There's going to be a couple more inflection points where that bill will change, but the current language is reducing the federal share over time, which could have an impact on customization, but also could have an impact on transit agencies' ability to procure the buses they need and operate."
The comments came during a panel hosted by The Brookings Institution on Thursday in Washington D.C.
The discussion included observations from a
Buying new buses is often heavily subsidized by the Federal Transit Administration. According to Eno, "typically, transit agencies pay 20% of the cost of buses while the FTA covers the other 80%."
"That funding structure gives the federal government significant leverage over procurement practices through legal requirements, guidance, incentives, and program priorities."
Transit agencies can also take advantage of "state contracts," that allow them to buy buses without having to issue their own request for proposals.
The American Public Transportation Association has tried to simplify the process by publishing a "Standard Bus Procurement Guidelines," also called the "White Book," which suggests models, terms, and conditions for federally funded bus buys.
The FTA also has requirements about purchasing domestic rolling stock.
"Buy America requirements mandate that federally funded buses undergo final assembly in the U.S. and that domestically produced components and subcomponents account for more than 70% of total component costs," said Eno.
"As a result, firms from other countries seeking to enter the U.S. transit bus market must set up a plant in the U.S. and establish a U.S.-based supply chain."
Transit agencies are seeking more customization in their fleets, which along with a decline in the number of bus builders contributes to rising prices.
Some transit agencies have been able to exert more control over what they can buy by issuing bonds supported by fare box revenue while others are experimenting with no-fare rides.
"Our riders are not necessarily asking for free fares, they want a bus that comes more frequently," said Holly Arnold, Administrator for the Maryland Transit Agency.
"They want a bus that comes more reliably. The money that comes in from our fare collection, we get about $80 million per year. You can bond against that."
The squeeze on buses has not been lost on Congress as Rep. Maxwell D-Fla., last year introduced bipartisan legislation to lower bus procurement costs by first commissioning a study to weigh the options.
"Part of the problem with surface transportation reauthorization is we're still stuck in this antiquated dogmatic way of looking at transit funding with highway trust fund, and we're going to have the same issues as we continue down the road," said Maxwell.
