DALLAS — Buoyed by record ridership in 2013, public transit advocates want their fair share of funding from Washington in the next multi-year surface transportation bill.
Americans took 10.7 billion trips on public transit in 2013, the American Public Transit Association said Monday, marking the highest total in 57 years and the eighth year in a row of more than 10 billion trips.
Most transit agencies across the nation saw ridership increases last year and some systems reported all-time highs, said Peter Varga, chairman of the APTA, said at the group's annual legislative conference in Washington, D.C.. Public transportation use in 2013 was up 1.1%, he said, while vehicle miles traveled on roads went up 0.3%.
"Americans in growing numbers want to have more public transit services in their communities," said Varga, chief executive officer of a transit agency in Grand Rapids, Mich.
Congress should approve a six-year, $100.4 billion transit program that would provide $22.2 billion of federal funding a year by fiscal 2020, Varga said.
"Our future is riding on public transportation and we are moving forward to work with Congress to implement this plan that will help our local communities grow," he said.
President Obama's proposal for a $302 billion, four-year transportation program includes $72.3 billion for transit. The administration's proposed fiscal 2015 budget provides $22.3 billion for public transit, up from $10 billion in fiscal 2014.
Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx told an APTA conference Monday that there will be a struggle in Congress to pass a transportation funding bill before the current two-year spending program expires on Sept. 30, the end of fiscal 2014.
The Highway Trust Fund, which supports federal spending on highway and transit projects, may be insolvent before the fiscal year ends, s gasoline tax revenues cannot keep up with infrastructure needs, Foxx said.
He urged the assembled officials to contact their senators and representatives about the need for robust, long-term funding for transit.
"I have high level of confidence that Congress understands that we're at a crisis point," Foxx said.
It took 10 temporary, short-term reauthorizations of the earlier four-year funding bill in 2012 to adopt the current surface transportation funding measure, Moving Ahead For Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21).
APTA president Michael Melaniphy said $1 invested in transit infrastructure generates $4 in economic returns.
The proposed $100 billion for transit infrastructure would result in 1.1 million jobs created or sustained annually, $66 billion in annual business sales, and $9.5 billion in local, state, and federal tax revenues, he said.
ATPA is launching a campaign to stress the value of transit to economic vitality to Congress as it develops the next funding program, he said.
"Increasing investment in public transportation and roads is essential for growing our economy in the U.S. and remaining competitive in a global economy," Melaniphy said.
The successor to MAP-21 should establish a new funding mechanism to supplement the federal gasoline tax, Melaniphy said.
New programs to increase capacity are necessary but that is not enough, he said.
A new transportation bill should also provide the funding needed to eliminate a growing backlog of deferred transit maintenance estimated by DOT at more than $86 billion in 2010 and growing by $2.5 billion a year, Melaniphy said.
"Investment in public transportation infrastructure drives growth," said Melaniphy. "It attracts development while increasing property values. It connects employers to employees, restaurants to diners, landlords to renters, and families to local stores. "
