Transit advocates converged on Capitol Hill Wednesday in a coordinated effort to lobby representatives and senators to restore $4.25 billion for public transit and $13.2 billion for passenger rail in advance appropriations.
"Without advance appropriations, public transit agencies, passenger rail providers, and their private-sector partners lose the guaranteed, multi-year funding they rely on to plan, finance, and deliver projects," said Paul P. Skoutelas, president and CEO of the American Public Transit Association.
Public transit agencies often rely on bond sales to finance capital improvement projects and service the debt with multiple revenue streams including federal grants.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which expires at the end of the month, provided transit with advance appropriations that so far, have not been renewed.
Advance appropriations make funding available for future fiscal years without further congressional action.
"A 20% cut to public transit and an 81% cut to passenger rail will be felt in communities across the country, from delayed bus and railcar orders to stalled construction and the jobs that depend on them," said Skoutelas.
In addition to the financial impact APTA is also sounding the alarm about the effects of uncertainty on planning projects or procuring equipment.
Getting Congress to pay attention could prove challenging as the House is already cancelling votes this week and lawmakers will be leaving town in early October for the midterm elections break.
Earlier this month Congress passed a continuing resolution as a stopgap spending measure that maintains 2026 spending levels through December 11.
The law provides breathing room for reauthorizing a five-year surface transportation bill but leaves out the advance appropriations.
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has already passed their version of reauthorization while the Senate has yet to make a move at the subcommittee level.
APTA is looking for $138 billion for public transit and $130 billion for passenger rail over five years, while pointing to more than $150 billion state-of-good-repair backlog.
The American Society of Civil Engineers awarded public transit a grade of "D" on its 2025 Infrastructure Report Card.
Ridership took a big hit during the pandemic but has since rebounded in many markets.
The Trump administration has proven to be less than friendly to public transit interests as Congress has moved to shore up the insolvent Highway Trust Fund by passing a nationwide fee on electric vehicles.
The fund is supported by federal fuel taxes and contributes about 20% of its revenues to the Mass Transit Account, an amount estimated at between $6 billion-$8 billion a year.
The Eno Transportation Center notes that if the trust fund does not receive another cash infusion from the general fund, the transit account will be insolvent by next summer.
APTA is already looking into the future about the trust fund's challenges.
In a letter addressed to Congress in July, APTA said, "If Congress considers a CR and Surface Transportation Authorization Extension Act lasting into 2027, we urge the legislation to address any Highway Trust Fund shortfall to ensure that Fund accounts remain solvent for the duration of the period."
