National Journal asks its panel of transportation experts whether mass transit agencies really deserve $2 billion in emergency operating aid.
Eight democratic senators have introduced legislation that would offer $2 billion in federal funding to transit agencies to help them close gaps in their operating budgets. More than 84% of all transit agencies in the U.S. have been forced to at least consider cutting services or raising fares, and many of them already have.
"By law, mass transportation can only use its share of revenues from the Highway Trust Fund, which provides most federal funding for transit programs, to pay for capital expenses.
Some public transportation advocates want Congress to go a step further and allow transit agencies to use their federal dollars to meet their day-to-day operating costs as well. Others fear that doing so would reduce needed capital investment and could reduce state and local government contributions to transit budgets as a result."
FULL STORY: Should Mass Transit Get $2 Billion In Emergency Operating Aid?
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City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research