Most federal public transit money to date has been for capital projects, like purchase of buses or maintenance projects. Cities like Anchorage struggle to find the money to run their transit systems, while a steady stream of federal money comes their way for building and repairing roads.
Transportation for America, a national coalition that supports progressive transportation development, has just released thoughtful recommendations for the new bill. The group proposes tripling the percentage of trips in which people walk, bike or use public transit -- and adding funds to help pay for bus system operations.
GIVE BUSES A BIGGER SHARE
If America wants to get serious about energy conservation, cleaner air and lower carbon emissions, the new transportation bill is a great vehicle for getting started.
Supplying more money to run public transit systems is key. In Anchorage, People Mover bus fares cover only about 20 percent of operating costs, so buses have to compete with other city services for money from the general treasury. People Mover has been unable to expand to levels that would make it convenient enough for double or triple the number of people to use it -- such as having a bus show up at your stop every 15 minutes during rush hours.
Reliable federal funding, with local and state matches, can help make this happen.
There are only hints so far as to what the upcoming surface transportation bill will contain, but it is expected to take shape this summer.
Rep. Jim Oberstar, D-Minnesota, House Transportation Committee chairman, promises to tear up the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration and turn them into institutions that make different ways of getting around, such as driving and bus riding, work together better. He said in an interview with a Duluth, Minn., TV station that the changes will produce more attention to "livability" in using transportation dollars.
MONEY IS TIGHT
Rep. Oberstar also says federal spending on transportation, which is based on an 18-cent-per-gallon gasoline tax, is falling short. More fuel-efficient cars mean less gas tax revenue, even as the volume of traffic on the roads continues to increase. In the near term, he says, we'll need higher gas taxes or other federal money to shore it up. In the future, Oberstar and others are interested in the idea of taxing drivers by the miles a car is driven, which GPS systems would record. But that's a long way out.
Both Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, and Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, are members of the transportation committees.
Rep. Young was the main architect of the last big surface transportation bill and will be involved in writing the next one, his office said. He favors using federal money to operate public transit -- and in fact co-sponsored a bill to do so last year. He also supports "complete streets," said a spokesman -- code for taking full account of biking, walking and bus riding when you design a road project.
Sen. Begich said he is co-sponsoring a bill to promote "complete streets," and supports Transportation for America's call for a bigger share for public transit, as well as an emphasis on maintaining roads and bridges. Begich says there needs to be a new financing plan, but he doesn't want to increase the gas tax.
Money's clearly a problem. But the idea of putting more of the funding we have into public transit is a good one.
BOTTOM LINE: The new federal transportation spending bill should offer more support for public transit. It's not a "highway bill" anymore.
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