Only 18 cents of every federal transportation dollar is spent on public transit.

Life without transit

Without transit, Americans would be wasting an additional $13.7 billion a year on travel delay and fuel – on top of the $87 billion already being lost to congestion. Movement on our streets and highways would come to a standstill if the 10.7 billion trips taken on public transit were instead taken by personal vehicle.  Transit users walk an average of 8.3 minutes which translates into healthcare savings of $5,500 in obesity-related costs.  

Because of our transit systems across the country, Americans are saving more than 855 million gallons of gasoline every year – enough fuel to heat, cool and supply electricity to all the homes in America for three months. When the average American household incorporates transit into their daily routines, they save close to $8,700 every year, or $724 per month.

CTA, Metra and Pace are all facing severe budget problems. And they aren’t alone. According to the American Public Transit Association (APTA), 80 percent of U.S. transit systems’ budgets have remained flat or fallen. More than 90 percent of our nation’s transit systems have had to raise fares or cut service, and nearly half have done both.  The seven largest rail transit operators have identified a $50 billion need to bring their systems to a state of good repair. To maintain their current level of service, these agencies would require an investment of $5.9 billion every year for the next 20 years. Federal policy requires every federal dollar spent on public transit to have a local match. Only a quarter of a match is required for roads.  In Illinois, the state provides only one-third of the dollars needed to operate Chicago regional transit network. 

Transit is facing a serious crisis from years of disinvestment and neglect. Inspired by $8.4 billion for transit in the stimulus package, $390 million to fund expansion and improvements to transit systems across the country, and a commitment from the Depts. of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development, and the Environmental Protection Agency to coordinate efforts and advance the Livability Principles, there’s hope for the future of transit.  As the next federal surface transportation bill begins to take shape, it is important that our legislators understand the true value of transit to our cities, our pocketbooks, and our quality of life.

Photo courtesy of Laurence Pearlman

For Additional Information:

• Stranded at the Station Study – T4America
• FTA Rail Modernization Study – Report to Congress

 

NEWS

Local News

Bus rapid transit’s demise greatly exaggerated – Medill “If we want to be putting out a quality bus service, while trying to deal with our financial restraints, we have to be looking at things like BRT.”

Decongesting Rail Traffic Is a Major Step to Raise Fuel Efficiency – New York Times “When the Department of Transportation doled out $1.5 billion in infrastructure grants last week, one of the largest checks went to a rail overhaul in the Chicago area.”

A high-speed rail station proposal from Helmut Jahn: Not perfect, but it gets the civic debate on the right track – Chicago Tribune “Jahn’s sketch should kick-start a much-needed debate over the right place for the hub of the Midwest’s just-funded high-speed rail network.”

Illinois House votes to limit free rides for seniors – Chicago Sun-Times “The Illinois House voted overwhelmingly to scale back the free-rides-for-seniors program on public transit systems that ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich put in place.”

Amtrak looking to breathe new life into Union Station – Chicago Tribune “Amtrak is asking seven architectural and real estate firms to dream up ways to pump new life into the historic but listless part of Chicago's Union Station — a goal the railroad has previously been unable to accomplish.”

Committee advances privatization bill for Illiana Expressway – Land Line Magazine “The Indiana House Roads and Transportation Committee has advanced a bill that would allow the proposed Illiana Expressway to be built as a toll road and operated by the private sector.”

RTA: Transit agencies running out of cash – Chicago Tribune “The Regional Transportation Authority issued a warning Thursday: Unless the state comes up with the cash it owes the transit agencies within a few months, more service cuts like the ones CTA riders are experiencing may be inevitable.”

Create project slated for $100M from feds for railroad fix – Crain’s “A Chicago-area plan to fix railroad bottlenecks will get a $100-million boost from a new round of federal stimulus grants to be awarded Wednesday, according to a source briefed on the matter.”

World News

Private transit less rare than you’d think – Toronto Star “Privatized transit might be a radical notion in downtown Toronto. But at least two major regional transit operators already contract their operations.”

DOT back to work after Senate bill passes – Land Line Magazine “U.S. Department of Transportation workers were back to work Wednesday morning, March 3, after a short-lived shutdown.”

Budget chairman: Tolling and mileage tax still on table – Land Line Magazine “The chairman of the Senate Budget Committee says Congress should not rule out a mileage tax, tolling or public-private partnerships as funding options for transportation no matter how unpopular they may seem.”

A Bus System Reopens Rifts in South Africa – New York Times “Prodded by a national commitment to improve public transportation for soccer’s 2010 World Cup, Johannesburg is carrying out the nation’s most ambitious bus rapid transit program.”

Wis. lawmakers approve money for high-speed rail – Business Week “Wisconsin lawmakers gave approval Tuesday to spending $810 million in federal stimulus funding on a high-speed rail line between Madison and Milwaukee, despite the objections of Republicans who said it would cost too much and be underused.”

High-Speed Rail Cash Lays Congressional Track for Billions More to Follow – New York Times “The $8 billion President Obama handed out late last month to jump-start work on 13 high-speed rail lines across the country will lay the track for lawmakers to pump billions of dollars more into the president's vision of a nationwide high-speed rail network for many years to come.”

 

Resources

• Raise My Taxes, Please! Evaluating Household Savings From High Quality Public Transit Service – VTPI  
• Great Expectations: Railroads and U.S. Economic Recovery – American Association of Railroads
• INRIX National Traffic Scorecard 2009 – INRIX

Enjoy Talking Transit?  The content is a result of the research, outreach and advocacy efforts of MPC’s dedicated Transportation team.  You can make a difference on the issues you read about here by making a donation to MPC today, http://www.metroplanning.org/donation.asp.

Contact Information
For comments, suggestions or submissions, please contact Emily Tapia Lopez, Associate, at etapia@metroplanning.org or 312-863-6047.