Testimony Of
William W. Millar, President
American Public Transportation Association
Before The
Subcommittee On Transportation, Treasury, And Housing And Urban Development, The Judiciary, District Of Columbia
Of The
House Committee On Appropriations
On Federal Transit Investment For Fiscal Year 2007
*******
(Download In Adobe PDF Format)
INTRODUCTION
Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, on behalf of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), we thank you for this opportunity to submit written testimony on the need for and benefits of investment in Federal Transit Administration (FTA) programs for Fiscal Year (FY) 2007.
OVERVIEW
Mr. Chairman, the FY 2007 Transportation, Treasury, and Housing and Urban Development, the Judiciary, District of Columbia Appropriations bill is an opportunity to advance national goals and objectives through increased investment in our surface transportation infrastructure, particularly public transportation. For that reason, we strongly urge Congress to fund the federal transit program at no less than the $8.975 billion level authorized in the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act - A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), which Congress approved by overwhelming margins just last summer.
Transit plays a number of important roles, including advancing energy independence. It reduces congestion and it provides mobility options. In fact, expanding public transportation options is more important than ever, since transit is the single quickest way for individuals and families to beat the high cost of gasoline.
Americans took more than 9.7 billion transit trips in 2005, and transit ridership grew faster than highway travel (1.3 percent vs. 0.1 percent). Since 1995, the use of public transportation has increased by 25.1 percent -- more than the growth of highway travel (22.5 percent) over that period. The growth of transit ridership during the past 10 years demonstrates that Americans want transportation choices and will leave their cars behind when convenient, quality public transit service is available. As gas prices continue to rise, the demand for public transportation will only continue to grow.
Additionally, it is important to recognize that public transportation benefits those who drive, as well as those who use transit. According to the 2005 Texas Transportation Institute's Annual Urban Mobility Report, transit is successfully reducing traffic delays and related congestion costs in America's 85 largest urban areas. Without transit, nationwide delays would have increased 27 percent, costing residents and businesses in those major urban areas an additional $18.2 billion in lost time and fuel.
FISCAL YEAR 2007 GOALS
APTA recognizes the need to wisely invest limited federal resources, and we believe that investment in public transportation is a wise use of limited resources. Our nation has a tremendous need for new investment in transit and the rest of our surface transportation infrastructure. According to a recent study by the U.S Chamber of Commerce's National Chamber Foundation, if the federal share of transportation investment remains constant, in 2015 the federal share of the average annual capital investment needed to maintain the nation's existing highway and transit systems will be $64 billion, and the federal share to improve highway and transit systems will be $89 billion.
APTA's funding request for FTA programs in FY 2007 is based upon SAFETEA-LU, which was enacted last year. SAFETEA-LU authorizes and guarantees $8.975 billion for Federal Transit Administration programs in FY 2007. APTA urges Congress to fund the transit program at the authorized level so that communities across the nation, utilizing state and local resources in tandem with federal funds, can begin to address the overwhelming need both to preserve the existing transit infrastructure and to expand and improve that infrastructure in growing communities and those without good transit service.
SAFETEA-LU builds on the success of the two most recent surface transportation authorization laws - the 1991 Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act and the 1998 Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century. Under SAFETEA-LU, the federal transit program structure remains largely the same, retaining formula programs that target federal investment to transit systems based on need and capital investment programs that address special needs and projects. The new law also provides for increased transit investment in rural communities, many of which have little or no transit service. It also establishes a number of new programs, including programs for new small fixed guideway projects, transit in our national parks, and another meant to help address the needs of people with disabilities beyond service required under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
PRESIDENT'S BUDGET PROPOSAL
The Administration's FY 2007 budget proposal recognizes the importance of public transportation investment. While we are pleased that the Administration proposal adheres to the authorized transit program in most respects, we want to identify two concerns APTA has with the President's FY 2007 budget proposal.
First, the Administration proposes to fund only $100 million of the $200 million authorized in FY 2007 for the small starts program that is meant to assist the development and construction of smaller fixed guideway projects such as streetcars, trolleys, commuter rail, and bus rapid transit systems. This program is part of the program that provides funding to new fixed guideway projects - heavy and light rail, bus rapid transit, commuter rail, and trolleys - and the President's proposal would actually reduce total funding for this program below the FY 2006 level.
Second, the President's budget proposal for the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) proposes, consistent with last year's appropriations bill, that commuter railroad riders will assume a higher portion of maintenance and capital expenses on the Amtrak-owned portions of the Northeast Corridor. We are concerned that the imposition of these fees by the federal government will increase operating costs for these commuter railroads and result in higher costs for commuter rail users and the state and local taxpayers who fund these systems, and therefore urge Congress not to include this fee in this year's appropriations bill.
NEW STARTS/SMALL STARTS
Mr. Chairman, APTA is disappointed that the Administration has proposed to fund transit below the level so recently authorized and guaranteed by Congress. The Administration requested $100 million less than the amount authorized from the general fund for the new starts program, proposing only half of the funding authorized for the new small starts program, a program to fund less costly fixed guideway projects such as light rail, commuter rail, and bus rapid transit systems.
As this committee knows, there is overwhelming demand for new starts projects, and SAFETEA-LU authorized 387 projects. New fixed guideway projects are an important part of meeting transit needs, but these major capital projects take years to develop and require a predictable funding commitment. Once appropriated for a fiscal year, new starts program funding remains available for the two subsequent fiscal years. The effect of underfunding the small starts/new starts program will be felt disproportionately in future years by causing transit providers to fall further behind in the development of new, less expensive projects due to the cuts that would be implemented under the Administration proposal, robbing communities of the congestion relief and environmental benefits associated with the projects.
We want to make another point, Mr. Chairman. SAFETEA-LU restructured the general fund and Mass Transit Account (MTA) funding sources so that MTA outlays are now scored when they are actually spent rather than when they are appropriated. The good news is that MTA balances now are significantly higher than they would have been under the old scoring system. But this also means that the new starts program is now funded exclusively from the general fund. Mr. Chairman, it is important to emphasize that this was done to improve the overall financing of the federal transit program, and was not meant to create funding uncertainty or program cuts, as the Administration proposes.
Finally, and importantly, we note that 2005 ridership on light rail systems in the U.S. has grown at a faster rate than any other form of transit. Ridership on light rail grew by 6 percent in 2005. Some light rail systems showed double digit increases in ridership: Minneapolis (168.9 percent); Houston (38.0 percent); New Jersey (17.8 percent); Salt Lake City (13.3 percent); Sacramento (12.8 percent); and Los Angeles (10.5 percent). There is clearly overwhelming demand for these and other new starts projects. We look forward to working with this committee and ask for your support for fully funding new starts and all other elements of the FY 2007 federal transit program at the authorized level.
NORTHEAST CORRIDOR COMMUTER RAIL ISSUES
We are also concerned about another issue in the proposed FY 2007 budget. The Administration proposes that commuter railroads will assume a higher portion of capital and maintenance expenses on the Amtrak-owned portion of the Northeast Corridor. An amount of $59 million in fees on commuter railroads is assumed in each of FY 2006 and 2007 to support Amtrak spending.
The provision in the FY 2006 Transportation Appropriations law that requires the Federal Railroad Administration to assess these fees has proven very difficult to implement. The Administration began the process with a "top down" approach that did not take heed of the accompanying conference report which directed the Secretary to seek to achieve consensus among all stakeholders in the corridor. In recent weeks, the process has improved, but it still requires a series of very difficult calculations and has absorbed a considerable amount of time among top leaders of the FRA, state DOTs and commuter railroads.
The only silver lining for the 2006 process is that significant time has been invested by Governors, State DOTs and commuter railroads in working with FRA on corridor issues. This time and effort should be devoted to developing a long-term plan for improving the corridor not to figuring out how to add to the substantial payments commuter railroads already make for corridor maintenance and capital improvements.
For FY 2007, APTA urges Congress not to include language similar to last year's appropriations law. Rather, the Secretary should be directed to work with stakeholders in the corridor to develop a plan for improving its operations for both intercity passengers and commuters, how these improvements should be paid for and who should make decisions on how and when projects on the corridor move ahead.
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AND ENERGY INDEPENDENCE
APTA is pleased that President Bush highlighted the need to focus on energy independence in his State of the Union address earlier this year. The President said that "keeping America competitive requires affordable energy…..America is addicted to oil, which is often imported from unstable parts of the world." He further stated that "the best way to break this addiction is through technology."
We agree, Mr. President! We cannot think of a more important technology in that regard than fixed guideway transit, including heavy and light rail, commuter rail, and bus rapid transit. This technology is readily available and many communities already have systems which can be expanded with more investment.
We must remember also that at its current level of use, public transportation is already reducing Americans' energy bills:
- For every passenger mile traveled, public transportation is twice as fuel efficient as private automobiles.
- Public transportation saves more than 855 million gallons of gasoline a year, or 45 million barrels of oil. These savings equal about one month's oil imports from Saudi Arabia. In 2005, 9.7 billion trips were taken on public transportation.
Moreover, transit agencies are increasingly investing in alternative fuel buses to reduce dependence on oil. Almost 17 percent of fixed route buses now use alternative fuels and 20 percent of buses on order will use alternative fuels. Public transportation is clearly doing its part to promote energy independence through innovative technologies, and that is why we urge Congress to honor SAFETEA-LU and fully fund the transit program in FY 2007.
CONCLUSION
Public transportation plays a key role in meeting the goals of the Administration and Congress in providing energy independence, congestion relief and transportation mobility options for Americans. APTA strongly believes that the federal government should invest no less than the level authorized and guaranteed by Congress for FY 2007 in SAFETEA-LU if we are to advance these goals.
Mr. Chairman, on behalf of APTA's member organizations, I thank you for this opportunity to express our views.
Some of these pages may include links to documents in the Adobe PDF format. Please download the Adobe PDF reader if you have not already done so.
