October 18 , 2007
(Download document in Adobe PDF format)
The Honorable Mary E. Peters
Secretary
U.S. Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, DC 20590
Dear Secretary Peters:
On behalf of the more than 1,500 member organizations of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), I write to express our views on public transportation investment needs as they relate to the Administration’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 budget proposal for the Department of Transportation (DOT). APTA urges the Administration to include $10.338 billion for public transportation in its FY 2009 budget request—the level authorized and guaranteed by the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act – A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU, P.L. 109-59).
In 2006, Americans took 10.1 billion trips on public transportation. In the first half of 2007, ridership in the United States grew by 1.6 percent, compared to the same period in 2006. Every weekday, Americans take 34 million trips on public transportation, and that number will grow as more people choose the affordability and convenience of transit. As the number of transit riders continues to increase, growth in our nation’s investment in our public transportation is critical. Public transportation can help reduce congestion, make our existing highway system work better, reduce dependence on oil imports, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and provide mobility for millions of Americans.
APTA agrees with the U.S. Department of Transportation that congestion is one of the biggest threats to our economic prosperity and way of life. Public transportation is already one of the most effective ways to fight congestion. The Texas Transportation Institute’s 2007 Urban Mobility Report measured the congestion savings of public transportation in 437 urban areas and found that without public transportation,
- Congestion delays in these 437 cities would have increased 13 percent, and residents would have lost an additional $10.2 billion in time and fuel.
While public transportation is a proven solution in the fight against congestion, Americans cannot use what they do not have. Only one in four households now have access to adequate public transportation, and about one half of all Americans have only limited transit service.
In addition to our fight against congestion, we are also confronted with tremendous energy challenges. Public transportation is the quickest way for individuals to avoid the high cost of gasoline, and it also addresses national energy goals. At its current level of use, public transportation is already reducing and reshaping America’s energy use:
Transit is fuel efficient. Transit saves fuel by carrying multiple passengers in each bus and rail car. In total, public transportation riders in the United States save 1.4 billion gallons of gasoline each year. That equals 4 million gallons of gasoline or about 300,000 fill-ups each and every day.
-
Transit makes the United States less dependent on foreign oil. Public transportation displaces travel-related energy demand from imported petroleum to other forms of energy that are generated using domestic resources, like coal, wind, hydropower, and nuclear power.
Transit allows individuals to reduce their carbon footprint. It takes one solo commuter of a household to switch their daily driving to using public transportation and he or she can reduce their household carbon footprint by 10 percent. If one household’s driver gives up that second car and switches to public transit, a household can reduce its carbon emissions up to 30 percent.
Our surface transportation system provides a competitive edge for the United States, and we need to retain that edge in today’s global economy. Substantial federal investment is needed just to maintain the system. The most recently available American Association of State and Highway Transportation Officials’ (AASHTO) Bottom Line report documents unmet transit capital needs of $43 billion a year. To meet these needs, APTA believes that the federal government should invest no less in public transportation than the $10.338 billion level that was authorized and guaranteed by SAFETEA-LU.
Thank you for your consideration of APTA’s views. Should you have questions about these or other issues, please have your staff contact Tom Yedinak of APTA’s Government Affairs Department at (202) 496-4865 or email tyedinak@apta.com.
Sincerely,
William W. Millar
President
WWM/tjj
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.
