September 15, 2008
(Download document in Adobe PDF format)
Dear Senator:
We are writing to urge you to support the inclusion of public transportation investment as part of any stimulus or energy package that Congress may pass this fall. Public transportation systems desperately need help to continue serving the enormous surge of new riders using transit since gas prices started skyrocketing.
In the second quarter of 2008 as the price of gasoline rose steadily, Americans took more than 2.8 billion trips on public transportation vehicles. This is almost 140 million more trips than last year for the same time period or 1.5 million more each day. As ridership has increased, transit facilities across the country are operating at capacity during peak travel times, and transit providers are struggling to maintain the quality of their physical infrastructure and the reliability of their service. Eighty-five percent of public transit systems report capacity problems, and 39 percent are turning passengers away because of capacity issues, according to a new nationwide survey of transit systems by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). With state and local revenue sources shrinking in the current economic slowdown, only federal action can address this challenge.
Increased federal support for transit is not just smart transportation policy; it is an essential action to address the nation’s energy crisis. More and more individuals are realizing that taking public transportation is the quickest way to escape high gas prices. A person can save more than $9,500 per year by taking transit instead of driving. By reducing travel and congestion on roadways and supporting more efficient land use patterns, public transportation saves 4.2 billion gallons of gasoline in the U.S. each year, the equivalent of more than 11 million gallons per day. That amount of savings is equivalent to three times the amount of oil we import from Kuwait each year.
While high gas prices are encouraging more people to ride public transportation, fuel costs for transit - which have increased 166 percent in just four years - are causing transit systems nationwide to raise fares, cut service, lay off staff, and delay capital spending. The burden of increased transit fuel costs is so great that 35 percent of public transportation providers that responded to the recent survey are considering cutting the level of passenger service they provide in spite of the growing demand. Transit needs to be part of the solution to – not the victim of – high petroleum prices.
To provide the level of public transportation service that continues growth in ridership and allows more Americans to avoid the burden of high gas prices, the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) and APTA recommend the following:
- Provide immediate new capital investment to accommodate the rapid growth in demand for public transportation services resulting from high gas prices.
An APTA survey conducted earlier this year identified more than $3.6 billion of transit capital projects that could begin within 90 days of federal funding being made available. Federal investment could be targeted to provide transit systems with the means to quickly expand current services and meet high levels of demand.
- Help public transportation agencies avoid fare increases or service cuts by providing federal assistance to mitigate increased fuel costs.
Transit agency budgets generally set aside funds to deal with normal fluctuations in the price of fuels, but recent increases in the price of diesel have far exceeded the financial reserves that publicly funded agencies commonly maintain. Transit providers need to expand services and thus increase their fuel consumption in order to provide more transportation options for their communities.
- Promote energy efficient technology in public transportation systems to increase the already substantial fuel savings from transit and improve operational efficiency.
Transit systems, often using local funding, have already begun to invest in new vehicle technology, such as hybrid-electric diesel and compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquid natural gas (LNG) buses, and new energy efficient facilities. New federal support for such investment would speed the deployment of advanced technologies, increasing fuel savings and simultaneously reducing the cost of transit operations, thereby freeing up resources to support expanded service.
ATU and APTA urge Congress to pass legislation immediately that provides new federal investment to address transit needs. We strongly support two important legislative efforts already underway: the “Saving Energy Through Public Transportation Act of 2008,” S. 3380, as introduced by Senator Hillary Clinton, would authorize $1.7 billion in new transit investment and help transit systems cope with increased fuel costs, and a proposal offered by Majority Leader Harry Reid during the Senate’s energy debate in July which would immediately appropriate $1.3 billion for investment in transit capital projects. These excellent initiatives should be combined to provide investment by the federal government that immediately funds public transportation improvements while simultaneously addressing transit fuel costs.
Offering better transit service is one of the few policy options that can offer Americans immediate relief from high gas prices, and new federal investment is the key to addressing that need. Thank you for considering our views.
Sincerely,
Warren S. George
President
Amalgamated Transit Union |
Sincerely,
William W. Millar
President
American Public Transportation Association |
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.
