Statement by William W. Millar, President
American Public Transportation Association (APTA)
Transit News
February 4, 2008
Virginia Miller
(202) 496-4816
vmiller@apta.com
(Download In Adobe PDF format)
“The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) is outraged that the Bush Administration’s budget request for FY 2009 would cut $202.1 million for public transportation and proposes to transfer an estimated $3.2 billion dedicated for public transportation to fund highway projects.
The tens of millions of Americans who depend on public transportation should not be treated as second class citizens compared to people who choose to drive cars.
Federal public transportation investment and highway investment are both insufficient. While it is important to fix the federal highway account in 2009, robbing Peter to pay Paul is not the way to go. Funding highways should not be done on the back of public transit riders.
The Administration proposal would reduce the balance in the Mass Transit Account to the point where, absent new funding, the federal transit program could not be funded in 2010 at even the current level. We urge Congress to find a different solution to fixing the shortfall in the Highway Trust Fund, such as adopting the proposal already drafted by the Senate Finance Committee to adequately fund the highway program in FY 2009.
Having a multi-modal transportation system that offers people different transportation choices is important for the country. The President’s short-sighted transportation policy “fix” is irresponsible and flies in the face of common sense. With more than 10 billion trips taken on public transportation annually, public transportation’s growth rate outpaced the growth rate of the population and the growth rate of vehicle miles traveled on our nation’s roads over the past decade.
In addition to raiding the Mass Transit Account, the Bush Administration proposal to reduce public transportation funding of $10.3 billion by $202.1 million is wrong. The $10.1 billion the president proposes for public transportation does not come close to addressing current capital needs, let alone the costs of a growing public transit system that meets a growing demand for more public transportation. And, ironically, it will push more public transportation riders onto already congested roads making matters worse for road users.
We call on Congress to do the right thing and fully fund public transportation and develop an appropriate fix for the highway account shortage. Americans depend on public transportation and highways. Funding for each should not be less than what was agreed upon in SAFETEA-LU.
Adequately funding public transportation is an important action that benefits all Americans and meets many of our nation’s national priorities. Public transportation helps Americans save money and is a key strategy in helping conserve energy, minimize climate change and reduce highway congestion.
A household that uses public transportation saves more than $6,200 every year, compared to a household with no access to public transportation. This amount is more than the average household pays for food each year.
Using public transportation is one of the quickest ways that people can help our country become energy independent since using public transit saves 1.4 billion gallons of gasoline every year (the equivalent of 108 million cars filling up or almost 300,000 a day).
Public transportation is also more effective at reducing greenhouse gases than environmentally friendly household activities which everyone should do, such as home weatherizing, changing to efficient light bulbs, and using efficient appliances.
We hope that the Bush Administration will reconsider its budget proposal and work with Congress to fund public transportation and highways at the levels signed into law in 2005.”
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APTA is a nonprofit international association of more than 1,500 member organizations including public transportation systems; planning, design, construction and finance firms; product and service providers; academic institutions; and state associations and departments of transportation. APTA members serve the public interest by providing safe, efficient and economical public transportation services and products. APTA members serve more than 90 percent of persons using public transportation in the United States and Canada.
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