The Transit Subcommittee of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is taking a hard look at the federal dollars invested in the country's transit infrastructure and looking for signs of improvement.
"When you combine both IIJA and the supplemental COVID funding, nearly $180 billion federal taxpayer dollars have been directed to public transportation systems since 2020," said Subcommittee Chairman David Rouzer, R- N.C.
"Despite this significant investment, ridership today hovers around 79% of pre-pandemic levels. Concerningly, crime has become more rampant on several transit systems, endangering passengers and transit workers alike."
The hearing was held on Wednesday and delved into several competing interests within the transit realm including bus vs. rail, urban vs. rural and public vs. private operations.
"Transit provides economic security for those who ride transit systems and those who help build, maintain and operate them," said T&I Committee Ranking Member Rick Larsen, D-Wash.
Transit is a significant job creator, directly employing 430,000 people, supporting millions of private sector jobs, with 77% of federal public transportation investments flowing to the private sector."
The committee is in the early stages or reauthorizing a surface transportation bill as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will sunset at the end of 2026.
Transit funding arrives via farebox revenue, formula funding and competitive discretionary grants that often require local municipalities to come up with matching funds that some transit operators believe is too high.
"The vast majority of federal transit programs require a 20% local match," said Barbara Cline, executive director, Prairie Hills Transit, on behalf of the Community Transportation Association of America.
"Rural and Small city transit systems are required to match at 50%. The solution is standardizing the match rate for rural and small urban operating funds at 20%."
Matching funds are often raised via municipal bond sales while the grants frequently generate frustration caused by complex federal requirements for tapping the money.
The Trump administration is now in charge of unobligated funds flowing to transit from the Department of Transportation and is adding its own spin on what transit operators need to do to get or retain funding with a big emphasis on crime prevention methods.
"They can be better gate technology, which we're seeing here in Washington, D.C.," said Greg Regan, president of transportation trades department for the AFL-CIO.
"There could be designing on the busses, ensuring that we have better camera coverage. Those are all things that require funding and stuff that the federal government needs to take a leadership role in."
The transit industry is eyeing the new administration's areas of interest and the chance to change the formula for how the federal government funds operational needs and awards capital improvement grants which typically come from two separate financial buckets.
The American Public Transit Association has been lobbying Congress since 2021 about adding clarity to the CIG programs.
Per their recommendations, "We urge Congress to undertake a zero-based review of all CIG statutory requirements in the next authorization bill to eliminate any requirements that do not meet a two-part test: to build good CIG projects that protects the taxpayer interest."
APTA would also like to see some corrective action taken within the Build America Bureau which administers funding flowing from Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act, and the Railroad Rehabilitation & Improvement Financing programs.
Both programs have taken Congressional
Per APTA, "Congress should require the Build America Bureau and Federal Transit Administration to release joint guidance outlining a step-by-step process for applicants seeking both TIFIA loan or loan guarantees and Capital Investment Grants funding."
