DALLAS – The historically high number of public transportation funding proposals on Nov. 8 ballots reflects the reality of declining federal support for public transportation, experts said in a preview of next Tuesday's election.
The $200 billion of local funding being sought in 49 transit measures to be decided by voters in 19 states next week shows that the relationship between cities and the federal government is dramatically changing, said Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton.
"Money is not going to flow from Washington like it used to," he told reporters at a news briefing Wednesday sponsored by the American Public Transportation Association.
"This is a significant sea-change in how governments interact with the federal government," Stanton said.
Areas looking to expand existing transit systems will have to go to the voters rather than Washington, said Richard White, acting president of the APTA.
"Cities are going to have to be more self-reliant," he said. "The slow pace of federal funding means that local money will be needed to push projects forward."
The five years of federal transit funding provided by 2015's Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act is not sufficient, White said.
The FAST Act provides a total of $48.7 billion in federal transit funding and $11.5 billion of transit grants over the five years.
"It's a good start but the job is not done yet," he said. "There will be a role for the federal government in transit for a long time."
Federal funding accounts for 18% of a transit agency's budget on average with 21% from local taxes, 26% from fare revenues, and 24% from the state, White said.
The Federal Transit Administration said in 2013 that 40% of the nation's buses and 25% of the rail transit assets were in marginal or good condition. The estimated backlog of deferred transit maintenance in 2013 totaled $86 billion and was growing by $2.5 billion per year, the FTA said.
Eliminating the existing transit system preservation backlog by 2030 would require annual expenditures of $18.5 billion per year from all levels of government, the Federal funding for transit maintenance through fiscal 2020 will average $2.6 billion per year.
The 49 transportation funding measures on Nov. 8 ballots is the most ever on a single day and brings the total this year to a record-breaking 77 elections in 26 states, said Jason Jordan, director of the Center for Transportation Excellence.
"The scope and level of potential investment in transit through these measures is unprecedented," he said. "This is the largest number of transit referendums seen since we started tracking these issues in 2000."
Proposed revenue streams on the ballot are split almost equally between sales taxes and property taxes, Jordan said.
Voters have already approved 21 of 28 transportation initiatives at elections this year, Jordan said.
The 2016 total surpasses the previous high for transit elections of 62 in 2012. The low point was a mere 11 transit ballot measures in 2009, Jordan said.
The Eno Center for Transportation said last week that a record-breaking $250 billion or more of additional transportation funding, including highways and transit, are at stake at the Nov. 8 election.
