An Investment in America: TEA 21 Reauthorization Proposal

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Investment in public transportation is paying off for America.

The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) in 1991 enhanced local transportation decision-making and provided significant stimulus to surface transportation programs. Reauthorized as the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA 21) in 1998, this landmark legislation has spurred successful public transportation projects and programs around the country. The result? In the last six years alone, public transportation use has risen 22 percent-faster than growth in vehicle miles traveled on our roadways and airline passenger miles logged over the same period. In 2001, Americans used public transportation 9.5 billion times-the highest ridership in more than 40 years.

But more investment is needed.

Our nation's roadways have become increasingly congested with traffic, our security needs have assumed heightened importance, and conserving energy and protecting the environment have become priorities. An efficient and balanced multimodal transportation system is essential to ensure the nation's economic productivity and safety, as well as a healthy, productive quality of life for all Americans.

Let's build on the TEA 21 record of success and keep America moving.

Reauthorizing TEA 21 surface transportation programs - at the highest levels - is critical to sustain and advance the U.S. renaissance in public transportation.

TEA 21 Reauthorization: An Investment in America

Because personal mobility and freedom are vital to our nation, APTA envisions a transportation system in which all modes function together to provide safe, secure, reliable mobility-and mobility choices-to an ever-growing and ever-changing traveling public. Public transportation should continue to play a key role in achieving national policy goals. Reauthorization of TEA 21 is critical to making this happen.

The Goal

• Provide greater transportation choices for all Americans by the end of this decade.
• Improve and expand public transportation services so that all Americans have the freedom to travel where and when they please.

The Policy

Our national transportation policy should include:

• Safe, secure, reliable mobility options. Create an integrated, balanced transportation system.

• Access to economic and social opportunities. Provide all Americans, from all walks of life, the opportunity to enrich their lives and communities through expanded public transportation.

• Economic growth, reduced traffic congestion. Invest in the development of transportation system capacity to stimulate the economy and reduce traffic congestion and its adverse effects on families, economic productivity and the environment.

• Recognition of public transportation's role in reaching critical national policy goals.
  Achieve stronger national security, cleaner air, better health, reduction of our dependency on foreign oil, more educational opportunities and a host of other national goals through public transportation investment.

• Significant increases in investment for highways and public transportation.
  Build on the success of TEA 21 and ISTEA to greatly expand investments in surface transportation.

 

Investment Levels and Programs for TEA 21 Reauthorization: Recommended Principles

To guide investment levels and programs for TEA 21 reauthorization, APTA recommends the following principles:

• Preserve a strong and growing federal investment in the surface transportation system.

• Retain the basic principles of TEA 21, including a needs-based transit program.

• Retain firewalls and guaranteed funding for the transit and highway programs.

• Continue growing the transit program to meet growing investment needs.

• Preserve and enhance the flexibility provided for highway and transit programs under TEA 21.

• Maintain current matching shares for transit and highway programs as authorized under TEA 21.

• Grow the program, first holding harmless TEA 21's FY 2003 funding levels and program structure, including Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) and other critical programs.

• Strongly support efforts to coordinate transportation policies of the nation's human and social service programs with federal transportation policy and funding programs.

Program Growth Proposal: Double Federal Transit Program by 2009

With documented investment needs in excess of $43 billion per year, APTA recommends doubling the annual federal transit program to $14.3 billion by FY 2009.

Federal Transit Program Funding Recommendations

All existing programs should have a base, held-harmless, funding level at their FY 2003 TEA 21 guaranteed level. Grow the guaranteed transit funding at 12 percent per year above the FY 2003 TEA 21 guaranteed level. The ratio of total formula funds divided by total capital investment funds should be no less than 1.15 to 1.00.

Funding growth in excess of the FY 2003 TEA 21 guaranteed level of $7.2 billion should generally be distributed as follows:

• Approximately 55% to additional funding for all TEA 21 programs funded in FY 2003 in proportion to their FY 2003 TEA 21 guaranteed funding level.

• Approximately 5% to address the special investment needs of smaller cities and rural areas.

• Approximately 18% for additional funding for the New Starts program.

• Approximately 18% for additional funding for the Fixed-Guideway Modernization program to be allocated under a new Tier 8 at 60% for "old" fixed-guideway communities, 40% for "new" fixed-guideway communities.

• Approximately 4% for additional funding for the Bus Capital program.

• Funding increases provided for five research and education programs totaling $15.6 million in FY 2004 and increasing $6.3 million each subsequent year.

• The sum of funding for metropolitan planning and state planning to be equal to 1.0 percent of the total funding for all programs.

 

Average Annual Cost to Improve Physical Conditions and System Performance

 

	In Billions
Replacement/rehabilitation of Existing Fleet	$5.6
Replacement/rehabilitation of other Transit Assets	$5.1
Expansion of Vehicle Fleet and other Transit Assets to Accommodate Ridership Growth and Improve Performance	$33.2
Total	$43.9

Source: Cambridge Systematics, Inc. (June 2002)

 

Recommendations on Policies and Procedures

Expediting Program Delivery

From streamlining the drug- and alcohol-testing program to simplifying the charter bus rule, APTA recommends a host of changes that would significantly simplify and improve existing federal program mechanisms including proposals to:

• Coordinate and consolidate federal reviews and audits

• Require notice and comment for FTA policy statements

• Make permanent the bus axle weight limitation exemption

• Simplify rural and small transit system programs

• Extend the emergency relief authority available under the highway program to the transit program

Improving the Planning Process

A range of proposals would seek a level playing field for highway and transit. The proposals would:

• Strengthen metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs)

• Improve public involvement

• Support use of major investment studies (MISs)

• Consolidate planning factors

• Encourage land use/transit linkage

• Improve the New Starts criteria and rankings

Streamlining the Procurement Process

APTA proposes new ways to simplify federal procurements, including providing transit systems the option of buying goods and services from the GSA schedule of contracts. Further, costly in-state dealership requirements for the purchase of buses should be eliminated.

Revising other Federal Programs

From the highway program to the tax code, a number of proposals would bring significant improvements to other federal programs affecting transportation policy.

These include:

• Enhancement of FHWA's flexible funding programs

• Extension of the transit commute benefit to all workers, provided at the same level as the parking benefit

• Enhanced coordination of human services with transportation policies

This brochure presents a summary of APTA's TEA 21 Reauthorization Proposal as adopted by the APTA Board of Directors on September 22, 2002.

For further details and updated information, please visit www.apta.com or contact us at:

American Public Transportation Association
1666 K Street, N.W.,
Washington, DC 20006-1215

Phone: 202-496-4800

Fax: 202-496-4324