Congress Should Restore Transit Funding

Transit agencies get some money from the Highway Trust Fund, so when the fund runs out of money, those agencies will lose one source of revenue. The greatest impact will be on rural agencies that live in communities that cannot afford basic service.

Here is the message that I emailed my congressional representatives about this issue:

I recently learned that when the Highway Trust Fund runs out of money in September, transit agencies will stop receiving money. This is a problem. 70% of Americans want money for buses and trains increased.

Congress should restore this money. In fact, Congress should increase funding. I would like to see buses and trains get $8 billion more. Investments in buses and trains increase tax revenue, so this proposal would pay for itself.

A Way to Support Local Transit

Senator Chris Dodd recently introduced the Public Transportation Preservation Act (S. 3412) . So far only Senators from states with good transit are co-sponsoring this bill. This act would give local transit agencies money to maintain basic bus and train service, something that we are losing now.

The companion legislation in the House is HR 5418.

So please call your Senators and Representatives and ask them to co-sponsor this legislation.