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1 Federal Financial Support for Public Transportation 1 (March 22, 2022)

handle is hein.congrec/flflstfpc0001 and id is 1 raw text is: T he federal government has long provided sig- nificant financial support for public transpor- tation. Federal spending accounted for about one-sixth of the $79 billion in public spending on transit in 2019. During the coronavirus pandemic, the federal government played an even greater role in transit funding. In addition to the government's regular annual financial assistance to transit agencies, lawmakers allocated nearly $70 billion in onetime supplemental funding during 2020 and 2021. About one-third of that amount had been spent as of the end of 2021. Following the provision of the onetime funding, law- makers enacted the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA, Public Law 117-58), which increased the federal government's annual support for public tran- sit through 2026. The law provided about $18 billion annually for public transportation programs from 2022 to 2026, 42 percent more than the amount provided from 2016 to 2021. In addition to that increase in funding designated specifically for public transportation, the IIJA also provided about $13 billion in total funding during the 2022-2026 period for new surface transpor- tation programs, potentially including mass transit. In this report, the Congressional Budget Office describes public transportation in the United States and explains how the federal government supports mass transit. The report also explains how financing subsidies provide additional federal support. Public Transportation in the United States The use of public transportation is concentrated in large cities, particularly in the New York City metropolitan area. Together, federal, state, and local governments represent the largest source of funding for public trans- portation. Transit agencies also rely on passenger fares and other operating receipts. In 2019 (before the onset of the pandemic), the federal government accounted for about one-sixth of all funding for public transportation, including about one-third of spending for capital invest- ment in vehicles such as buses and trains, and transit structures such as buildings and rails. Transit agencies have experienced substantial financial challenges during the pandemic, owing largely to a sharp, sustained falloff in ridership. Use of Transit by Mode and Urban Area Most travel on public transportation is by bus or by heavy rail, such as subways; on 85 percent of trips, peo- ple use one or the other.1 Most other trips are made on commuter rail or light rail, such as streetcars. Transit service is offered by about 2,200 public trans- portation systems that receive funding from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). Almost all public trans- portation trips are taken on urban transit systems, which serve areas with at least 50,000 residents.2 Not only is almost all transit use urban, but it is heav- ily concentrated in a handful of large cities and their 1. In this report, estimates of the number of trips taken on public transportation represent the number of times that transit passengers board a public transportation vehicle. Each time passengers get on a different vehicle during their transit journey-whether they pay a separate fare, use a transfer, or board a vehicle for free-it is counted as a trip (called an unlinked trip by transit officials). 2. See American Public Transportation Association, 2021 Public Transportation Fact Book (APTA, 2021), https://tinyurl.com/ yjvcxeh4. Notes: Data from the Federal Transit Administration reflect the reporting periods used by individual transit agencies, which may be calendar years, state fiscal years, or federal fiscal years, which run from October 1 to September 30 and are designated by the calendar year in which they end. All other years referred to in this report are federal fiscal years unless otherwise indicated. Numbers in the text, tables, and figures may not add up to totals because of rounding.

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