The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) recently sent Nathaniel P. Ford Sr., CEO of Jacksonville Transportation Authority, to testify before the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, highlighting public transportation’s role in moving people, creating jobs and growing the economy.

How Federal Transit Funding Impacts the Nation

Ford focused on the critical investments needed to improve our nation’s public transit, passenger rail, and multimodal infrastructure. He emphasized the positive impact of federal investments on local communities and the national economy, especially how they support millions of public—and private-sector jobs.

“As this Committee develops the next Surface Transportation Authorization bill, we urge you to recognize that public transportation creates economic growth opportunities for businesses of all sizes, and it creates good-paying, family-supporting jobs,” Ford said. “Transit not only connects workers to jobs, students to school, and people to healthcare, it is an economic driver for the private sector—77% of federal public transportation investment flows to American businesses.”

Ford continued, “Transit capital projects support businesses in communities across the country. According to the latest data and analysis from APTA, federal funding impacts more than 2,000 suppliers in 48 States and Washington, D.C., including smaller urban and rural areas where transit buses, railcars, and their parts are often manufactured.”

An Ongoing Effort to Invest in Transit

This testimony is part of the APTA’s advocacy efforts urging Congress to continue to invest in public transit infrastructure to help ensure that transit agencies can continue to meet the mobility demands of people across the nation and continue to drive efficiency and safety improvements by leading in the adoption of new technologies.

APTA recommends that Congress build upon the successful investment of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to make federal dollars go further, including: 

• Conduct a zero-based review of Capital Investment Grants (CIG) program requirements to eliminate any requirements that do not meet a two-part test: to build good CIG projects that protect the taxpayer interest.

• Provide flexibility for public transit agencies to acquire land prior to completion of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review, on parity with highway projects.

• Help address transit workforce needs by eliminating the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) under-the-hood testing for bus operators.

• Improve drug testing processes and results by urging the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to certify laboratories needed to conduct oral fluid drug testing.

“Public transportation is beneficial to all Americans and is an essential service for many,” said Paul P. Skoutelas, president and CEO of APTA. “Meaningful and sustained investments in public transportation helps create jobs, build a stronger economy and leads to more opportunities for communities across our country.”

Ford’s full testimony can be found here.