March 18, 2003
Dear Senator:
On behalf of the 1,500 member organizations
of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), I urge
you to vote for an amendment to the FY 2004 Budget Resolution that
will be offered by Senators Inhofe, Jeffords, Bond, Reid, Shelby
and Sarbanes. The amendment would assume $255 billion for highways
and $56.5 billion for public transportation investment over the
next six years.
Increased investment in our nation’s surface transportation
infrastructure is critical to the economy, job creation, and an
integrated intermodal surface transportation system. Thanks in part
to the federal investment in transit infrastructure under TEA 21,
public transportation ridership has grown steadily in recent years.
Americans are using transit at numbers not seen in forty years,
with ridership growth of more than 22% over a five-year period.
Despite this progress, transportation experts agree that investment
has not kept pace with the increasing demand for public transportation.
Transit industry capital needs will average more than $43 billion
per year, from Fiscal Year (FY) 2004 through FY 2009, according
to several recent reports.
Public transportation is a key component of an
effective and integrated transportation infrastructure that is the
underpinning of a healthy economy, facilitating the movement of
goods and people in every community. Federal investment in transit
capital also benefits the many businesses that produce goods and
services for the public transportation industry, and creates jobs
as new projects are built and existing systems are modernized. As
the demand for public transportation service continues to grow,
we must continue to maintain and improve the existing system.
We appreciate your consideration of our views.
If you have questions, please have your staff contact Rob Healy
of my staff at (202) 496-4811, or rhealy@apta.com.
Sincerely yours,
William W. Millar
President
WWM/cbo
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