(This letter was sent to all members of Congress.)
May 17, 2001
The Honorable Trent Lott
Senate Majority Leader
Office of the Senate Majority Leader
S-230 Capitol Building
Washington, DC 20510-7010
Dear Mr. Majority Leader:
As the Administration and Congress take up legislation implementing a
national energy policy, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) and its 1,400 member organizations urge you to consider the important role public transportation plays in that regard. A balanced and healthy intermodal surface transportation system can complement a variety of energy initiatives.
Public transportation ridership has increased by 21% over the past five
years, with more than 9.4 billion trips taken in 2000. As more and more people use public transportation to commute to and from work each year, those individuals contribute to the nation’s energy conservation effort and reduce our reliance on imported energy. For example, if 1,000 solo commuters leave their cars at home and commute on existing transit service for a year, the nation reduces fuel consumption by 273,000 gallons.
Public transportation plays a key role in energy conservation while
providing citizens with the opportunities and choices to accomplish the things important to them. Moreover, public transportation benefits communities while also helping to conserve energy. Studies show that those communities that have high quality public transportation use less energy than those that do not have public transportation.
We urge you to consider supporting the following legislative initiatives as part of a comprehensive energy policy:
- Provide fully authorized funding for transit capital investment under the Transportation
Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA 21). For FY 2002, $7.7 billion is
authorized. Increased investment can make transit available to the many Americans who do
not now have access to it.
- Oppose efforts to eliminate or reduce the tax on federal motor fuels. This would be the
worst time to reduce our commitment to investment in surface transportation
infrastructure, particularly since public transportation plays a key role in energy
conservation goals, jobs, and economic development.
The Honorable Trent Lott -2- May 17, 2001
- Provide the same incentives in federal tax law for transit and vanpools that are
available for parking. Enact bipartisan legislation (S. 217 / H.R. 318) to increase the
monthly limit on tax free fringe benefits for commuters who use transit or vanpools to get
to work. This would set the limit for transit and vanpools at the level provided for
commuters who drive to work and park.
- Attract private investment to expand transportation options by allowing public/private
partnerships to issue tax-exempt bonds to finance transit capital projects.
These are just some of the proposals that could make public transportation a critical part of a comprehensive energy policy. We appreciate your consideration of our views on this important issue. If you have questions, please feel free to contact me or Rob Healy of my Government Affairs staff at (202) 496-4811 or
e-mail at rhealy@apta.com.
Sincerely yours,
William W. Millar
President
WWM/ked
Some of these pages may include links to documents in the Adobe PDF format. Please download the Adobe PDF reader if you have not already done so.
