“The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) and its 1,500 members applaud the bipartisan leaders of the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, including Chairman James Oberstar (D-MN), Ranking Member John Mica (R-FL), Highway and Transit Subcommittee Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-OR), and Ranking Member John Duncan (R-TN) for laying out a vision for upgrading and modernizing our transportation systems to address the challenges of the 21st century.

The summary of the proposal entitled ‘A Blueprint for Investment Reform’ presents a strategic vision that recognizes public transportation should be integral to boosting the economy, promoting energy independence, improving the environment, and providing mobility choices.

APTA is extremely pleased and commends the Committee leadership for its forward thinking approach.  The proposal includes a $450 billion investment in surface transportation programs, with an additional $50 billion to support President Obama’s vision for the creation of a High Speed Rail network in the United States.  Within the overall investment amount, $99.8 billion is proposed for public transportation programs administered by the Federal Transit Administration – a more than 90 percent increase over SAFETEA-LU levels.  This funding will be essential to helping to support the doubling of ridership during the next 20 years and begins to address the cost of bringing capital assets into good repair.

We applaud the Committee’s efforts to streamline the process for public transportation systems to obtain the necessary federal approvals for new public transportation projects as well as funding for current transportation needs.  

The American people have demonstrated that they want more travel options.  More than 10.7 billion trips were taken in the U.S. last year – a modern record.  APTA’s first quarter of 2009 report shows that ridership remains strong and exceeded expectations with nearly 2.6 billion trips taken on public transportation, despite a quarter with significant declines in gas prices, higher unemployment and a general economic downturn. 

We are optimistic about working with the Committee as we seize the opportunity to truly make the next transportation funding program a transformational bill.  Now is the time to make the critical investments that the nation requires in its public transportation systems, highway infrastructure and high speed rail corridors.”