Sarah Kline, Policy Director at Reconnecting America, released the following statement on Transportation for America’s behalf:

“This bill from Senator Brown is badly needed in many cities across the country. We are in the midst of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, with gas prices wildly fluctuating, and hard-working Americans need more affordable transportation options. Despite booming ridership, transit agencies across the country are having to cut service or raise fares, leaving people stranded without a way to get to work, to school, or to the doctor. This bill by Senator Brown will help to ensure that people in cities of all sizes can continue relying on public transportation to get them where they need to go.”

Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood is (rightfully) touting the great news on his blog this morning that the Federal Transit Administration met their ambitious deadline for distributing 100% of the transit funds from the stimulus package. That’s great news, but it should be accompanied by the sobering reminder that these public transportation systems that get people to work each day largely couldn’t use that money to keep from having to cut service at a time when it’s needed the most.

The FTA has now doled out 881 grants totaling $7.5 billion since the stimulus was signed last year, and LaHood notes that these grants have funded the purchase of nearly 12,000 buses, vans and rail vehicles; construction or renovation of more than 850 transit facilities; and $620 million in preventive maintenance to keep systems running smoothly.

But what about the hundreds of agencies cutting back service, raising fares, or laying off workers — like the terrible story from Atlanta we chronicled last Friday, where 25-30% of all service may be history come June?

Unfortunately, the FTA’s hands were tied with the rules for the grants set by Congress, which meant that almost all of the money had to be used to purchase new equipment or perform maintenance, even if those agencies couldn’t afford to hire or train the new drivers to operate the buses or railcars. We say “most of the money,” because a group of lawmakers were able to successfully include a provision in a separate bill during the summer that made it possible for local transit agencies to spend up to 10% of their transit stimulus money on operations. But in many places like St. Louis, where the deficit was ten times the $4.6 million they could now spend on service, that’s not enough to keep from having to make drastic cuts or lay workers off, even while getting an influx of federal money.

With a full transportation bill likely months away, in the short term we need to urge the Senate to include money in any future jobs bills to help keep transit systems running.

With millions who depend on these systems each day to get to work, making sure that reliable transit service doesn’t disappear will help get them to their jobs quickly and conveniently each day, ensuring that many of them stay employed.

As we’ve been documenting on our transit cuts page and interactive map, nearly 100 transit agencies have already cut service, raised fares, laid off workers — or are considering cuts of some kind to cope with the severe budget crises facing counties, towns and cities across the country. Nevertheless, as the new report from APTA shows, total ridership reached 2.6 million in the first three months of 2009 — nearly matching last year’s record numbers — and proving that public transportation is critical to American’s livelihood, even if it has become less accessible and affordable for many.

While these cutbacks have caused many agencies to lose some riders, many others are doing more than just hanging on in these tough times:

• King County Department of Transportation in Seattle reported a 16.8% increase in light rail ridership, despite increasing fares earlier this year.
• The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority in Boston logged a 5.4% increase in ridership on its commuter rail system, in spite of a budget crisis that is prompting talks of a 15 to 20% fare increase, along with service cuts.
• The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System experienced a 5.3% jump in ridership on its bus system, despite eliminating numerous bus routes and cutting others earlier this year.

While this crisis is causing extreme hardship for many agencies, most of them (specifically, those that service metro areas with more than 200,000 people) are not allowed to use federal dollars to help run their buses and rail systems. Congress recently approved legislation that allows 10 percent of the stimulus funds to be used on operating assistance, but this will not continue once those recovery funds run out.

U.S. Representative Russ Carnahan of St. Louis — one of the cities hardest hit by transit cuts — is sponsoring a bill that would allow transit agencies to plug the holes in their operating budgets with federal dollars on a permanent basis. Let’s make sure we get behind Rep. Carnahan and the others are working to rebuild our economy with a revitalized transportation system.

UPDATED: 14 systems added to the map, bringing the total to 51 transit systems.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — With ridership at record highs, transit agencies across the country are facing unprecedented fiscal crises in this economic downturn, leading to potential job losses, service cuts and fare hikes that are hitting at the worst possible time, a new compilation of nationwide data shows.

To view the map of proposed service cuts nationwide, please visit: http://t4america.org/transitcuts

The widespread nature of the crisis, as mapped by the Transportation for America coalition, underscores the impact of the failure to include service-preservation funds in the economic stimulus bill introduced by the U.S. House leadership last week and proposed today in the Senate.  Emergency assistance to save jobs and service, which had been proposed by House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair James Oberstar (D-Minn.), was removed from the bill without explanation. Funds for rail and other transit construction were cut, as well, while funding levels for highway construction remained intact.

Transportation for America’s informal audit highlights 38 51 communities across the U.S. that are considering eliminating jobs, cutting service, and raising fares, but will receive no assistance under the current recovery proposal to prevent these deep cuts to an essential service.

The far-reaching and broad cuts will directly affect transit employees and riders who are among the most at risk in this time of economic upheaval. These 38 51 systems together are responsible for more than 20 million daily trips by everyday Americans on public transportation.

“Our economy increasingly relies on public transit to function effectively, yet local systems are being forced to lay off workers and make cuts that will slow down economic growth and punish workers — including many low-income households who rely on transit to reach their jobs,” said Geoff Anderson, co-chair of the Transportation For America coalition.

“If we are serious about putting Americans back-to-work with this recovery plan, shouldn’t we also ensure that those who already have jobs don’t lose them?”

Emergency operating assistance in the recovery package will create and save jobs immediately with relatively limited investment. According to the Amalgamated Transit Union, every $1 billion invested in public transit operations generates 60,000 jobs.  Without federal assistance the multibillion dollar transit industry, which employs nearly 400,000 workers will continue to lay off workers at a rapid pace.

The following cities are proposing to reduce service, cut jobs, raise fares, or all of the above due to economy-induced budget shortfalls. View the map at http://t4america.org/transitcuts

(1/27/09) Cities Added: Eugene, OR; Cincinatti, OH; Augusta, GA; Clark County (Vancouver), WA; Carbon County, PA; Binghamton, NY; Orlando, FL; Olympia , WA; San Francisco-San Jose-Gilroy, CA (Caltrain); San Mateo, CA; Monterrey, CA; Hollister, CA; Orange County, CA; Western Contra Costa County, CA

Refer to the map at www.t4america.org/transitcuts for details on each city.