A national coalition of chambers of commerce, economic development groups, business districts, and other business groups that support federal funding for public transit to make their communities more economically vibrant.

The importance of robust public transit for local economies has been growing clearer in recent years. In 2015, a report from Smart Growth America—Core Values—showed that hundreds of businesses were moving to walkable, transit accessible downtowns because that’s where talented workers want to be. Amazon’s search for an HQ2 added further evidence. The top 20 finalists competing to be Amazon’s second headquarters made the finals in large part because of their existing transit systems or ambitious plans to build them.

However, many on Capitol Hill haven’t gotten the memo. The Trump administration proposed eliminating funding for transit grants in its first two budgets and cutting the program by $1 billion in its third, most recent budget. While Congress has so far rejected those requests, it remains to be seen whether legislators will give transit a more equitable split of overall federal transportation funding as they draft long-term federal transportation policy (current policy expires in September 2020).

That’s why Transportation for America has organized a coalition of local business groups—to show transit’s importance to the local economies that make up our national economy. The members of Chambers for Transit are clamoring for transit investment to improve access to jobs, spark new development, and create the kinds of vibrant communities that can attract a talented workforce. Download our one-pager on Chambers for Transit here.

Defending federal transit funding

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