Research on Transit
International Ratings Firm Evaluates U.S. Transit
On June 16, 2003, Fitch Ratings released a special report
entitled: "Running for the Train: the Path Ahead for U.S. Transit."
Fitch rated $24 billion of debt involving 27 securities issued by
16 transit agencies and related authorities. The report includes
sections on the following issues: public transit financing, an overview
of public transportation, federal support for public transportation,
state and local transit support, transit's growing challenges, rating
considerations for transit operations, rating considerations for
transit capital, alternative financing options, financial management
and service delivery initiatives and the "path ahead."
Fitch Ratings is an international rating agency based in London
and New York. They provide capital market participants ratings and
research on financial institutions, loan products, structured finance,
insurance and public finance markets. To read the full report, download
the following PDF file: http://www.fitchratings.com/corporate/reports/report.cfm?rpt_id=174726
(PDF File)
GAO
Report on New Starts Transit Program (PDF File)
A new government report on the federal New Starts transit program
suggests that the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) should (1)
change their regulations in order to accurately reflect the level
of federal funding share local transit agencies can expect to see
(this share level has recently changed and that adjustment is not
reflected in FTA’s paperwork); and (2) better assist local
transit agencies in developing data (using travel forecasting models)
that must be submitted to the FTA under a newly implemented ratings
process. The federal New Starts program provides funding for the
construction or extension of a fixed guideway systems (light-rail,
bus rapid transit, etc.) based on cost-effectiveness, alternatives
analysis results and the degree of local financial commitment. The
report, prepared by the Government Accounting Office, also discusses
the potential effects of the fiscal year 2004 budget on New Starts.
The U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
and the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
were provided copies of the report (GAO-03-701), which was written
as part of an annual requirement under the federal surface transportation
law. JUNE/JULY 2003
Transportation
and Race: Moving to Equity
Harvard’s Civil Rights Project and the Center for Community
Change released a new report, “Moving to Equity,” on
June 17, 2003 highlighting the potential effects of the upcoming
transportation reauthorization on minorities and their communities.
The report explores the demographic realities and dependency on
public transit, transportation costs and inequities and barriers
in the transportation planning process. Recommendations made in
the report include: (1) increasing funding for enforcement of civil
rights and environmental laws and regulations, such as Title VI
and NEPA; (2) improving data collection that can be used to evaluate
the impacts of transportation projects and plans on minority and
low-income communities; and (3) recognizing the interaction between
transportation, land use, and social equity, and support programs
that understand and address this interaction. JUNE/JULY 2003
"Keep
it Moving" Midwest Transportation Funding Report
The Joyce Foundation, an organization that works to improve the
quality of life in the Great Lakes region, released a new report
on transportation spending in the Midwest over the last 12 years.
The report urges Congress to maintain existing funding systems for
public transit and other alternative transportation modes and resist
the temptation to re-emphasize road construction. The study reports
that over $42 billion in federal transportation dollars went to
the Midwest, but the region has still lagged behind in vital areas,
such as increasing transit ridership and improving air quality.
Meanwhile, traffic congestion costs the Midwest more than $10 billion
annually; freight-rail tie-ups in Chicago (the world's third-largest
intermodal port) slow down shipments nationally; and promising light-rail
and high-speed rail projects remain stalled for lack of funds. According
to the report's authors, the experience of the seven Midwestern
states examined in the study are representative of the successes
and challenges of the rest of the country, and highlight the need
to reaffirm the federal commitment to non-highway transportation
options, such as buses, light rail and bike lanes. JUNE/JULY 2003
Brookings
Institution: Improving Efficiency and Equity in Transportation Finance
This report summarizes the major changes that are altering
transportation finance, and argues that an increased reliance on
user fees remains the most hopeful way of maintaining efficient
and equitable funding systems for transportation. "User fees" are
funds collected from individuals who use the roads. The most common
user fees are tolls and fuel taxes, which impose charges generally
proportionally to travelers' use of roadways. Because of the discrepancy
between higher transportation program costs and shrinking incoming
revenue from fuel taxes, the bulk of transportation funding is being
shifted to local governments. Sales taxes and voter-approved ballot
measures are popular funding avenues at the local level, while user-fees
are used less often. The report argues that while fuel taxes are
“viable and practical” in the short term, that user fees collected
electronically assure the most flexible and suitable long term method
of user fee financing for transportation. By Martin Wachs, May
2003
Defenders
of Wildlife and STPP: Second Nature--Improving Transportation Without
Putting Nature Second
This report, released on Earth Day 2003, suggests that
the nation’s natural environment and wildlife habitats are at risk
from both development patterns and the roads that make the development
possible. The study assesses ways to lessen and avoid impacts and
applauds projects in several states - including Montana, Florida
and California – that reduce transportation’s negative impacts on
natural habitats. The report argues that transportation plays a
key role in the loss of species, damage to ecosystems, loss of wildlife
habitat and compromised water quality. Land consumption, habitat
fragmentation, and replacement of natural cover with impervious
surfaces are to blame for transportation’s role in this destructive
cycle. The report concludes with related environmental policy recommendations
for inclusion in the reauthorization of the federal transportation
bill, known as “TEA-21.” Defenders of Wildlife and STPP, April
2003.
Prescription
to Help Cure Ailing American Economy
APTA and the Transportation Construction Coalition released
new analysis titled: "House Committee Bipartisan Plan Offers
Prescription to Help Cure Ailing American Economy."
Analysis completed by the world’s leading econometric forecasting
firm, Global Insight, Inc., found that a proposal in the U.S. House
of Representatives to increase federal highway and public transportation
investment would provide a major boost to the American economy.
The bipartisan House proposal to reauthorize the federal surface
transportation policy, or “TEA-21,” would add $290 billion to the
nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) over the next six years—or
about $48 billion annually. This means every federal dollar invested
in highway and transit capital outlays would generate over $2.50
in additional U.S. economic activity. The proposal would also generate
over the next six years a $129 billion increase in consumer disposable
income, a $98 billion increase in consumer spending, an additional
$21 billion in equipment investment by the nation’s businesses and
an increase of $102 billion in Federal tax receipts. May 13,
2003.
Brookings
Institution: Gas Tax Basics
In this report, Brookings experts explore the “collection,
allocation, and use of federal and state taxes on motor fuels.”
Their findings reveal that gas tax revenues make up a large percentage
(more than 1/3) of funds available for highways at both the state
and federal level. In the late 1990s, the incoming gas tax funds
plateaued with an actual decline in gas tax revenues when these
figures are adjusted for inflation. At the state level the gas tax
has generally failed to match inflation even though twenty-eight
states have raised their gas taxes since 1992; only three states
raised their gas tax rate enough to compensate for inflation. Thirty
states currently restrict their ability to fund mass transit or
air quality improvement projects by dedicating their gas tax revenue
for highway purposes only. In addition, the allocation of gas tax
funds in several states creates what what Brookings calls “donor
regions” in which cities and urban areas are paying significantly
more into the gas tax accounts than they are receiving in transportation
funds. Brookings Institution Publication by Robert Puentes and
Ryan Prince, March 2003
Brookings
Institution: TEA-21 Reauthorization
In anticipation of the federal surface transportation policy reauthorization
this year, Brookings has released an evaluation of the successes
and challenges our nation has faced in implementing previous authorizations
(ISTEA and TEA-21). Brookings advocates that Congress keep the ISTEA/TEA-21
framework in place while focusing more attention on metropolitan
areas. The brief argues that in the upcoming reauthorization, metropolitan
areas should receive more tools and resources “in exchange
for enhanced accountability, to get transportation policy right
for their regions.” Report by: Bruce Katz, Robert Puentes
and Scott Bernstein, March 2003.
Slanted
Pavement--How Ohio's Transportation Spending Shortchanges Cities
and Suburbs
Brookings Institution, March 2003. This report examines transportation
spending patterns in the state of Ohio between 1980 and 1998. While
some transportation systems spend where there is a great need and
others spend where the contribution of tax revenue is higher, Ohio
does neither. It has allocated state transportation funds away from
cities and suburbs and placed a disproportionate fiscal burden on
urban areas. The paper identifies the locations in Ohio where current
highway contracts are placed and where gas and vehicle registration
taxes are collected and compares them to indicators of transportation
demand and need throughout the state. The paper concludes that Ohio's
highway dollars were spent disproportionately in rural counties,
while the most significant gas tax revenues were being generated
in the urban counties. The authors also explore the three primary
reasons for this “anti-urban bias,” demonstrate how
this system contributes to the spread of development into rural
areas and offer ways that Ohio and other states can reform their
transportation funding systems. Report by: Edward W. Hill, Billie
Geyer, Kevin O'Brien, Claudette Robey, John Brennan and Robert Puentes.
Return to Top
|
