Search title image

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

August 2005

SAFETEA-LU — Title 3: Public Transportation

SAFETEA-LU provides $45.3 billion in federal transit funding over five years (through Fiscal Year 2009). This translates to an average annual increase of 33 percent over transit funding in TEA 21. The bill provides the nation’s transit systems with $8.6 billion in Fiscal Year 2006, $9 billion in Fiscal Year 2007, $9.7 billion in Fiscal Year 2008, and $10.3 billion in Fiscal Year 2009.

New “Small Starts” Program

The Federal Transit Administration will now offer a Small Starts Program (Sec. 3011) of capital grants of up to $75 million for fixed-guideway systems. Small Starts projects may not total more than $250 million in capital costs. The fixed-guideway definition now includes bus lines if one of the following conditions are met: (1) a substantial portion of the project operates in a separate right-of-way dedicated for public transit use during peak hour operations, or (2) the project represents a substantial investment in a “defined corridor” as evidenced by features such as park-and-ride lots, transit stations, bus arrival and departure signage, intelligent transportation systems technology, traffic signal priority, off-board fare collection, advanced bus technology and other features that support the long-term corridor investment. A total of $600 million is set aside for the small starts program out of the overall New Starts Program (the federal transit program for major capital expansion projects).

New Freedom Program

Congress established a New Freedom Program (sec. 3019) of formula funding for new transportation services and public transit alternatives beyond those required under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. The program would be allocated using a formula based on the disabled population in a state, with 60 percent of the funds allocated to designated recipients in urbanized areas with populations over 200,000, 20 percent to states for use in urbanized areas of less than 200,000 and 20 percent to states for use in rural areas. The program contains language requiring coordination of transportation services with other federal human service programs.

Criteria for Large Capital Grants

Recipients of major capital grants (over $75 million) — the typical “New Start” transit project requiring a full-funding grant agreement (FFGA) to proceed to construction — may receive funding only if they are able to “maintain and operate the entire public transportation system without requiring a reduction in existing public transportation services or level of service to operate the proposed project.” The minimum local match requirement remains 20 percent, although the FFGA evaluation must favorably consider “the extent to which the project has a local financial commitment that exceeds the required non-federal share of the cost of the project.”

Bus/Bus Facilities Earmark for Ferries

SAFETEA-LU earmarks $10 million from the federal Bus and Bus Facilities Program to the San Francisco Water Transit Authority for ferry boats or ferry terminal facilities. (View the Bay Area SAFETEA-LU Earmarks Table for a complete listing of bus and transit earmarks.)

Cost-effectiveness Exemptions

The BART-to-San Jose/Santa Clara extension and San Francisco Muni 3rd Street light-rail project need not meet the FTA’s “medium” cost effectiveness rating in order to qualify for federal funding.

Job Access and Reverse Commute Program

SAFETEA-LU makes the Job Access and Reverse Commute Program (Sec. 3018), also known as JARC, a formula program rather than discretionary. Funds are allocated in proportion to the number of eligible low-income individuals and welfare recipients in an urban area, with 60 percent of the funds going to designated recipients in urban areas with more than 200,000 population, 20 percent to states for urban areas with less than 200,000 population, and 20 percent to states for rural areas. The bill requires coordination between private, nonprofit, and public transportation providers and other federal programs.

National Research and Technology Programs

The U.S. Department of Transportation is directed to undertake a number of transit research initiatives in SAFETEA-LU (Sec. 3046), including:

  • A public transportation national security study done in cooperation with the National Academy of Sciences. The study is intended to measure the value of public transportation in the nation’s urban areas to national security, and gauge the ability of transit to respond to emergency situations.
  • Establishment and operation of a Center for Transit-Oriented Development to, among other things, generate standards and definitions for transit-oriented development. The center is also tasked with providing research assistance and technical support to metropolitan planning agencies and public transit operators.
  • Transportation Equity Research to study impacts that transportation planning, investments and operations have on transit-dependent minority and low-income populations.
  • Human Services Transportation Coordination to improve and harmonize the federal human services transportation resources with those of the Department of Transportation.
  •  A Public Transportation Participation Pilot Program to support planning and public participation activities related to public transportation projects.