Reconnecting America Menu Bar  
Up Front

Featured Stories  Feed-icon-12x12
ANDRIANA ABARIOTES JOINS RECONNECTING AMERICA BOARD OF DIRECTORS.
Reconnecting America CEO John Robert Smith cites her outstanding skill set in the arena of community development and affordable housing

LEVERAGING FEDERAL TRANSIT FUNDS TO PROMOTE JOB CONNECTIVITY, AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Reconnecting America offers ideas on how to improve federal New Starts and Small Starts project justification criteria

RECONNECTING AMERICA ENDORSES LIVABLE COMMUNITIES ACT AMENDMENT
Letter from RA, Transportation for America and LOCUS backs creation of funding tools for TOD infrastructure

Best Practices 
Case Studies on Transit and Livable Communities in Rural and Small Town America
Offers a dozen examples of small towns and rural regions working to make their communities more livable · PDF

Bus Rapid Transit and Transit Oriented Development: Case Studies on Transit Oriented Development Around Bus Rapid Transit Systems in North America and Australia
Provides examples of BRT-based TOD along corridors Brisbane, Australia; Cleveland, Ohio; Boston, Mass.; and Ottawa, Ontario · PDF

Bus and Rail Transit Preferential Treatments in Mixed Traffic
This synthesis series reports on current knowledge and practice, in a compact format, · PDF

Projects  Feed-icon-12x12
MAKING THE TWIN CITIES MORE WALKABLE
New CTOD report provides methodology for assessing and boosting the walkability of a place

CAPTURING THE VALUE OF TRANSIT
New report by Center for Transit-Oriented Development released

FINANCING TRANSIT-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT
Policy Options and Strategies in the San Francisco Bay Area

The United States Of Transit Cuts

Downturn forcing service and Job cuts, fare hikes, even as ridership grows

With transit ridership at record highs across the U.S., transit agencies are cutting jobs and service and raising fares as the economic downturn wreaks havoc on their operating budgets. According to the New York Times there will be no more service at 2,300 bus stops in St. Louis; WMATA, which broke ridership records on inauguration day, is cutting 900 jobs; Charlotte, where ridership on a new light rail line is the envy of other transit agencies, is cutting service and raising fares; NYC’s MTA is contemplating the deepest service cuts in years; in California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed eliminating operating assistance for transit agencies altogether.

Surely this will deal yet another blow to the weakened economy and hit the transit-dependent hard. The problem is that farebox revenues typically pay for only a portion of the cost of operations, and declining city and state tax revenues have cut into other sources of operating revenue. So far there’s no money in the economic stimulus bill for operations; all the transit funding is for capital expenditures, and even that was reduced from $17 billion to $10 billion, though amendments may eventually raise the amount, while highway spending in the bill remains untouched at $30 million.


View Larger Map
Yellow = Service Cuts Green = Fare Increases Purple = Service Cuts and Fare Increases Red = Service Cuts and Job Losses Turquoise = Fare Increases and Job Losses $$ = Service Cuts, Job Losses, and Fare Increases. This information is compiled from media and online coverage of proposed cuts in these agencies, and is not comprehensive. Most cuts are proposed and subject to change. The map will be updated as warranted.

This map, compiled from nationwide media coverage, highlights operating cuts in 53 communities. According to the Amalgamated Transit Union, every $1 billion invested in public transit operations generates 60,000 jobs. This map is posted at Transportation for America. The Transportation for America coalition is co-chaired by Reconnecting America and Smart Growth America. Please join!

Posted February 3, 2009

Tracks

CTOD Blog

Where's Reconnecting America

donate

Transportation for America

Partners In Innovation

Related Stories
ANDRIANA ABARIOTES JOINS RECONNECTING AMERICA BOARD OF DIRECTORS.
Reconnecting America CEO John Robert Smith cites her outstanding skill set in the arena of community development and affordable housing

BLOGOSPHERE: PARTNERSHIPS FOR INCREASING INFRASTRUCTURE
Brookings

BLOGOSPHERE: TRANSIT TRUST FUND, 21ST CENTURY SOLUTION
Greater Greater Washington

STATIONS/LIVABILITY/ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND INTERCITY PASSENGER RAIL


TRANSPORTATION CHOICES COALITION


QUOTE OF THE DAY
Donald Shoup

BLOGOSPHERE: PARTNERS IN INNOVATION, TRANSIT
NHC Open House

BLOGOSPHERE: THE NEW SUBURBAN DREAM
California Planning and Development Report

NATIONAL: RECESSION WEAKENS NIMBY RESISTANCE
Costar

BLOGOSPHERE: A DIFFERENT MODEL FOR TRANSIT LINES
Next American City + Must Read

More related . . .