U.S. transit systems are still scrambling to find alternate funding sources and adjust their service to new needs as ridership remains below pre-pandemic levels.

“How can you fill a revenue gap when the riders haven’t come back?” As Jared Brey writes in Governing, this is becoming an increasingly urgent question for transit agencies around the country.
For San Francisco’s Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), the answer may be putting a measure on the ballot asking voters to fund transit more heavily.“BART’s budget is balanced for the 2023-2024 fiscal year, but next year, it’s facing a $140 million deficit,” Brey explains. “Every year after that the system is looking at a deficit of around $300 million.” And while the agency has requested funding from the state, so far, they’ve only seen cuts in Governor Gavin Newsom’s proposed budget.
On the other side of the country, “The Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York is considering raising subway fares above $3 as part of a suite of measures to plug an estimated $2 billion yearly revenue gap once federal funding runs out. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) is facing gaps of between $286 million and $542 million in fiscal years 2026-2028 and is leaning more on state and local subsidies than it used to; MBTA’s fare recovery ratio dropped from 43 percent before the pandemic to less than 25 percent in the current budget, according to Lisa Battiston, an agency spokesperson.”
Reducing service may seem like an attractive option for cash-strapped agencies, but could in fact be “a feedback loop that makes everyone worse off,” according to Garett Shrode, a policy analyst at the Eno Center for Transportation. “Cutting service to save money would harm those riders and wouldn’t do much for most agencies’ budgets in the long run,” Shrode says. For many transit agencies, the path forward remains unclear.
FULL STORY: City Transit Systems Begin to Peer Over the Fiscal Cliff

In Most U.S. Cities, Archaic Laws Limit Roommate Living
Critics argue laws preventing unrelated adults from living in the same home fail to understand the modern American household.

Ten Signs of a Resurgent Downtown
In GeekWire, Chuck Wolfe continues his exploration of a holistic and practical approach to post-pandemic urban center recovery, anchored in local context and community-driven initiatives that promote livability, safety, and sustainability.

Off-Peak is the New On-Peak
Public transit systems in major U.S. cities are starting to focus on non-rush hour travelers as pre-pandemic commuting patterns shift and transportation needs change.

Tacoma Coalition Calls for ‘Tenants’ Bill of Rights’
The group wants to put more power in the hands of tenants, but the city has its own, competing proposal for addressing the housing crisis.

New Power Transmission Line Approved in the Southwest
The proposed transmission line will transfer wind-produced power from New Mexico to cities in Arizona and California.

The Limitations of ‘Reconnecting Communities’
The Biden administration has pledged to correct the damage imposed on communities by highways and infrastructure, but many projects are only committing to minor improvements, not transformative changes.
Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission
Code Studio
TAG Associates, Inc.
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Montrose County
Knox County
Wichita-Sedgwick County Metropolitan Area Planning Department
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.