Congressional Hearing Assesses the State of Public Transit

In a hearing of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee on highways and transit, federal lawmakers and industry experts weighed in on the state of public transit in the United States.

Dan Zukowski describes the meeting in Smart Cities Dive, writing, “Experts from the transit industry and labor unions called for more federal funding for operations. Others recommended ways that transit agencies could adapt to changes in ridership such as schedules that provide more off-peak and weekend service.”

While some attendees called public transit an “essential service” requiring more funding and resources, one analyst called it a “niche” mode of transportation (while acknowledging that many transit riders have no other option). “[M.J. Maynard, CEO of the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada] said that public transit agencies have adapted to post-pandemic changes in commuting patterns due to hybrid and remote work arrangements by addressing specific community needs, such as riders who commute during off-peak hours, those with mobility disabilities and those in areas underserved by transit.”

Trending changes in transit operations include the addition of on-demand microtransit, which can help fill transit gaps in rural and less dense communities, but which some transit advocates say could drain resources from fixed-route options. Greg Regan, president of the AFL-CIO’s Transportation Trades Department. said “even the worst-performing bus routes are more cost-effective than microtransit,” and lawmakers should make “a renewed commitment to providing stable, flexible, and sufficient funding for transit operations.”