Compounding the pain caused by decreased funding from local and national sources, transit agencies across the country are haunted by "toxic pre-recession bank deals" that have them paying exorbitant borrowing costs.
Angie Schmitt discusses findings included in a new report by Refund Transit, a coalition of transit unions and community organizations, that investigates the effect that interest rate swaps - "deals that were supposed to protect transit agencies against increases in borrowing costs" - are having on agencies across America.
With interest rates at historic lows, and transit agencies "stuck paying many times the current competitive rates," agencies are suffering from the very impacts that the interest rate swaps were supposed to protect them from.
According to Schmitt, "Refund Transit's survey of 12 major transit providers found that public transportation agencies were overpaying by $529 million thanks to these deals, which were sold as a way to minimize risk and save money. Los Angeles's transit system is losing $19.6 million annually compared to the interest rates they would otherwise be paying. Detroit - where low-income workers face up to three-hour transit waits and are occasionally stranded - loses $54 million annually. The state of New Jersey's transit system loses $83 million, according to the report."
The Refund Transit coalition, which includes the Amalgamated Transit Union, the Transportation Equity Network, and grassroots community groups, are calling on banks, many of which of course "were insulated from the economic crash by taxpayer funds," to "voluntarily renegotiate these deals."
Good luck with that.
FULL STORY: Toxic Pre-Recession Bank Deals Haunt Struggling Transit Agencies

Rethinking Redlining
For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself
The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.

Savannah Reduces Speed Limits on Almost 100 City Streets
The historic Georgia city is lowering speed limits in an effort to reduce road fatalities.

A Park Reborn: Resilience and Renewal in Fire-Stricken Altadena
Rebuilt in just two months after the devastating Eaton Fire, Loma Alta Park now stands as a symbol of community resilience and renewal, even as some residents hope recovery efforts will continue to support housing stability and long-term equity.

Spain Moves to Ban 66,000 Airbnbs
The national government is requiring the short-term rental operator to remove thousands of illegal listings from its site as part of an effort to stem a growing housing crisis.
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.
City of Clovis
City of Moorpark
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions