AFF TOPIC LECTURE

SCFI 2012

INCREASING TRANSPORTATION FUNDING

Benefits

Jobs

Transit creates more jobs than highway spending.

The 2009 ARRA Stimulus Act saw twice as many jobs result from a dollar spent on transit as compared to high

Environment

Transit helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions and clean the air.

Nearly 40% of California’s greenhouse gas emissions come from transportation. Transit enables people to get out of their cars and lower tailpipe emissions and pollution.

Economy

Transit saves money.

If everyone had access to transit, the average household in California would save over $5,000 annually on transportation expenses – a huge windfall, particularly in this down economy.

Energy

Increased transit decreases oil consumption and co2 emissions.

Decreases foreign dependency on oil

Increases alternative energy research, use and production

INCREASE FLEXIBILITY FOR TRANSIT FUNDING TO BE SPENT ON OPERATIONS

Operational Funding

Increase flexibility for transit funding to be spent on operations

Under current law, transit systems in areas above 200,000 in population cannot use their federal transit funds for operating assistance, putting a huge strain on their ability to maintain service.

Increasing flexibility would create more jobs, faster, greener and with broader benefits

Jobs

Increasing funding to public transportation creates jobs for those who operate and maintain the transit infrastructure.

Operational spending creates more jobs than capital. The vast majority of operational spending goes into payroll.

Operational spending benefits a cross-section of America. Economic models, like that run by the Economic Policy Institute, show operations especially benefits those hardest hit by the recession. These investments would also create more jobs per dollar for African-Americans and Hispanics relative to their employment levels in the overall economy.

Increased Funding Necessary

Public transportation needs a whopping $142 billion in repairs and maintenance over the next 10 years -- but revenues are projected to fall far short of the need.

Increased funds are necessary to ensure that transit agencies can fully cover their costs going forward -- most urgently for operations and maintenance but also for targeted expansions to meet increased demand. 

INVEST IN TRANSIT (CA)PRESIDENT OBAMA’S FEB 2011 PLAN

(BUDGET PROPOSAL)

Programs

Invest in Transit (CA)

Statewide campaign targeted at California's leaders

Designed to make public transportation fast, frequent and affordable. 

It was launched in response to crippling shortfalls for public transportation, continued state funding cuts, and a recognition that our economy, environment, and quality of life truly ride on whether or not we invest in transit now. 

Since 2000, billions of dollars in state transit funding have been redirected to help balance the state budget.

President Obama’s Plan

February 2011President Obama released his annual budget along with an aggressive outline for a $556 billion, six-year transportation bill to to provide badly needed rail, road, transit and aviation improvements, create millions of new jobs, and make it easier to fund innovative projects to help bring America’s transportation network into the 21st century.

Obama’s Plan

In addition to investing $50 billion up front, the plan calls for the creation of a new National Infrastructure Bank, which would leverage private capital to finance selected public projects.  Other specifics that would help set America's transportation system on the right course include:

More than doubling the investment in public transportation to a total of $119 billion

Creating a new "livability" program to fund sustainable communities, walking, and biking projects

Committing to prioritize repair and maintenance over new construction, aka "Fix-it-First"

Investing $53 billion in a national high-speed rail system Consolidating programs to simplify funding streams and save money

on administrative costs

Benefits: Results

The initial $50 billion investment would fund the construction or rehabilitation of 150,000 miles of roads, 4,000 miles of passenger rail, and 150 miles of runways.

Whitehouse Report: http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/

files/infrastructure_investment_report.pdf

Benefits: Jobs

The proposal would create an estimated 7.2 million jobs—that’s about half a million more than the current policy.

About 90 percent of the jobs in the three sectors most affected by infrastructure spending (construction, maintenance, and retail) would be middle class jobs.

Benefits: Return on Investment

Smart infrastructure investments “can raise economic growth, productivity, and land values, while also providing significant positive spillovers to areas such as economic development, energy efficiency, public health and manufacturing.”

Benefits: Rewarding Good Projects

The plan acknowledges that not all transportation projects are created equal.

The National Infrastructure Bank would incentivize innovation by prioritizing projects by performing rigorous analysis to find out which projects provide the greatest benefit to society and promote the most long-term economic gain.

Food for Thought

90% of American families spend more on transportation than on food.

By providing more choices for consumers, an expanded and diversified transportation network could increase productivity by reducing time spent in traffic and free up money to go to other sectors of the economy.