Washington- Congressman Joe Pitts (R, PA-16) praised the passing of legislation by the House that would allow small transit systems nationwide from having to cut services by allowing them flexibility in the way they spend their federal money. The transit flexibility provision was included in H.R. 1195 which passed the House by a vote of 358-51.

Congressman Pitts’ statement follows:

“Local transit authorities know how best to spend their federal funding – not some bureaucrat in Washington.  At a time of rising fuel costs, the last thing we should be doing is eliminating funding flexibility for public transportation. This provision will allow small transit agencies from having to cut vital services to the community. For thousands of people across America, that means saving their ride to work each day."

Background

Under current law, transit systems that service urbanized areas exceeding 200,000 in population lose their ability to use federal transit funds for operating expenses. This law uses an out-dated and arbitrary threshold, the consequences of which were not realized until after the 2000 Census, the first census carried out under this law. Following the 2000 Census, many transit systems, including RRTA in Lancaster County and BARTA in Berks County, were forced to significantly cut routes and raise fares.

Congressman Pitts has introduced legislation (The Transit System Flexibility Protection Act) that would provide a long-term solution to this problem. Specifically, it would add a provision to current law stating that if an urbanized area exceeds a population of 200,000, but the transit system continues to operate fewer than 100 buses on fixed-route service during peak service hours, that transit system can maintain its funding flexibility.

H.R. 1195 would allow small agencies to continue using a portion of their federal funding for operating costs for the next two years.

###