Funding Strategies For Public Transportation

Addresses the current state of funding for public transportation in the United States, the various circumstances that have contributed to today's funding environment, and specific strategies that transit agencies are pursuing to identify new sources of funding. The report is presented in two parts -- a final report and a casebook.

"This book compares the institutions and regulatory contexts in which transit systems operate, the operations and management problems with which they must contend, and the policy options and solutions which they have implemented."--BOOK JACKET.

"TRB's Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Report 129: Local and Regional Funding Mechanisms for Public Transportation explores a series of transit funding mechanisms with a primary focus on traditional tax- and fee-based funding; and common business, activity, and related funding sources. The report includes an online regional funding database that provides an extensive list of funding sources that are in use or have the prospect of being used at the local and regional level to support public transportation. A user manual for the database is also available online"--Publisher's description.

State and local gov¿ts. are looking for alternative strategies to help fund transit systems. Value capture strategies (VCS) -- joint develop., special assessment dist., tax increment financing, and development impact fees -- are designed to dedicate to transit either a portion of increased tax revenue or additional revenue through assessments, fees, or rents based on value expected to accrue as a result of transit investments. This report reviewed: (1) the extent to which transit agencies and local gov¿ts. use joint develop. and other VCS to finance transit; (2) what stakeholders have identified as facilitators of, or hindrances to, the use of these; and (3) what stakeholders have said about the effects of fed. policies and programs on the use of these strategies. Illus.

Just like we don't pay to use elevators, this book argues that we shouldn't pay to ride public transit. In an age of increasing inequalities and ecological crisis, movements advocating free public transit push us to rethink the status quo and consider urban transit as a fundamental human right. Editors Jason Prince and Judith Dellheim have collected a panorama of case studies from around the world: the United States, Canada, Estonia, Greece, France, Italy, Sweden, Poland, China, Australia, Brazil, Mexico, and more. These movements are spread across the world, and they aim to achieve two main outcomes-ecological good and fair wealth distribution. Free public transit-coupled with increased capacity and improving service of public transit-might well be the only viable strategy to eliminating car usage and achieving greenhouse gas targets in industrialized cities within a reasonable timeframe. Movements for free mass transit also aim to see public transit treated as a public good, like water and garbage service, that should be paid for out of general tax revenues or a fairer regional tax strategy. This book covers the rapidly changing transport options in cities today, including bike and car share options, Uber and Lyft, and the imminent arrival of driver-less vehicles. The first English-language book ever written on the subject, Free Public Transit is a ground breaking book for those concerned about the future of our cities and an essential resource for those who make, or try to change, urban planning and transport policies.

TCRP Report 122: Understanding How to Motivate Communities to Support and Ride Public Transportation provides a comprehensive discussion on the methods and strategies used by public transportation agencies in the United States and Canada to enhance their public images and motivate the support and use of public transportation. Additionally, the report identifies and describes methods and strategies used by other industries (comparable to public transportation) to enhance their public image and to motivate the support and use of their products and services. Also, this report examines the perceptions, misperceptions, and use of public transit, and the extent to which these affect support. Finally, the report identifies effective communication strategies, campaigns, and platforms for motivating individuals to action in support of public transportation, and it recommends ways to execute those communication strategies, campaigns, and platforms. This report will be helpful to transit agencies; elected officials; community leaders; business leaders; and federal, state, and local funding agencies in both the United States and Canada.

"TRB's Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Report 105: Strategies to Increase Coordination of Transportation Services for the Transportation Disadvantaged examines strategies for initiating or improving coordination of local and regional publicly funded transportation services for the transportation disadvantaged"--Publisher's description.