“The Senate bill is good for riders and communities, providing transit systems with much needed flexibility to use federal assistance to keep service on the street and fares down to deal with the mass transit crisis,”
said ATU International President Larry Hanley. “We applaud the Senate
for passage of this bill and the leadership of Sens. Menendez (D-NJ) and
Johnson (D-SD) in steering this legislation through the difficult
approval process.”
In 2011 ridership on the nation’s
commuter trains and buses hit one of the highest levels in decades, with
Americans taking 10.4 billion trips on mass transit – which includes
buses, trains, street cars and ferries. But, since the beginning of the
current recession, more than 85% of transit systems across the U.S. have
been forced to cut service or raise fares. Thousands of transit workers
have been put out of work.
The bipartisan Senate legislation
provides transit agencies with the critical funding and flexibility they
need to use their federal funds as they see fit. Under current law
transit systems serving areas of more than 200,000 people can only use
their federal funds for capital expenses such as buying buses and trains
and building new stations. They cannot use federal funds for
operations.
Consequently, many agencies simply
don’t have enough funding to maintain essential service while newly
purchased transit vehicles sit idly in their lots. MAP-21 begins to
address that problem.
“This bill also recognizes that a
strong transit program must have direct funding to create and save
jobs,” Hanley continued. “It improves passenger safety and security, and
assists in the development of a well trained workforce.”
MAP-21 continues to fund
transportation through the gas tax, a dedicated funding source, rather
than on the backs of federal workers. And the bill rejects privatization
measures that would steer state and local transportation dollars to
private foreign multinational companies that have no regard for riders
or the communities they’re supposed to serve.
“At a time when our transit systems
cry out for more funding it’s time for the House to stop injecting
ideologically driven initiatives which will not help our country dig out
of this economic crisis,” Hanley said. “We urge the House to follow the
Senate’s lead, roll up their sleeves in a bipartisan fashion, and pass a
transportation bill that is good for passengers, workers, transit
systems and our communities.”
About the ATU The Amalgamated Transit Union is the largest labor organization representing transit workers in the United States and Canada. Founded in 1892, the ATU today is comprised of over 190,000 members in 264 local unions spread across 44 states and nine provinces, including 3,000 workers at Greyhound Lines, Inc. Composed of bus drivers, light rail operators, maintenance and clerical personnel and other transit and municipal employees, the ATU works to promote transit issues and fights for the interests of its hard-working members.
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