Skip to main content

Public transit CEOs highlight urgent need to invest in aging US public transportation systems

CEOs of large, mid-size and small public US transportation systems attending a press call as part of National Infrastructure Week have sounded the alarm for the urgent need to increase infrastructure investment in America's public transportation systems. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) cited a US$86 billion backlog in deferred maintenance and replacement needs with more than 40 per cent of buses and 25 per cent of rail transit assets in marginal or poor condition, according to the latest data
May 23, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
CEOs of large, mid-size and small public US transportation systems attending a press call as part of National Infrastructure Week have sounded the alarm for the urgent need to increase infrastructure investment in America's public transportation systems.
 
The 2023 Federal Transit Administration (FTA) cited a US$86 billion backlog in deferred maintenance and replacement needs with more than 40 per cent of buses and 25 per cent of rail transit assets in marginal or poor condition, according to the latest data from 2013.  At the same time, with ridership increasing by 37 per cent since 1995, public transit systems are challenged to increase service and capacity.   

"After decades of inadequate investment, the American public transportation infrastructure is crumbling," said American Public Transportation Association (APTA) chair Valarie J. McCall, who serves on the board of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA).  "This neglect demands attention at all levels of government so that public transit can continue to help grow communities and businesses."

"As public transportation has experienced tremendous growth over the last two decades, public transit systems are struggling to maintain aging and outdated infrastructure while at the same time being challenged to expand capacity," said APTA acting president and CEO Richard White.  "While Congress's passage of the federal FAST Act was a step in the right direction, the job is still not done because we are woefully behind in investing in our infrastructure. Estimates to meet current national public transportation demand will require a capital investment of US$43 billion annually over six years by all levels of government.  Currently, the US invests US$17.7 billion annually."

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Lagos to get mass transit system
    February 5, 2013
    Lagos, Nigeria, is about to get a mass transit system with a difference, which the manufacturer says will play its part in reducing congestion and air pollution in the city. For the first time in the country’s history of Nigeria, a cable car company, Ropeways Transport, is set to launch a cable car mass urban transit system in the nation’s commercial capital. Under the terms of a thirty-year franchise agreement between Ropeways Transport, the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) and the Lag
  • Reviving rural public transport
    February 4, 2015
    A recent seminar in Krakow, Poland, on proactive marketing for sustainable rural transport, delivered as part of the EC-funded project SmartMove, provided advice to local authorities and others on the use of individualised marketing to maximise patronage of rural transport systems on tight budgets. About 40 people attended the event, including several local politicians and public transport stakeholders in Poland. The SmartMove project is based on a successful pilot project carried out in 2009 in a rural
  • Huawei develops the next generation of wireless communications
    October 25, 2024
    Huawei has developed and already deployed high-integrity and richly featured cellular communications solutions for the railway sector which are based on the new FRMCS standard and 4-5G technology
  • Toll roads important to Trump’s infrastructure plan
    January 10, 2017
    According to The Hill, US toll roads may surge under a US$1 trillion infrastructure proposal being floated by Donald Trump. The president elect’s idea for rebuilding the nation’s roads and bridges relies on private companies instead of the federal government to back transportation projects. Experts believe this means investors will be attracted to projects that can recoup their investment costs using some sort of revenue stream, such as through tolls or user fees. “If he moves forward with an infrastr