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experienced tremendous growth over the last two decades, public transit systems are struggling to maintain aging and outdated infrastructure while at the same time being challenged to expand capacity," said APTA acting president and CEO Richard White.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

  • Will standardisation increase ITS interoperability?
    February 1, 2012
    Theoretical balance Kallistratos Dionelis, secretary general of ASECAP, comments on the European Commission's new ICT Standardisation Work Programme. I've just read a proposal from the European Commission on the 2010-2013 ICT Standardisation Work Programme. As ASECAP Secretary General this is one of my responsibilities. I work to receive information, to disseminate information and to build bridges and mutual understanding between policy-makers and the industrial world, between ASECAP and others.
  • Public transport key to climate change, says report
    September 19, 2014
    A new report, released in advance of United Nations Secretary-General’s Climate Summit on 23 September, claims that more than US$100 trillion in cumulative public and private spending could be saved and 1,700 megatons of annual carbon dioxide (CO2) - a 40 percent reduction of urban passenger transport emissions - could be eliminated by 2050 if the world expands public transportation, walking and cycling in cities. The report, A Global High Shift Scenario, from the Institute for Transportation Development
  • Hurdles to MaaS adoption highlighted
    January 25, 2018
    Jack Opiola talks to some MaaS advocates in the US. Cities will accommodate almost 60% of the world’s population by 2025 and technology is outpacing transportation plans and planners - putting extreme pressures upon planners and transportation systems alike. Big data, digital payments, ubiquitous communications, smartphone applications, on-demand travel and autonomous vehicles are all shredding existing transport plans. Never before has the pace of population growth and the tools to address this problem
  • Major growth predicted in automatic passenger counting and passenger information systems
    March 27, 2017
    According to a new market research report by MarketsandMarkets, the automated passenger counting (APC) systems market is expected to reach US$298 million by 2022, while the passenger information (PI) systems market is expected to reach US$11.34 billion by 2022. According to the report, the factors driving the growth of the market include the increasing demand for real-time transit information, increased adoption of advanced solutions in the transport sector, advantages offered by APC to transit operator