Sens. Moran, Gallego Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Bolster Small Transit Intensive Cities Program

WASHINGTON –
U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) introduced bipartisan legislation to bolster the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Small Transit Intensive Cities (STIC) program by increasing the Section 5307 grant allotment – which the STIC program utilizes – from 3 percent to 5 percent to help increase the efficiency and capacity of public transportation in communities with populations between 50,000 and 200,000. The allotment does not necessitate an increase in federal spending; it simply allocates existing funding where it is needed most and rewards high-performing STIC participants.
“Public transportation provides critical services to communities in Kansas and across the country as people travel to work, doctor’s appointments and more,”
said Sen. Moran.
“This legislation will build on the success of the Small Transit Intensive Cities Program and help to make certain high-performing public transit systems in smaller urban or suburban communities can receive the same access to federal investment as higher population areas.”
“Small urban areas like Flagstaff, Sierra Vista, and Yuma are doing all they can to keep up with demand for affordable, reliable public transportation,”
said Sen. Gallego
. “This bill gives these already successful systems the resources they need to expand service and connect even more Arizonans to their jobs, school, and health care. I’m proud to lead this bipartisan bill to support local infrastructure projects.”
“The Small Transit Intensive Cities program has been critical for Lawrence Transit and many other communities our size,”
said Felice Lavergne, Director of Transit for the City of Lawrence.
“Collaborating with the University of Kansas provides strong ridership which means we provide levels of service more typical of much larger cities. Continued and increased funding ensures that smaller communities like ours can meet that demand: connecting people to jobs, education,  healthcare, and more. We’re grateful for Senator Moran’s leadership in supporting this program.”
“Small city transit operators are among the most effective and efficient in the nation,”
said Scott Bogren, Executive Director of the Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA).
“CTAA and its members strongly support S.2957 that further rewards high performance for these agencies. We're pleased to be working with Senators Moran and Gallego on this important legislation."
The STIC Program is an existing FTA program that rewards high transit performance by providing funds to small-urban transit providers. The populations of these communities are between 50,000 and 200,000, and the resources are based on meeting at least one of six measurable performance criteria established annually by the average service levels of larger public transit agencies.
Three Kansas communities fall within the population threshold for STIC, including Lawrence, Topeka and Manhattan. When a public transit agency exceeds the average service level of a large transit agency, it is rewarded with additional federal transit investment. This funding has allowed smaller transit systems to fund projects that increase the efficiency and capacity of public transportation nationwide.
Full text of the legislation can be found
HERE
.
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