Discrepancy In Funding Transit Versus Highways

Federal government has local funding requirement for public transportation such as light and heavy rail; not for highways.

1 minute read

December 16, 2003, 8:00 AM PST

By Abhijeet Chavan @http://twitter.com/legalaidtech

"The Dulles rail project highlights a distortion in federal transportation policy: Transit and highway systems are treated differently by federal laws, rules and regulations. This results in distorted decisions on the local level that can have a ripple effect in the metropolitan area. Here's the rub: The law also requires that some of the nonfederal money come from a stable and reliable source of local funds. Certainly, it is important to demonstrate local commitment to such projects. However, the federal government pays 80 percent of highway project costs. And none of the remaining funds have to come from local sources -- they usually come from the state. So in effect, while new transit projects must compete for scarce dollars with other local needs such as police, fire and education, highway projects are essentially free to localities."

Thanks to Richard Layman

FULL STORY: Letter to the Editor: Fairness in Funding the Dulles Rail Project

Thursday, December 11, 2003 in The Washington Post

Transportation United States

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Start Learning

Advertise with us

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.