(The following appeared on the Kansas City Star website on October 9.)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar chairs the House transportation committee and will have some sway in transit funding for light rail in Kansas City and elsewhere in the future.
The Minnesota Democrat recently responded in writing to questions from The Star about what transit funding might look like after the current transportation bill runs out next year.
Part of comments ran in Monday’s edition. Here is the complete response to The Star’s inquiry.
“Transit will play a large part in America’s response to the dual challenges of high energy prices and global climate change. In fact, that is already happening.
” Transit ridership is up in cities all across the country, and demand for transit services has been the highest we have seen in a half-century.
” The energy bill passed by the House earlier this year noted this by making aid to transit systems for fare abatement and new equipment a major component of our energy strategy.
“Congress also acknowledged this fact…when we required the Federal Transit Administration to stop judging new starts primarily on cost-effectiveness and give comparable weight to other factors such as economic development, and environmental benefits.
“Transit currently receives about 20 percent of federal surface transportation funding. Next year’s surface transportation authorization will give us the opportunity to draft transformative legislation and completely restructure our transit program to reflect the new realities of America’s transportation needs.
But Oberstar adds this very important caveat.
“Generating the revenues to develop the surface transportation network necessary to support the nation’s mobility and accessibility needs will be a major challenge for us to face in the authorization process next year.
“The crisis in the financial markets and the demand for government help to resolve it will have an enormous effect on Congress’ ability to appropriate funds for a wide number of programs next year and beyond.
” Although our surface transportation program is funded with its own revenue stream, primarily the federal fuel taxes drivers pay at the pump, that funding stream brings with it its own challenges in these times.
“First, the rate has not been adjusted since 1993, and the purchasing power of the motor fuel excise tax revenue has been eroded by over 30 percent over this time. In addition, as people react to the high cost of fuel through conservation, fewer gallons of gasoline and diesel are purchased, and less revenue is collected.
“These challenges will likely have an impact on the amount of money the federal government will be able to invest in highways, bridges, and transit in the coming years. Addressing this challenge will require Congress and the next administration to demonstrate the vision, leadership and the political will to identify financing and revenue options to generate the investments necessary to create the multimodal surface transportation system that will serve us best.”