Washington, D.C.—The following are opening remarks, as prepared for delivery, from Ranking Member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Rick Larsen (D-WA) and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) during today’s hearing titled, “America Builds: A Review of Our Nation’s Transit Policies and Programs.”
Videos of Ranking Member Larsen’s and Norton’s opening statements are here and here.
More information on the hearing can be found here.
Ranking Member Larsen:
Thank you, Chairman Rouzer and Ranking Member Norton, for holding this hearing on the role of transit in supporting our economy and getting people where they need to go.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law made landmark investments across all ways of traveling that keep our economy moving, including transit.
Congress provided record transit investments that are improving safety, helping transit agencies purchase new buses and rail cars and, therefore, creating jobs and economic opportunity.
Transit agencies are taking proactive steps to support ridership by redesigning bus networks, adding service on nights and weekends, improving frequency and providing better pay and incentives to workers.
Communities are reaping the benefits of these efforts, with transit rebounding to 84 percent of its pre-COVID ridership levels.
A lot of these investments have occurred in my district, including $15 million for Island Transit on Whidbey Island. It is exploring purchasing hydrogen fuel cell buses and fueling infrastructure. There’s reinvestments into operation maintenance facilities, as well.
These investments have brought over $58 million for Community Transit’s Swift Orange Line BRT. The service has been open for just over a year and has already transported 810,000 riders.
Similar investments are happening all across the country.
The BIL included investments to broaden the reach of transit and ensure that transit works better for everyone.
Congress created the All Stations Accessibility Program to make sure we are living up to the promises of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Congress provided support for ferry service in rural areas and investments in the low-emission vessels of the future.
The BIL is replacing aging railcars to make transit systems more reliable for travelers.
Congress also prioritized protecting frontline transit workers and providing them the skills they need to operate and maintain the next generation of buses.
These investments are boosting our economy and creating jobs.
Transit provides economic security for those who ride transit systems and those who help build, maintain and operate them. The transit industry is a significant job creator, directly employing 430,000 people and supporting millions of private-sector jobs.
Seventy-seven percent of federal public transportation investments flow to the private sector, and every $1 billion Congress provides creates or sustains 50,000 jobs.
Today, we will hear testimony from the Transportation Trades Department, whose members proudly do these jobs every day. I look forward to learning how Congress can continue to support transit workers in the reauthorization bill.
Even businesses that do not have a direct tie to the transit industry reap the benefits since nearly nine out of every ten transit trips have a direct impact on local economies.
Transit is also a tangible cost saver for individual families. According to one of our witnesses today, the American Public Transportation Association, the average household spends 16 cents of every dollar on transportation, and 93 percent of this goes to buying, maintaining and operating cars—the largest single-family expenditure after housing.
By taking transit and living with one less car, households can save $13,000 each year to spend on other things. Providing options to ensure people can get where they need to go is even more crucial today as costs mount for more Americans.
While the BIL made historic strides to improve public transit systems and service, transit systems require ongoing investment.
The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates a $152 billion backlog over the next 10 years to bring our transit systems up to a state of good repair.
Disinvestment in America’s infrastructure did not happen overnight—nor will it be fixed overnight. That’s why we need to build on the progress made in the BIL.
I am committed to developing a bipartisan reauthorization bill, and transit will be a key component of that.
Whether you represent a major city, a suburban community or a rural area, like I do, there are people in your district who rely on transit or are employed in the transit sector.
I look forward to hearing from our witnesses today about how we can continue the success we have seen from the BIL and what elements this Committee should be thinking about as we reauthorize it.
Ranking Member Norton:
I would like to thank Subcommittee Chair Rouzer for holding this hearing on our nation’s transit systems. Transit is the backbone of communities of every size, safely and efficiently connecting people to jobs, health care, education, groceries, amenities and loved ones.
The story of our nation’s transit systems in the post-COVID era is a comeback story. Transit systems are steadily recovering from pandemic ridership loss.
On average, transit systems have regained 84 percent of riders since the earliest days of the pandemic, a rebound that is evident across every mode. In some systems, that number is even higher.
Here in the national capital region, Metro recently surpassed one million daily riders–a five-year high. Metro has led the country in ridership recovery, with forty-eight consecutive months of ridership growth.
You don’t have to be a transit rider yourself to celebrate these gains. Every dollar Congress invests in transit generates five dollars in economic returns. Without public transit, the D.C. region would lose more than nine billion dollars’ worth of economic activity due to traffic gridlock, delays in freight shipments and lack of access to jobs.
Transit is also the safest way to travel. Traveling by transit is 10 times safer than driving.
In 2021, Congress delivered the largest transit investment in our nation’s history through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. That law provided $108 billion to upgrade and modernize transit systems.
In rural and urban communities alike, that law is helping transit agencies expand their service areas, purchase newer, greener fleets and keep operators safe on the job. For example, Metro received more than $100 million to transition to zero-emission buses, which will reduce pollution, improve air quality and keep the D.C. region on the move.
Whether you are a transit rider or not, transit plays a crucial role in our transportation system. Contrary to popular belief, there are more rural transit agencies than urban transit agencies.
For many, riding transit is a choice. For others, transit may be their only option, including if they are in the 10 percent of the adult population that does not drive because of disability, cost or personal choice. Transit is a lifeline that is safe, affordable and climate friendly.
I look forward to working with my colleagues to continue this Committee’s long history of supporting transit in the next surface transportation bill.
Thank you.
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