Public transportation agencies across the United States continue to face budgetary challenges as a result of the
current recession. Many transit agencies saw decreases in state and local funding in the past year. In order to
survive, agencies have been forced to cut service, raise fares, lay off employees, and implement hiring freezes,
among other actions. The actions come even as agencies are expected to serve an increased number of riders.
This report, based on a March 2011 survey, provides a national perspective on the extent to which the recession
is affecting public transportation agencies and the millions of Americans who use their services. The survey was a follow?up to a similar survey in 2010 that asked about actions taken in response to the economic downturn. This new survey asked about actions taken since January 1, 2010 and actions agencies anticipated taking in the near future. 117 transit agencies responded to the survey. The results show that a large number of transit agencies are facing service cuts, fare increases, and reductions in staff and benefits due to declining funding. Larger public transportation agencies felt the most severe impacts. Transit agencies continue to find solutions to their budget pressures while still providing critical transportation service to connect people to jobs and support economic growth. Additionally, agencies are foreseeing future pressures as the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is proposing to cut an additional 37 percent in federal funding to public transportation and all surface transportation programs. State and local governments will not be able to make up for this lack of funding. Now is not the time to reduce critical federal funding that is needed to preserve service and address capital needs.File attachments:
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
 Impacts-of-Recession-August-2011.pdf | 176.97 KB |