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TEA-21 REAUTHORIZATION
Iowa's nineteen urban and sixteen regional transit systems provide
valuable transportation service to citizens in all parts of the state.
The public transit systems provide Iowans with the transportation choices
necessary to maintain access to work, school, medical facilities, meal
sites, and leisure activities. Transit service is especially critical
to "transportation limited or transportation disadvantaged"
Iowans for whom transit is their only viable option for moving around
the state. The transportation bill must recognize the importance of
transit services provided by bus transportation agencies in small urban
and rural areas. Specifically:
- Increase funding for the bus and bus related facilities portion
of the Capital Investment Program (Section 5309) from the current
20 percent to 33 percent of the program. Bus replacement should receive
priority over facilities in the bus portion of the program.
- Increase funding for the non-urbanized formula program, the elderly
and persons with disabilities program and the bus replacement and
operations funding for small urban and rural areas in recognition
of the importance of transit services in small urban and rural areas.
- Maintain TEA-21 guaranteed funding, firewall protection of the
mass transit portion of the Highway Trust Fund, and continued general
fund contribution to transit services.
- Develop a minimum guarantee funding distribution formula for transit
similar to the minimum guarantee for the highway program. Typically,
less than half of the dollars Iowa contributes to the Transit Account
of the HTF are returned to us in federal transit funding.
- Change the Intercity Bus Assistance Program to allow states more
flexibility in determining the amount of funding necessary to accomplish
intercity goals, or change the funding for the intercity bus program
from the Non-urbanized Area Formula Program to a program with its
own funding.
- Continue the Job Access Reverse Commute (JARC) program, maintaining
the ability to use other federal programs such as Welfare to Work
and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) as match.
- Change the formula used to allocate funds for transit in small urban
areas to reflect performance factors as is done in the larger urbanized
areas.
- The New Starts portion of the Capital Investment Program now receives
40 percent funding and should be reviewed for feasibility, effectiveness,
and long term funding implications prior to commitment for future
funds.
- Streamline the administration of federal transit programs in addition
to analyzing the applicability of some regulations on smaller transit
systems. For example, small urban and rural systems receiving JARC
or Capital Investment Grant funds should be provided flexibility when
faced with the regulations required of larger urban systems.
- Encourage coordination of transportation services among agencies
and review charter rules to make the most efficient use of the transportation
dollars.
- Avoid new set-asides, sub-categories or sub-allocations from current
transit program funds or the creation of new programs.
- Allow the transportation of children under the Head Start program
by public transit vehicles as alternative vehicles if they meet Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standards for rollover protection, body panel
joint strength, fuel system integrity and restraint systems. The vehicles
should not be required to be signed as a school bus, have stop arms,
or compartmentalized seating. This would modify the Head Start transportation
rule (45 CFR 1310) administered by Health and Human Services.
Download the 2005 IPTA Federal
Legislative Brochure (PDF Format)
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