EVOLVING FEDERAL ROLE IN TRANSIT PLANNING

Federal support for transit has increased significantly in recent years. Of even greater significance is the growth of the capital grant program, which for the fiscal year ending June 1973, is in excess of $860 million. In 1972 UMTA issued guidelines intended to spell the criteria by which grant requests are evaluated. Three categories of urban areas are recognized: those with under 250,000 population those with 250,000-1,000,000 and those with more than 1,000,000 population. Transit investments are directed to objectives which relate to mobility for nondrivers, congestion and land use patterns, and environmental conditions. Effort is being made to relate comprehensive regional planning, including transit planning, to those capital projects for which assistance is requested. Major policy and system recommendations, together with supporting technical documentation is expected to emerge from the planning process. The observation is made that the planning process is not comprehensive and that it has been confined, for the most part, to highway planning. The meager influence wielded by elected officials and the lengthiness and costliness of the process is commented on. The background to UMTA's evolving participation in the planning process is reviewed. The important factors in structuring UMTA's study program policies in a comprehensive framework are outlined. Transit planning must be integrated into a region's comprehensive and transportation planning network. Transit planning must be supported on a continuing basis. The importance of cooperative arrangements is emphasized and FHWA and UMTA efforts which encourage cooperation in planning are reviewed.