POPULARITY OF NEW STARTS OUTGROWS AVAILABLE FUNDING

While government funding for rapid transit has increased dramatically in the last two decades, agencies still have failed to keep up with public demand for more services. National transit system ridership is growing by a rate of 3.5 percent, and a recent poll showed that 72 percent of Americans support increased investment in public transportation. According to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Bottom Line Report, an annual capital investment of $44 billion is required to improve the current physical condition and service performance of the nation's transit system. The Federal Transit Administration's new rail starts program currently has 52 projects in the works. More than $20 billion in funding from the federal government would be needed to help fund these systems. The Bush Administration has indicated that funding for national transit systems will not meet these needs. Congress has been working on bills that would give increased funding to transportation agencies, but these measures still would not give agencies adequate funding to meet the nation's growing needs. The two main solutions to the problem are to increase local taxes or to look to the private sector for help.