THE TRANSIT ACT THAT NEVER WAS: PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION LEGISLATION 1979-1980

After the decade of the 1970s was marked by a growth of expenditures on mass transit from federal and other sources and an increase in the quality of service, as well as marking the end of the transition from private to public ownership, the industry undertook to have subsequent legislation enacted to increase the amount of federal money available in the 1980s. Mass transit ridership was rising and even those not using transit seemed willing to have more of their tax dollars spent on this sector. The various bills proposed for consideration in 1980 are described, along with fates of the proposed legislation. Caught in a budget-cutting period and with national elections in the immediate future, House and Senate concurred on the 1981 budget late in September, 1980, but final action had to be put off until after the presidential election. The new administration favored further major cutbacks and changes in sources of funding. The author reviews reasons for the delays, noting lack of cohesiveness in the transit industry and that there have never really been clear-cut goals or concrete objectives for the federal programs in transit.