1988 Oregon Public Transportation Study

Oregon continues to face challenges in public transportation. The lack of a consistent and comprehensive framework of state policy is making local efforts to meet public transportation demands harder and fails to exploit economic and transportation opportunities for improving the vitality of the state. The absence of continuous and stable state financial assistance has weakened the state/local partnership in providing public transportation services and kept mobility for many Oregonians at a minimal level. Finally, as the federal role in funding transportation declines the need for aggressive state leadership increases. The following recommendations for Legislative and Executive action are offered as incremental steps towards meeting Oregon's public transportation challenge: Authorize additional funding for special needs transportation by increasing the revenues to the Special Transportation Fund. Authorize and fund an annual, stable capital assistance program for public transportation providers equivalent to the funding level of the past biennium. Provide greater flexibility of local public transportation option funding through authorization of new local revenue sources. Authorize and fund an expanded administrative role for the ODOT Public Transit Division to provide technical assistance, establish standards and monitor public transportation provider performance, administer state capital assistance to providers, and promote cooperation and coordination between transportation providers. Adopt as a statewide policy goal, cooperation among modal transportation agencies to achieve efficient and coordinated use of scarce resources. Adopt as a statewide policy goal, cooperation among public transportation programs and economic development programs in order to make Oregon an attractive and profitable location for industry. Adopt as a statewide policy goal, the coordination of services and resources among agencies that support public transportation and human service transportation. Create incentives for local land use guidelines that promote integration of transportation planning into existing and future land use policies.