Issue: Public Transportation

Public transportation bill clears Alabama House committee

By Jim Carnes

Arise’s new approach to public transportation funding picked up momentum Wednesday as the House Transportation, Utilities and Infrastructure Committee approved HB 454, sponsored by Rep. Jack Williams, R-Vestavia Hills. The bill would create the Alabama Public Transportation Trust Fund as a repository for future state appropriations to expand public transit options in the state. The bill now awaits consideration by the full House.

Under HB 454, the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) would administer the trust fund, including making and auditing project awards. The bill would require ADECA to adopt trust fund rules, conduct a public transportation needs assessment and make annual reports.
An amendment defines the composition of the trust fund’s advisory committee. The committee, which would include individuals recommended by Alabama Arise and other advocacy organizations, is designed to ensure that projects supported by the trust fund address the needs of rural areas, seniors, and people with disabilities.
Alabama is one of only five states that provide no state funding for public transportation. Every year, Alabama leaves millions of dollars in matching federal transportation funds on the table because we can’t put up the state portion. Arise considers HB 454 a sensible first step toward expanding public transportation options in Alabama.
By Jim Carnes, policy director. Posted April 19, 2017.

Alabama’s public transportation system needs a tune-up

By Stephen Stetson

Alabama’s transportation system forces residents to rely too much on automobiles and undermines the state’s economic growth, according to “Connecting Our Citizens for Prosperity,” an October 2014 report released by Alabama State University’s Center for Leadership and Public Policy. Jon Broadway, Ph.D., and ACPP policy analyst Stephen Stetson are the report’s authors.

Alabama is one of only five states providing no state money for public transportation. That lack of investment effectively isolates many residents who are unable to drive or lack access to private vehicles, the study finds. It also means Alabama is forgoing the new jobs that building and maintaining public transit options would bring, ACPP executive director Kimble Forrister said.

“Our state’s current transportation system simply can’t be sustained,” Forrister said. “Alabama’s failure to invest in public transportation means too many of our neighbors can’t get where they need to go when they need to get there. That doesn’t just hurt them; it hurts our entire state’s economy.”

Alabama roadblock: Our public transit gap

By Alabama Arise

Inadequate public transportation keeps thousands of Alabamians from meeting basic needs.More than 50 years after the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) provides no public transit funding. A 1952 amendment to Alabama’s constitution makes it illegal to use state gas tax and license fee revenuse — a logical source of transit funds — for any purpose other than building and maintaining roads and bridges.