Finally, Congress is getting real about funding transit

A new piece of legislation introduced last month by Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) from the Atlanta area will change that. The bill, Stronger Communities through Better Transit Act will provide high-quality transit to communities across the country.

In short, finally Congress is getting real about funding transit.

While Congress has taken vital steps in recent years to fund transit, including the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the fact of the matter is that the lack of congressional action on operations funding, which this latest bill would provide, has led to critical funding shortfalls at numerous transit agencies and has left many in fiscal trouble.

Enter Johnson’s bill. The vital piece of legislation will create a new formula grant program available to all transit agencies to increase service frequency and dependability so that people don’t have to wait so long for the bus, to provide additional hours of service so that those who don’t work white-collar hours can still get to their jobs; and to add new, frequent service to underserved communities.