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Bicycle and Transit Legislation

In the United States funds are generated for bicycle and mass transit projects through a federal piece of legislation called TEA-21 (Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century). The funds for the TEA-21 program are generated through a 2.86 cent gasoline tax levied on gasoline purchases and through the U.S. Treasury General Fund
This money is then supplied in the form of federal grants to local governments who request the funds. Even if a local government does not request funds, there is a guaranteed funding amount of 90.5% of what its state contributes to the federal gasoline tax, but the money does not have to be spent.

Terminology
Funds: Funds is another name for money
Grant: A grant supplies money to an organization (e.g. a city).
Mass transit gas tax: A gas tax means whenever someone buys gas, 2.86 cents per a gallon is added to the price of gasoline for mass transit.
Subsidies: any money provided by the government to support an organization
Right-of-way: land that is allocated for a road or transportation way.

For example:
If Chicago - or any other metropolitan city - has $20 million dollars for a transportation project. They can file a request for matching funds with the federal government. If the federal government determines the request is justified and the project shows promise, they will match the $20 million (local funds) with around $80 million. The $80 million will be supplied in the form of a federal grant which means the money will not have to be paid back.

Different states have different levels of funding, based on the involvement of their citizens in the political process, namely specifying what transportation improvements should be made and supporting local funding sources (e.g. taxes) for their transit system.

Buses
Generally bus systems receive major funding through local taxes; both self-imposed and taxes of certain industries. Cities with the largest commitment to mass transit have 1-cent dedicated sales taxes. This means roughly 1% of the proceeds from purchased goods goes towards mass transit.
Improvements and maintenance for a bus system (bike racks, bus garages, natural gas buses, purchasing right-of-way, etc) can be heavily subsidized by the state or federal government. The subsidies are provided through grants that are filed by a local bus system operator.

Bicycle Projects
Bicycle projects are carried out in a similar fashion as other mass transit projects, namely through TEA-21. A news article dealing with Boston's bicycle and pedestrian planning can be found at:
Boston Globe
Many of the situations - or perceived situations - are the same as Baton Rouge


Light Rail
What is light rail?
In short, light rail is a form of public transportation that operates along a set pathway on steel rails powered by electricity.

All light rail, tram, and subway systems (with pictures) in the world can be found here
Some cities might not be listed (e.g. Caracas?)

For a lightrail system to be built,
1. A proposal must be submitted
2. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) looks over the request to determine a) if the plan is economically, practically feasible b) whether the plan for lightrail is justified c) if there are enough supporting funds without federal assistance d) whether these supporting funds are secure

The status of all North American lightrail systems is available at:
Status of Light Rail Systems

Light Rail Corridors: Austin, TX - Evaluation of Austin's lightrail capability

Mass Transit (General)
Lightrail projects usually take a relatively long time to develop with a great amount of funds. Dallas's transit system is probably the most advanced in the South because they started planning and funding their system over 20 years ago, so local funds to be matched federally is no problem. The Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) system had a 1-cent sales tax in place for 10 years (1983-1993) before they started construction of their lightrail system.

History of DART-This is County Commissioner Mayfield's testimony before Congress.

There is currently a proposal to operate a rail service from Baton Rouge to New Orleans; 70-82 miles.

To offer a brief comparison to a similar service, Acerail operates a
rail service from Stockton, CA to San Jose, CA.
Distance: 77.3 miles, Time Duration: 2hr 18min
The price for a single roundtrip ticket is $16.00 ($8.00/trip)
The price for a bulk purchase of 20 trips is $6.30/trip
The price for a weekly pass is $5.80/trip (2 trips a day)













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No further permission is needed from the author in order to reuse the information contained on this webpage. Use this information as freely as you please. Michael Ohene. 2004