Project J-11/Task 15 IMPACTS of CUTS and REDUCTIONS in PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION FUNDING
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Project J-11/Task 15 IMPACTS OF CUTS AND REDUCTIONS IN PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION FUNDING FINAL REPORT Prepared for Transit Cooperative Research Program Transportation Research Board National Research Council The information contained in this report was prepared as part of TCRP Project TCRP Project J-11/Task 15, Transit Cooperative Research Program. SPECIAL NOTE: This report IS NOT an official publication of the Transit Cooperative Research Program, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, or The National Academies. KFH Group, Incorporated October, 2012 Acknowledgements This study was conducted for the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), with funding provided through the Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Project J-11, Quick-Response Research on Long-Term Strategic Issues. The TCRP is sponsored by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA); directed by the Transit Development Corporation, the education and research arm of the APTA; and administered by The National Academies, through the Transportation Research Board. Project J-11 is intended to fund quick response studies on behalf of the TCRP Oversight and Project Selection (TOPS) Committee, the FTA, and the APTA and its committees. The work was guided by a technical working group with representatives from transit agencies, a county council, the National League of Cities, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the National Association of City Transportation Officials, and the APTA. This report was produced by the following authors at KFH Group, Incorporated: Jill Chen Stober, Sue Knapp, and Elisabeth Fetting. The authors express deep gratitude to the staff and executive leaders of the case study transit agencies and many other organizations and institutions that contributed input and data to this research project. Disclaimer The opinions and conclusions expressed or implied are those of the research agency that performed the research and are not necessarily those of the Transportation Research Board or its sponsoring agencies. This report has not been reviewed or accepted by the Transportation Research Board Executive Committee or the Governing Board of the National Research Council. Table of Contents Page Executive Summary................................................................................................................ES-1 Mobility and Access Impacts...........................................................................................ES-2 Economic and Financial Impacts ....................................................................................ES-3 Safety and Security Impacts ............................................................................................ES-5 Social Equity Impacts .......................................................................................................ES-5 Intangible Impacts and Factors.......................................................................................ES-6 Chapter 1 – Introduction.......................................................................................................... 1-1 Recent APTA Reports and Surveys.................................................................................. 1-1 Research Objective.............................................................................................................. 1-8 Organization of this Report ............................................................................................... 1-9 Chapter 2 – Overview of Community Impacts of Transit .................................................. 2-1 The Value of Transit Services in General......................................................................... 2-1 Quality of Life: A Different Framework for Assessing Transit Impacts.................... 2-4 Livability .............................................................................................................................. 2-6 Land Use and Economic Activity ..................................................................................... 2-7 Impacts Related to Coordination...................................................................................... 2-9 Transit-Captive Populations............................................................................................ 2-11 Other Considerations Regarding the Community Impacts of Transit...................... 2-12 User-Reported Impacts of Drastic Cuts to Transit Budgets in the Economic Downturn..................................................................................................................... 2-13 Research Approach........................................................................................................... 2-13 Chapter 3 – Case Studies.......................................................................................................... 3-1 Case Study Characteristics ................................................................................................ 3-2 Case Study Findings ........................................................................................................... 3-4 Clayton County, GA..................................................................................................... 3-5 Hammond, IN..............................................................................................................3-16 St. Louis, MO............................................................................................................... 3-27 Tacoma, WA................................................................................................................ 3-38 Pittsburgh, PA............................................................................................................. 3-48 Table of Contents (continued) Page Chapter 4 – Cross-Cutting Findings....................................................................................... 4-1 Mobility and Access Impacts............................................................................................. 4-2 Economic and Financial Impacts ...................................................................................... 4-3 Safety and Security Impacts .............................................................................................. 4-5 Social Equity Impacts ......................................................................................................... 4-6 Intangible Impacts and Factors......................................................................................... 4-6 Appendix A: Review of Transit Budget Cuts and Cost-Cutting Strategies Appendix B: Research Work Plan Final Report Executive Summary In the last few years, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) has conducted several studies and surveys to examine the impact that the recent economic downturn has had on transit agencies and the services they provide. These APTA resources compiled and analyzed data to determine the magnitude of transit agencies’ budget cuts related to the recession, the types of cost-cutting strategies that transit agencies have consequently implemented or considered, and the extent to which these strategies have been implemented over consecutive years. This research was a natural follow-up to these APTA studies to determine how communities have been impacted by the cost-cutting actions that transit agencies have had to implement or consider implementing in the wake of the economic recession. The objective of this research was to determine the community impacts of significant reductions in public transportation service related to the recent economic downturn. These impacts included the destinations and activities that became more difficult for riders to access, the development of new alternatives, the expansion of other transportation services to fill service gaps, and the rise in public awareness about transit among other issues. The research found that drastic transit service cuts have negatively impacted individuals, businesses, community organizations, schools, local and regional economies, and the overall quality of life in communities. Several themes emerged after reviewing five American communities that have experienced or anticipate drastic transit service cuts. Varying in size, geographic location, and types of transit service available, the five case studies were Clayton County, Georgia (C-TRAN); Hammond, Indiana (Regional Bus Authority (RBA)); Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Port Authority of Allegheny County); St. Louis, Missouri (Metro Transit); and Tacoma, Washington (Pierce Transit). The primary research identified similarities across the case studies in transit funding issues and the transit agencies’ approaches to making hard decisions on transit service cuts, described in the Case Studies chapter of this report.1 However, the main findings were themes regarding the community impacts of major transit service cuts related to the recession. 1 Secondary research, mainly the community impacts reported in local, online news sources, supplemented the primary data collected through interviews conducted during the case studies. TCRP J-11/Task 15 Impacts of Cuts and Reductions in Public Transportation Funding ES-1 Final Report The common actions that communities have taken in response to transit service cuts and the cost and social implications are summarized below,2 with specific examples from the case studies captured in the text boxes. For more details on the community impacts including the quantitative data available and the qualitative input collected,