South West Transit Association (SWTA)

Legislative Agenda 2019-2020

Raise the Fuel Tax.

Support the US Chamber of Commerce proposal of 5 cents per year over five years equaling a 25 cent increase.

Congress should identify a sustainable source dedicated to funding public transit.

The industry will support their efforts by supporting members who support transit.

Maintain and Increase Funding for the Transit Formula Program, increasing the Bus and Bus Facilities program over FY19 investment.

51 percent of the rides on pubic transportation are on buses. Improved safe and reliable service for all Americans means investing in and maintaining a well-equipped fleet.

STIC - Small Transit Intensive Cities Program

SWTA supports the STIC program and supports increased funding for this program beyond current levels.

Support the Capital Investment Grant (CIG) Program.

SWTA supports an increase in funding beyond the FY19 levels. We also support further streamlining of the review process to allow projects to move through the CIG pipeline more quickly.

Support Sensible Regulations

• Sale of Vehicles Past Useful Life: We support a plan to allow an agency to sell a vehicle past it’s useful life, as defined by the FTA, for market value. The agency keeps 20 percent of the original purchase price for unrestricted local funding. Anything over 20 percent goes to the FTA. Documents required: copy of original purchase receipt and copy of the sales receipt. Simple math during a triennial review will show the difference. The value of $5,000 in 1975 equals $23,492 in 2019. If anything, the law as it was written should have allowed for the growth of the US dollar.

Example A: 2014 MV-1 Purchase $56,000; Sell in 2019 for up to $11,200 (20 percent value of purchase) Anything over $11,201 goes to FTA granting process.

Example B: 2018 Arboc Equess Purchase $365,000; Sell in 2030 for up to $73,000 (20 percent value of purchase); Anything over $73,001 goes to FTA granting process.

• Triennial Desk Review for Smaller Agencies: This idea is focused on bus fleets under 100 buses and could improve final outcomes as well as reduce burdens on both the agency and FTA reviewer.
• Charter Regulation Reform: There are three key items that could be considered. #1 Communication – Notification that service by the local transit provider is not available due to a private company’s desire to provide the service. This notification should be made available to the requester in a timely fashion. Currently, there is no effective notification process, leaving the public believing the local transit provider dropped the ball. #2 Accessibility - Companies who respond that they can provide the service should prove they can provide accessible vehicles and similar-type vehicles being requested. #3 Availability – Companies who respond should do so in the spirit of truly being able to provide the service. It is rarely possibly that a company in Louisiana can provide two hours of service in Guymon, Oklahoma. A contiguous-states or distance limit may be a better solution than a national approach.
• LONO Grants for 5311 agencies: The law states that the 5311 grantee must follow all rules of a 5307 in order to receive LONO money. This could present a hardship on smaller agencies. We believe a review is necessary to ensure the 5311 agency has the technical assistance needed to follow through, as capacity within the 5311 is not always available. This should not keep a 5311 from taking advantage of improving their fleet and providing responsible community service through a LONO grant.
• NTD and Urbanized Areas Served by Rural Transit Providers: There are customers who are being served by a 5311 rural transit provider, within a 5307 urbanized area because the larger system is unable to provide the trip. The current reporting only allows the larger agency to report the trip, not the smaller agency. We believe there needs to be a conversation about NTD reporting and changes that incorporate the agency that provides the trip to count the trip for revenue purposes. For more information: Kristen Joyner, Executive Director, SWTA, kjoyner@swta.org, 817-295-3663, www.swta.org. Click here to download the agenda handout.

States

Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas

Downloads

Legislative Agenda Handout