Mass Transit: Status of New Starts Program and Potential for Bus Rapid Transit Projects Page: 2 of 13
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Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee,
We appreciate the opportunity to testify today on the Federal Transit
Administration's (FTA) efforts to help fund transit projects. As you know,
since the early 1970s, the federal government has provided a large share of
the nation's capital investment in urban mass transportation. Much of this
investment has come through FTA's New Starts program,' which helps pay
for designing and constructing certain rail, bus, and trolley projects
through full funding grant agreements.2 The maximum amount of federal
funds available to a project cannot exceed 80 percent of the estimated net
cost. The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21),3
enacted in 1998, authorized about $6.1 billion in "guaranteed"4 funding for
the New Starts program through fiscal year 2003. Although the level of
New Starts funding is higher than it has ever been, the demand for these
resources is also extremely high. TEA-21 identified over 190 projects
nationwide as eligible to compete for New Starts funding and directed FTA
to prioritize projects for funding by evaluating, rating, and recommending
potential projects on the basis of specific financial and project justification
criteria.
We are here today to discuss the federal government's support for
constructing or extending transit systems through FTA's New Starts
Program and the availability of lower cost mass transit approaches. Given
the high demand for new and expanded transit facilities across the nation,
communities need to examine approaches that stretch the federal and
local dollar yet still provide high quality transit services for the public. My
testimony today summarizes the results of our recent reports5 on (1) the
'Other federal funds available through the Department of Transportation (DOT) highway
and transit programs can be used to develop, plan, or construct these projects.
2A full funding grant agreement establishes the terms and conditions of federal financial
participation in the project and the maximum amount of federal New Starts financial
assistance for the project. The grant agreement also defines a project's scope, including the
length of the system and the number of stations; its schedule, including the date when the
system is expected to open for service; and its cost.
3Public Law 105-178 (June 9, 1998).
4"Guaranteed" funds are subject to a procedural mechanism designed to ensure that
minimum amounts of funding are available each year.
5U.S. General Accounting Office, Mass Transit: FTA's New Starts Commitments for Fiscal
Year 2003, GAO-02-603 (Washington, D.C. Apr. 30, 2002); and U.S. General Accounting
Office, Mass Transit: Bus Rapid Transit Shows Promise, GAO-01-984 (Washington, D.C.
Sept. 17, 2001).
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United States. General Accounting Office. Mass Transit: Status of New Starts Program and Potential for Bus Rapid Transit Projects, text, June 20, 2002; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc289913/m1/2/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.