The nation's ailing bus and rail systems have a D- rating. Can Biden's infrastructure plan fix them?

President Joe Biden’s administration has called the bipartisan infrastructure deal’s investment in public transportation “unprecedented” and “historic.”

The $90 billion allocated for public transit includes $39 billion in new funding to help agencies replace deteriorating buses and rail cars, expand accessibility for the elderly and people with disabilities, and add new service. Another $66 billion is included for intercity rail between cities.

Even still, transit advocates say it won’t solve the nation’s public transit woes. An American Society of Civil Engineers estimate of the public transit repair backlog is billions of dollars more than the funding in the bill – and growing.

The organization's 2021 Infrastructure Report Card rated the state of transit in America at a D-. It pegs the nation's transit repair backlog at $176 billion and warns it could grow to as much as $250 billion by 2029.

The U.S. Department of Transportation itself acknowledges a $105 billion backlog.

New federal money to bankroll multimillion-dollar projects also might expose underfunding of transit agencies’ day-to-day operations at the state and local level, advocates say.

“All too often there’s underfunding of the operations and maintenance that then compromises the ability to match the federal capital dollars,” said David Swallow, deputy chief executive officer of the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada.

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At the same time, ridership is showing early signs of returning to pre-pandemic levels, and transit agencies already are eyeing billions in new funding they could use to expand service.

“We know that the transit backlog is big, but… a $90 billion investment in America's transit systems is going to be transformational, and not just for big cities,” said Polly Trottenberg, deputy secretary in the U.S. Department of Transportation.

New transit funding

The bipartisan infrastructure deal includes about $90 billion for transit, but only about $39 billion is “new” money.

Here is how the increased funding for transit breaks down:

• $19 billion for “formula funding” that gives transit agencies wide latitude to make capital improvements to their systems

• $8 billion in grant funding to launch or expand high-capacity rail and bus service

• $5.2 billion to bankroll the transition to low- and zero-emission transit buses, including the purchase and lease of vehicles, construction of support facilities and training workers

• $4.75 billion to address the backlog of deferred maintenance and replacement of buses, railcars and related infrastructure that are in disrepair.

• $2 billion to improve transit access for seniors and people with disabilities

The bill also includes about $66 billion for intercity rail, including billions to help Amtrak replace aging vehicles and infrastructure, particularly in its Northeast Corridor between Washington and Boston.

The new federal funding could help pull some languishing pieces of transit systems out of disrepair. The American Society of Civil Engineers found about 19% of transit vehicles and 6% of guideway elements like tracks and tunnels were rated in “poor” condition over a 10-year period.

The White House estimates the nation’s backlog of transit assets that should be replaced to include 24,000 buses, 5,000 rail cars, 200 stations and thousands of miles of track.

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But some advocates say it still isn’t enough.

Previous estimates of the amount of funding needed to address the backlog aren’t as useful now because they didn’t contemplate the COVID-19 pandemic. Ridership plummeted last year as people were forced to stay home to avoid spreading the virus.

While ridership still hasn’t sprung back to pre-pandemic levels, it is showing some signs of revival. But if it doesn’t return to its full levels before the pandemic, some pieces of transit systems that are in disrepair might not be needed at all, said Jeff Davis, senior fellow at the Eno Center for Transportation.

Money that would have been used to expand systems to accommodate growing ridership, he said, then could be used for capital maintenance.

“Our transit industry has been underfunded for decades,” said Paul Skoutelas, CEO of the American Public Transportation Association. “This bill, while robust and welcomed, is not going to address every need that’s there.”

Transit funding still lags far behind the money marked for road improvements that encourage car driving, said Benito Pérez, policy director at the Washington-based advocacy organization Transportation for America. He criticized the bill for not providing enough help to transit agencies dealing with the loss of state and local operational funding.

While federal funds can be used to support operations at smaller rural transit agencies, they can be used only for capital improvements at agencies that serve larger population centers.

“In absolute numbers, it’s a big number,” Pérez said. “In relative terms, it's status quo.”

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Expanding service

Hundreds of billions of dollars worth of “theoretical transit projects” exist across the country, said Yonah Freemark, senior research associate at the Urban Institute. The $8 billion provided in the bipartisan infrastructure deal could support dozens of projects that expand transit service, he said.

New bus rapid transit lines that run alongside traffic – often in a dedicated right of way – and get priority at traffic lights could be funded by those grant programs. Streetcar lines could crop up or expand.

“That’s going to change lots of communities. The choices the administration makes about what it wants out of those projects are going to inform the future of American travel,” he said.

Transit agencies often plan their capital projects five and 10 years in advance, so many already have projects in their pipelines ready to compete for federal dollars, Skoutelas said.

The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority plans to pursue funding for a bi-state streetcar extension between Kansas and Missouri, and it has a bus rapid transit project that it wants to build into a “sustainable corridor,” said Robbie Makinen, the agency’s chief executive.

The BRT line would use zero-emission vehicles, solar energy to power stops and incorporate affordable housing and broadband expansion initiatives, he said.

“This kind of funding, this kind of investment in the future of public transit, I think is absolutely amazing,” he said.

The transit agency serving Las Vegas also is eyeing money to expand its bus rapid transit service. One proposal would link the city's airport to a university campus, its downtown and a medical district, Swallow said.

The Central Ohio Transit Authority already has two bus rapid transit projects in the pipeline for the program that got an $8 billion boost and expects to add a third next year, said Patrick Harris, an assistant vice president at the agency.

The Columbus-based bus service is transitioning its fleet away from diesel fuel and plans to be powered by only compressed natural gas and electricity by 2025. It also plans to pursue federal funds to build a transit center near a logistics hub that could link workers to transportation options, health care and food.

“It’s hard to say if it’s enough,” Harris said of the billions allocated for transit. “Congress can’t close the longstanding infrastructure investment gap that has accumulated over the years in just one bill.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Infrastructure bill's 'transformational' transit funds may fall short