Major Infrastructure Investment Should Be the Norm
5/21/2025
Public transportation systems in the U.S. have benefitted from billions of dollars in investment over the past few years, thanks to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which has revitalized long-neglected networks and created thousands of jobs, said Rep. Rick Larsen (D-WA) at APTA’s 2025 Legislative Conference.
Larsen, who is the ranking member of the House Committee on Transportation Infrastructure, credits the IIJA with helping make major improvements to a transportation system in dire need of overdue investment.
“My top priority is to create the job-creating infrastructure investments that we’ve seen in the last several years, while making the transportation system that we do have safer, cleaner, and much more accessible to everyone,” he said.
Larson cited a long list of transportation achievements that the measure has been credited for, including providing funding that supported nearly 90,000 new projects in every congressional district in the U.S., calling the bill “a game changer for the nation’s transit systems.”
The investment in the nation’s transportation sector translates into 700,000 jobs, he said; and not only has it created jobs, but has made it easier for people to get to and from their places of employment.
“Communities around the country are finally receiving transformational investments in light rail, buses, subways, ferries, and paratransit, along with roads, bridges, rail, airports, and ports. Infrastructure connects people to the community. It provides people connections to the jobs and the jobs around them. Robust investment gives people the freedom to choose how they want to get around.”
Larsen urged the vital importance of continuing the work to improve the nation’s transportation networks and said that reauthorization is key to that goal. He urged public transportation industry professionals at the conference to make sure that they let their lawmakers know just how important it is to reauthorize the legislation.
“As you all refine your policy priorities, share them early and often with your congressional delegation about what transit agencies need from the next bill, “ he said. “Major infrastructure investment should be the norm and not the exception.”