APTA Webinar: Report on State and Local Transit Ballot Measures
11/8/2024
APTA held a webinar Nov. 7 on the transit ballot initiatives that passed Nov. 5 across the U.S. To date in 2024, total funding for public transit is more than $25 billion. APTA Chair MJ Maynard, CEO, Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada; and APTA President and CEO Paul P. Skoutelas opened the webinar. Jessica Grennan, executive director, APTA Center for Transportation Excellence, then offered a summary of local transit ballot measure campaigns and outcomes.
A panel conversation followed, with KateGallego, mayor, City of Phoenix, AZ; Eileen Higgins, county commissioner, Miami-Dade, FL; Steve Bland, CEO, WeGo Public Transit, Nashville, TN; and Monica Tellez-Fowler, president & CEO, Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA), Columbus, OH.
“No matter what, no matter if you live in a red state, a blue state, purple state, anywhere in between; if you’re rural, if you’re urban, people support transit,” said Grennan. “And that’s a really interesting issue to work on, that regardless of the political makeup, people are supporting transit.”
Transit campaigns across the U.S. have gained more momentum in recent years Grennan added, because of the increased focus on accessibility, green infrastructure, and reconnecting communities. In addition, elected officials have also focused their efforts on building resilient communities. These measures were not just presented as temporary fixes, but part of the broader vision for building more livable and sustainable communities.
“A lot of these campaigns were supported by well-organized bipartisan structures that support transit systems,” Grennan noted. “And they focused on making the case for public transit as a job director, a creator, a tool for reducing congestion, and a path to more equitable communities.”
And the campaigns also had this in common: “They all worked with their communities on the best way to talk about transit. They used research, they used different groups in the community to build out what the best communication structure was to make the case on why we needed to pass these initiatives this year.”
Mayor Gallego discussed the pivotal Proposition 479, which will extend Maricopa County’s half-cent sales tax to help fund and maintain public transit and light rail for the next 20 years.
She described a campaign that invested heavily in research, focus groups, polling, journaling, to understand the right messaging. “We did a multimedia campaign from billboards to mail to some television and digital, which I think was helpful,” she said. “We also had really broad stakeholders in the ballot guide that went out to voters, which is a government publication in our community. Every mayor talked about what was in it for their community and some of our regional leaders as well, just so people could know.”
Commissioner Higgins had a different approach. “Our county is huge,” she noted. “Geographically, we’re larger than two states. Some of our corridors are 20 miles long. In other words, billions of dollars. So, we did a couple of things. We did non-ballot things. We wanted to assess voter sentiment and begin to feel as if we had a mandate to move forward with this. And so, we just asked a very simple question this year, no money attached to it.”
Bland explained that the huge transportation improvement plan that went to Nashville voters was branded as ‘Choose How You Move.’ The plan includes a sales tax increase in Davidson County to partially fund dozens of miles of new sidewalks, hundreds of traffic signal upgrades, a 24/7 bus service, and miles of all-access corridors.
The plan had its detractors, but Bland said an educational and advocacy campaign was launched and the business community weighed in with positive backing. “Fortunately, in our community, advancing transit and mobility efforts has always enjoyed intensely strong support from our business community, led by the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, our institutions of higher learning, and our sports teams.”
Tellez-Fowler discussed COTA’s Link Us campaign, which, she said, was focused on a growth strategy for central Ohio. “We’re expecting approximately a million more people in our region by 2050, so we wanted to make sure that we have a comprehensive plan to address the growth as well as provide mobility options that help reduce the risk of congestion—all while we continue to make transit more accessible and equitable for not just our current but our future customers,” she said.
The approved sales tax levy will allow COTA to increase service by 45 percent, introduce rapid transit to Central Ohio, and build 500 miles of sidewalks, trails, and bike paths.