It’s Time to Be Bold—Again

ALAN WULKAN
President (Retired)
The Wulkan Group

Following the 1980 election of Ronald Reagan, transit was one of many federally funded national programs targeted for reduction or elimination by the new Administration. At the January 1981 APTA Legislative Conference, speaker after speaker warned of potential serious impacts on the public transportation industry.

The tradition at APTA’s Legislative Conference on the day that attendees were scheduled to go to Capitol Hill to lobby their Members of Congress, was to have a speaker give “The Charge to the Hill.” APTA staff asked me to deliver that year’s message. It is fair to say the mood during the conference was very sour. Most congressional speakers discussed the need to defend our current program, with some suggesting we should be ready to accept severe funding cuts. Clearly, it was going to be a challenge to get conference participants excited about going to the Hill.

Despite the atmosphere that day, my message was that our industry should be proud of what we do for the United States, to be bold and make the case for increased federal funding, and don’t be afraid to push back against the idea that Congress should cut federal transit funding. The response from the crowd was amazing. You could feel the energy in the room. That conference set the stage for a two-year re-authorization effort and the passage of Surface Transportation Assistance Act, creating a new Mass Transit Account within the Highway Trust Fund.

Today, we face a similar challenge. Even before the presidential election, there was talk that, thanks to the incredible success the transit industry had in increasing funding during COVID and in the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure and Jobs Act (IIJA), it would be difficult to maintain the level of funding we currently have. Now, we have an incoming Administration that is talking about reducing the size of the federal government with a new Republican majority in the Senate and House, which may not have public transportation funding as a high priority.

Once again, it is time to be bold! Our industry more than proved its value as essential to the nation’s recovery from COVID. Ridership in many communities has reached or surpassed pre-COVID levels. We have demonstrated that federal funding supports good paying middle-class jobs across the United States. In addition, public transportation investments have led to billions of dollars in economic development throughout the country.

The IIJA expires in 2026. APTA has begun the process of putting together the industry’s re-authorization proposal. We continue to be proud of the role public transportation plays in the United States. We touch every aspect of Americans lives. We need new, bold ideas to increase the level of federal funding in the next Surface Transportation Act. We have amazing APTA staff supporting the industry. We have a strong, vibrant business community, which will be more important than ever during this process. Finally, we have strong leadership at the local, state, and national levels, which will be essential to our success.

It’s Now Time to Be Bold—Again!