Safety, Growth, and Equity: Transportation
Our nation’s transportation infrastructure is composed of many interconnected systems—a network of interstate and regional highways, local streets and roads, rail and bus transit systems, bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure (such as bike lanes, sidewalks, paths, and greenways), as well as paratransit and other transportation services for the elderly, the disabled, and others with special transportation needs.
Local and regional governments play the lead role in financing the construction and maintenance of our transportation infrastructure, with the federal government playing a smaller, but nevertheless significant, role via subsidies. In 1956, Congress established the Highway Trust Fund to finance the construction of the interstate highway system, with revenues from the federal tax on gasoline. In the early 1980s, Congress broadened the fund to provide some funding for transit as well. For every 18 cents of federal gas tax, about 3 cents flow to transit, and about 15 cents to highways.[1]
With the passage of the federal ISTEA (Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act) law in 1991 and the TEA-21 law in 1998, some new flexibility was given to states to determine how best to spend their federal transportation dollars. This included using some highway funds for transit or alternative modes of transportation. California has taken advantage of the new flexibility and funding for alternative modes of transportation more so than most other states. It alone accounted for over half of all federal funding flexed to transit during 1998–2002.
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[1] “Fueling Transportation Finance: A Primer on the Gas Tax,” Brookings Institution, March 2003.