APTA: Appropriations bill includes good news for transit

Public transit "fared well" under the $1.1 trillion fiscal-year 2014 appropriations bill Congress passed late last week, with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) receiving full funding authorized for core programs, American Public Transportation Association (APTA) officials announced.

Under the bill, which President Obama signed on Jan. 17, the FTA will receive $8.6 billion for core programs as called for under the surface transportation law known as MAP-21, according to an APTA legislative alert.

The bill included $1.9 billion for New Starts funding from the General Fund, plus an unobligated prior-year balance available to New Starts; $40 million for the Section 5312 Research, Development, Demonstration and Deployment Program; $3 million for the Transit Cooperative Research Program; and $150 million for Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority investments.

In addition, the bill appropriates $1.39 billion for Amtrak capital and operating grants, as well as $81 million from the Hurricane Sandy Disaster Supplemental bill to be used to support Amtrak's efforts to improve tunnels in the Northeast Corridor. The bill does not, however, include funding for intercity or high-speed passenger rail development, APTA officials said.

The legislation also provides $600 million for the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program, which is $126 million higher than what was provided last year, APTA's alert stated.