Congress order Federal Transit Administration to limit funding

Congress recently ordered the Federal Transit Administration to pay no more than 60 percent of the capital costs of new mass transit projects. The Bush administration’s proposed budget for the 2004 fiscal year would further reduce the federal match for new mass transit to 50 percent. Meanwhile, the federal government continues to pay 80 to 90 percent of the capital costs of major highways. Those are just a few of the inequities that favor highway funding over mass transit, according to a new 20-page report from Brookings Institution’s Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy. The report, “Highways and Transit: Leveling the Playing Field in Federal Transportation Policy,” by Edward Beimborn and Robert Puentes, can be found at www.brookings.edu/urban.