Impacts of Funding and Allocation Changes on Rural Transit in Texas

7556319192011Final Report; Jan. 2010-Feb. 2011PDFTech ReportUTCM 10-19-46DTRT06-G-0044Rural transitPublic transitGovernment fundingCost allocationRural transit--Texas--FinanceLocal transit--Texas--FinanceResearch HubTexasUnited StatesTexas Transportation InstituteEdrington, SuzieBrooks, JonathanTexas Transportation Institute. University Transportation Center for MobilityUnited States. Dept. of Transportation. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and TechnologyNTL-PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION-PUBLIC TRANSPORTATIONNTL-PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION-Transit Economics and FinancesNTL-PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION-Transit Planning and PolicyNTL-PLANNING AND POLICY-Transit Planning and PolicyNTL-ECONOMICS AND FINANCE-FundingNTL-ECONOMICS AND FINANCE-Transit Economics and FinanceUS Transportation CollectionFunding for Rural Transit Districts (RTDs) in Texas has gone through notable change since 2003. First, the Federal Transit Administration increased funding for non-urbanized (rural) areas under the provisions of the Safe Accountable Flexible and Efficiency Transportation Equity Act \u2013 a Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). At the same time, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) implemented a revised \u201cneeds and performance\u201d based method for allocating both federal and state funds among RTDs effective fiscal year 2005. The revised method for allocating funds resulted in some RTDs receiving less federal and state funds, while Tech Reports received more funds. The 2010 Census will introduce anTech Report change in funding due to changes in RTD population and land area, the two \u201cneeds\u201d factors in the revised method for allocating funds. New and expanding urbanized areas will have an impact on adjacent RTDs. The population in rural areas near the border or surrounding metropolitan areas will increase faster relative to Tech Report parts of Texas. One of the objectives of this research was to document the impact of the change in allocation of federal and state funds on service levels and ridership. A second objective was to assess whether the relative changes in federal and state funding have affected the ability of RTDs to provide local share match for federal funds. This information will help to understand how changes in federal and state funding have affected transit in rural Texas and will contribute to a discussion by stakeholders of possible revisions to the TxDOT funding formula based on the outcomes of Census 2010