2021 Is the Start of Transit’s New, Different Future

The start of every new calendar year brings predictions about the challenges and opportunities ahead. This year, however, our ability to turn trends into triumphs will build on what we learned and what we accomplished in 2020.

2021’s prognostications carry with them intrinsic optimism. January brings the inauguration of a new president, the swearing-in of a new Congress, and the broad national roll-out of coronavirus vaccines – all of which have crucial implications for public transportation.

Many of the issues that our industry has been discussing for some time – such as the mandate for greater innovation, our investment in a future-ready workforce, the need for more federal funding, adoption of leading-edge technologies, and a willingness to address social issues – are still as relevant as they were a year ago. But with one critically important difference: all these transformative challenges are now coming at us much faster than anyone could have anticipated. They will define a different world of new mobility priorities and opportunities. 

APTA members understand what this means for 2021 and beyond. As you’ll see in the January 8th edition of Passenger Transport, many transit agencies are focusing on capital expenditures in zero emission technology and electric vehicles, expansion of on-demand services, initiatives to advance social and racial equity, ideas for sustainable funding alternatives, and new ways to measure the many benefits of public transit.

APTA members are already working on improvements and expansions thanks largely to ballot initiatives approved by voters over the last three elections. Additionally, many rebuilding projects have moved faster because of reduced service schedules and lower rider demand during the pandemic.

To help our members succeed in the new “normal,” APTA’s Washington agenda is designed to prepare for a different future.

The Washington Agenda

Public transit agencies were helped by the $25 billion in last March’s CARES Act and are eagerly awaiting $14 billion more from the COVID-19 emergency package signed into law two weeks ago. But our industry is still suffering and in need of much more assistance. For much of 2020, we aggressively sought at least $32 billion in additional emergency funding, so we are beginning 2021 with a significant shortfall. 

Securing additional financial emergency support remains APTA’s first goal.

In addition to this urgently needed essential aid, Washington must make decisions this year that will determine how public transportation successfully navigates future demands. Our focus is on enacting modern, multi-year authorization legislation to succeed the FAST Act that addresses the long-neglected issue of infrastructure investment. 

According to the 2020 edition of “Failure to Act: Closing the Infrastructure Investment Gap for America's Economic Future,” a report by the American Society of Civil Engineers, public transit’s current backlog is more than $176 billion for vehicles, facilities, and track that are already past their useful lives. It is time to make “Infrastructure Week” into “Infrastructure Work” by passing once-in-a-generation legislation that fully transforms our nation’s mobility networks, making them more accessible, resilient, efficient, and environmentally progressive.

APTA leaders have met repeatedly with the Biden-Harris transportation transition team, headed by former APTA Chair and Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority CEO Phil Washington. We provided detailed recommendations to Phil and his colleagues, and we are hopeful the new administration will support pro-transit legislation and policies.

With the benefit of future-oriented federal support, our industry will have the resources to:

-       Build a high-skill, knowledge-based labor force that matches the new work we will be called upon to do. This means hiring for – and investing in – career paths that depend on problem-solving skills; creativity; agility and adaptability; and diversity and inclusion. 

-       Design and deliver the solutions customers want: flexible and connected travel choices; real-time information; a healthy, safe, and environmentally friendly trip; reliability and efficiency; and amenities that make the experience easy, fun, and desirable.

-       Define a meaningful role for transit to address societal challenges that have rarely been thought of as “transit issues,” including racial justice, homelessness, affordable housing, and access to mobility for all.

Public transportation is an essential element of healing and resurgence in a changed society. As people adjust to a new way of working, shopping, and connecting, our industry will be expected to be smarter and more responsive. 

This is the year we ensure public transportation leads that future to remain the mainstay of a free, fair, and mobile nation. Here’s to a new year of seminal success!