CTR for Transportation Excellenc

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  • Press Release: Voters Across the Country Support Public Transportation at the Ballot Box

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    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    November 9, 2022

    Contact:
    Ian Moor, ian@cfte.org
    T.J. Doyle, TDoyle@apta.com

    VOTERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY SUPPORT
    PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AT THE BALLOT BOX

    In Tuesday’s election, voters across the U.S. added to primary wins, passing 29 out of 36 measures supporting public transit so far, boasting an 80.56% win rate to date in 2022

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – In communities across the country, voters on Tuesday continued to voice their overwhelming support for public transit by approving 14 out of 19 measures supporting public transit. At this time, one measure is still awaiting results. Last night’s results add to the 15 public transit measures already passed by voters this year, bringing this year’s total to 29 out of 36 wins for public transit, an 80.56% win rate. This number is expected to hold steady as final results come in for the remaining measures.

    Tuesday’s results add to a string of historic years for transit at the ballot box, with over 85% of measures winning for public transit from 2017 to 2022. At a time when the federal government is more committed than ever to funding transit and infrastructure, voters agree and are putting their money where their mouth is to provide a local match.

    “Almost one year ago, President Biden signed the historic Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to provide state and local communities with long overdue funding for transportation, including public transit. In the year since, communities have met the moment and stepped up with bold visions for their transportation futures and asked voters for local funding to match,” said APTA President & CEO Paul P. Skoutelas. “We’re heartened to see that voters have once again put trust in their communities with overwhelming victories for measures funding public transit across the nation last night and throughout the past year, and we’re excited to see even more communities follow suit in 2023 and 2024.”

    “For years, the public’s support for transit has been on a roll, and 2022 is no different,” said Josh Cohen, Executive Director of APTA’s Center for Transportation Excellence. “Voters support transit at the ballot box because it can transform a community and create pathways to a more equitable and accessible future. Transit is the only issue that unites leaders from all walks of society, from elected officials to transit agencies to business to labor to the grassroots, around a common vision that benefits all of us. While some of the larger measures suffered a setback, the results from the 2022 elections reflect a years-long trend toward greater investment.”

    The measures winning at the ballot box Tuesday represent billions in new funding. Some of last night’s biggest victories for public transit include:

    • An extension of a half-cent sales tax for 30 years in San Francisco, CA. This measure will allow the local transportation authority to issue up to $1.91 billion in bonds for transportation projects.
    • A statewide ballot initiative in Massachusetts that would place additional 4% tax on earners over $1 million – in addition to the existing 5% flat-rate state income tax – to generate a total revenue of $1,300,000,000. The revenue can be used for education, roads, bridges, and public transportation.
    • A $52,630,000 bond to fund a variety of transportation, road, pedestrian enhancement and transit projects across Arlington County, VA.
    • Two propositions to stay with Capital Metro and maintain public transit service in Lago Vista and Manor, TX, joining a similar victory earlier this year in Leander, TX.
    • Multiple transportation millage renewals and initiatives in Michigan, including:
      • A levy of 0.478-mill to continue the Bay Area Transit Authority’s bus service in both Grand Traverse & Leelanau County for four years.
      • A 6-year renewal of 0.2 of 1-millage for the Huron Transit Corporation in Huron County.
      • A renewal of a 0.95-mill rate to maintain and increase SMART transit services for five years in Macomb County.
      • A 10-year, countywide 0.95-mill rate to fund SMART bus transportation system and expand mass transit in Oakland County.
      • A four-year 0.996-mill tax for SMART services in Wayne County.
    • Several countywide sales tax measures in Colorado, such as:
      • An extension of the 0.1% countywide transportation sales tax in Boulder County.
      • A 0.5-cent sales tax increase to fund a new transit authority in Eagle County.
      • An extension of the Pikes Peak Regional Transportation Authority’s 1-cent sales tax for 10 years in El Paso County.

    Unfortunately, the following measures fell short:

    • An early renewal of Fresno County, CA’s Measure C sales tax for transportation. The measure needed ⅔ supermajority support to pass, and fell short of that mark. The current tax does not expire until 2026 so the County still has time to pursue another renewal without a loss of funding.
    • An early renewal of Madera County, CA’s Measure T sales tax for transportation. The measure needed ⅔ supermajority support to pass, and fell short of that mark. The current tax does not expire until 2026 so the County still has time to pursue another renewal without a loss of funding.
    • A sales tax measure for transportation in Hillsborough County, FL. The measure faced legal challenges in the last few weeks, with a judge removing the item from the ballot until the court of appeals issued a stay of that order.
    • A sales tax measure for transportation in Orange County, FL.
    • A sales tax measure for transportation in New Hanover County, NC.

    At the time this note was sent, the following measure has not yet been called:

    • A sales tax initiative in Sacramento County, CA which would raise the county sales tax by one-half of 1% for 40 years and raise $8.5 billion to fund dozens of transportation projects. As of Wednesday morning, the measure is trailing narrowly.

    APTA’s Center for Transportation Excellence tracks all of the measures at its website and through its Twitter account.

    Please let us know if you have additional questions.

    ###

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  • Reflections and Holiday Wishes

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    As 2021 comes to a close, the team at CFTE wishes you happy holidays!

    This year has been challenging but fruitful for advocates of public transportation. Despite the pandemic’s nagging persistence, advocates scored major victories in Congress by passing the American Rescue Plan Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, one of the largest single investments in transportation infrastructure in history.

    These laws represent enormous achievements that will lead to better mobility options and cleaner, healthier cities. Kudos to all who helped make it happen!

    Further, 11 state and local campaigns across the country won approval from voters to invest in public transit and brought public transit to its first perfect record year at the ballot box. Our local wins may have been more modest, but we’ll take a 1000% batting average any time!

    Team CFTE is truly grateful to all our partners and colleagues across the country. They have poured themselves into the inexhaustible work of planning, strategizing, organizing, and executing the initiatives and campaigns that make our communities better.

    As we head into 2022, COVID is still the lingering unknown. Cities that had previously postponed ballot measures are considering them again but unsure what the political atmosphere will bring, especially heading into a heated midterm election. That said, nothing is ever certain and the momentum ushered in from the two major national laws brings with it a wave of public attention and support that cities can build on.

    Political analysis is an important part of the calculus, but there is one consistent thread in recent years: Public transit is popular. It’s our job to translate that popularity into wins.

    For that reason, we are optimistic. 2022 is shaping up to be a big turnout year at the ballot box and communities are pushing forward innovative measures to fund their local systems.

    CFTE is excited to tell you in the new year about some of the amazing campaigns we’re collaborating with and we look forward to working with more communities in the coming months. Please feel free to reach out if your community is thinking about a measure and would like to talk about how CFTE can help — you can also visit our website CFTE.org, which we update regularly.

    Last but not least, CFTE will be announcing in January the dates and location of our Transportation Initiatives and Communities Workshop. We’re excited about it and hope you are, too.

    Once again, happy holidays from the team at CFTE. We hope you have a safe and joyful holiday season.

    Best,
    Josh, Ian, and the CFTE Team

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