Public Transportation on the Move in Rural America

Report Introduction: Public transportation offers mobility for residents of rural America, particularly people without cars, who tend to be lower-income. Overall usage of transit services in rural America is not high, with only about a half of one percent of nonmetro residents using it as their primary means of transportation to work (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2000). However, in many smaller communities with both longer distances between built-up areas and low population densities, transit can help bridge the spatial divide between people and jobs, services, and training opportunities (fig. 1). In recent years, the importance of public transportation in rural areas has been demonstrated by the key role it has played in the implementation of welfare reform (Stommes, Brown, and Houston, 2002). Federal programs for surface transportation -- public transportation, as well as highways and highway safety -- are up for reauthorization by Congress in 2004. Last authorized in 1998 under the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), the legislation provided $1.18 billion over 1998-2003 for rural public transportation, with an additional $456 million available (in both rural and urban areas) for specialized transit needs such as transporting elderly residents and individuals with disabilities. Reauthorization represents an opportunity to examine issues of importance surrounding the public transportation needs of rural America.