Conditions and Performance Chapter Listing

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Introduction

Summary

Highway and Bridge Finance

Transit Finance

Capital Funding and Expenditures

Funding for capital projects for mass transit in the U.S. continues to come entirely from public sources. In 1997 these expenditures totaled $7.6 billion dollars, a sharp increase over 1995, which in turn was a substantial increase over prior years. Unlike the 1995 increase, however, which came about due to increases in both Federal and State funding, the 1997 increase was due primarily to an increase in Federal assistance for capital projects. This is reflected in an increase in the Federal share of capital funding to 54 percent, up strongly after falling from 58 percent to 42 percent from 1990 to 1993 (Exhibit 6-23).

Exhibit 6-23. Sources of Transit Capital Funds, 1990-1997

Types of capital expenditure include rolling stock (buses, rail cars, locomotives), facilities (maintenance facilities, terminals and stations, fixed guideway systems), and other expenditures (service vehicles, administrative facilities). Of the $7.6 billion in capital expenditures on transit in 1997, nearly two-thirds was spent on rail modes (commuter rail, heavy rail, light rail, etc.), with 30 percent going to bus systems and the remainder being spent on other modes. Among types of capital expenditures, facilities, including fixed guideway systems, were by far the largest expense, at roughly double the amount spent on rolling stock (buses, train cars, etc.). Differences do appear, however, in the type of capital expenditures made on different modes. For rail systems, facilities are by far the largest expense, at $3.6 billion, or 71 percent of total capital expenditures. For bus and other transit modes, however, expenditures on rolling stock are the dominant type of capital cost (Exhibit 6-24). These differences primarily reflect the reliance of rail modes on independent, fixed guideway systems, whereas buses, vanpools, and demand response vehicles are able to share the roadways with private vehicles.

Exhibit 6-24. Transit Capital Expenditures by Type of Expenditure, 1997