Read the classifieds in this issue to learn about 7 bids & proposals and 7 transit job opportunities!

Henke is a member of the Passenger Transport Advisory Board.

For this opportunity, I thought I’d take a page from all those “top stories” lists you read in the news and watch on television at the end of the year. Here is my take on the seven most important stories of our industry this past year, many of which will continue into the new year—in no particular order.

1.  Federal State of Good Repair funds. DOT Secretary Ray LaHood announced a combined $776 million for urban and rural transit providers in 45 states and the District of Columbia to help bring buses, bus facilities, and related equipment into a state of good repair. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) awarded funds from its new State of Good Repair discretionary grant program to 152 projects to start addressing the need cited in DOT’s National State of Good Repair Assessment Study, released last June. It estimated that the cost of bringing the nation’s rail and bus transit systems into a state of good repair is close to $78 billion.

2. Rail safety actions. DOT named 20 officials to the Transit Rail Advisory Committee for Safety (TRACS), an advisory committee that will assist FTA with developing national safety standards for rail transit. In December 2009, the Obama administration sent Congress the President’s Public Transportation Safety Program Act of 2009, which would authorize DOT to establish federal safety standards for rail transit systems, reversing a prohibition that has been in effect since 1965. TRACS will guide FTA’s safety rulemaking agenda if the final legislation is enacted.

3. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding obligated on time. Providing $8.78 billion for transit improvements, ARRA created thousands of jobs in the U.S.; a $2.2 million Transit Investments for Greenhouse Gas and Energy Reduction grant to Indiana’s Greater Lafayette Public Transportation Corporation was the final grant awarded, in September. In addition, $443 million from the Federal Highway Administration Surface Transportation Program was transferred to transit projects. All told, ARRA money has paid for more than 12,000 buses, vans, and rail vehicles; more than $4.5 billion in transit infrastructure construction or renovation; and more than $730 million in preventive maintenance projects. The money also allowed major projects, such as Dallas’ light rail Green Line, to finish ahead of schedule and under budget.

4. FTA announces intent to emphasize economic development in New Starts/Small Starts rule changes. Following the earlier-announced policy shift to eliminate strict use of cost-effectiveness measures developed by the Bush administration, FTA requested advance public comment on how to change the way major transit project proposals seeking federal funding are rated and evaluated. “We must fairly evaluate all advantages that a transit project may offer, including economic development opportunities and environmental benefits,” said LaHood. The first step in this initiative came in January 2010, when FTA rescinded budget restrictions issued in 2005 that focused primarily on how much a project shortened average commute times in comparison to its cost. FTA’s proposed rulemaking is expected next summer.

5. More transit funded under TIGER II. Following ARRA’s Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program, LaHood announced awards for more than 70 transportation projects under the TIGER II program, created as part of the Fiscal Year 2010 transportation appropriations bill. Forty-two capital construction projects and 33 planning projects in 40 states—ranging from highways and bridges to transit, rail, and ports—were awarded. Roughly 29 percent of TIGER II money went to road projects, 26 percent for transit, and 20 percent for intercity rail projects. However, these grants were among those that the new Republican House majority is said to be targeting for a rescission bill that will be introduced early in the new Congress.

6. New Republican governors reject federal grants for major rail and transit infrastructure. Several newly elected conservative governors announced their intentions to kill some federally funded intercity and high-speed rail projects, but none of these announcements was more high-profile than one by a governor elected in 2009. FTA has given cash-strapped New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s administration until Dec. 24 to repay money for work already spent—and on engineering, land acquisition, and other costs—for activities underway on the massive Access to the Region’s Core (ARC) tunneling project. Christie canceled the tunnel after federal estimates showed the state could have to pay for billions more than planned. New Jersey is challenging FTA’s demands to return the federal funding.

7. Voters continue to approve local transit referenda. Despite the worst economy since the 1930s—or perhaps because of it—voters approved 77 percent of transportation ballot measures in 2010. In sum, this is over $1 billion toward transportation investment. In November, 22 out of 30 measures were approved in 13 states. For the entire year, the Center for Transportation Excellence found that voters approved 43 out of 56 measures.

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