May 27, 2016
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Public Transportation Infrastructure 'Crumbling,' Say APTA Members; Agency GMs Speak Out on SGR during National Media Call

To mark this year’s National Infrastructure Week, APTA conducted a national press call with CEOs of large, mid-size and small public transportation systems who sounded the alarm for the urgent need to increase infrastructure investment.

“After decades of inadequate investment, the American public transportation infrastructure is crumbling,” said APTA Chair Valarie J. McCall, board member, Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA). “This neglect demands attention at all levels of government so that public transit can continue to help grow communities and businesses.”

McCall presided at the event, which featured APTA Acting President & CEO Richard White and several transit agency general managers. Their extensive remarks are excerpted below. Find the complete audio at the APTA website.

“Our system is safe, but inadequate funding to modernize our infrastructure is making it harder and harder to guarantee both the safety and reliability of our system. … Collectively, our 108-railcar fleet is the oldest in the nation and will maintain that dubious honor for years into the future as we have no identified capacity to finance its replacement. I tip my hat off every day to our talented mechanics that regularly fabricate parts and components for these old railcars because replacement parts are no longer commercially available. … We must invest more to keep our economic engine in a good state of repair. I know we can do better and we must do better.”
— Joe Calabrese, CEO/general ­manager, GCRTA


“Altogether, we have about a $2.5 billion backlog in terms of state of good repair, meaning that we have $2.5 billion worth of assets that are beyond their useful life and need to be replaced. … We’re doing our best to keep the system in a state of good repair, but even with strong local support … we’re not going to be able to meet the need, and we have big needs. … But my feeling about infrastructure is that it’s not very exciting, and when it’s working fine, people don’t notice it, but when we have failures … they get their fair share of the headlines.”
— Ed Reiskin, director of ­transportation, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency


“The Chicago Transit Authority is the second largest transit system in the country, carrying 1.6 million riders per day … . [L]ike many other legacy transit systems in the United States, CTA is continually facing the challenges of fixing or replacing our aging infrastructure. … Currently, CTA has a $13 billion worth of state of good repair backlog … . There is no doubt in my mind that the need for capital infrastructure funding that allows us to continue to maintain the systems that we currently have, much less talk about growing them, is a critical need for the city of Chicago and for the country as a whole.”
— Dorval Carter, president, CTA

“This is actually a problem that stretches across the country that affects rural America and smaller cities as well, such as mine in Vancouver, WA. For us, infrastructure consists of buses, vans and the operation centers and maintenance facilities that support them, and for the last 10 years in particular, help for investment in maintaining what we have has lagged. … [W]e are integral parts of the transit system in our communities, and too much of what we do is performed with outdated equipment and facilities. Our citizens and our economy deserve better.”
— Jeff Hamm, executive director/CEO, C-TRAN

“Our state of good repair backlog, estimated at $5 billion in 2013, impacts service reliability and future ridership growth, which is vital to supporting employment and economic activity in our region. Our current rate of spending—our capital spending—will mean 20 years at a minimum before SEPTA can achieve a state of good repair. This does not include any improvements to our system. State of good repair investment in legacy rail transportation infrastructure in cities where ridership is highest and demand continues to grow is a wise investment that generates great returns, but it is also important to address the changing needs of our region.”
— Jeffrey Knueppel, general manager, SEPTA


“I announced the SafeTrack plan, which will have major impacts on our customers. … We’re going to accomplish three years of work in less than one year. … [T]he priority must be safety over service and we have to catch up, and so that’s what we will do. By no means is this plan a cure-all. It really just reflects the need for continued investment on an annual basis for this infrastructure here, as well as other infrastructure … . If not, I think we again are an example of what occurs when you do not do that—the deterioration of service, the unsafe service and then the need to [take] drastic actions.”
— Paul Wiedefeld, general manager/CEO, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority

“The major challenge facing New Jersey Transit is, How do we meet capacity demand? Ridership forecasts are robust and handling rising customer demand goes far beyond adding rolling stock—rail or bus or light railcars. You can’t handle the capacity growth without the necessary railyards, bus garages and other support facilities. … Transit is critical to New Jersey and New York and the region, to our economy, to the environment and to our citizens’ quality of life, and transit cannot function without steady investment in the infrastructure.”
— Dennis Martin, interim executive director, New Jersey Transit

“How to strike a balance between high capital costs for infrastructure repair and the demand for service expansion remains a primary concern. … Transit systems drive economic growth, and our region, as an epicenter of innovation, is poised for an increase in population, but the way our funding stands today, we simply do not have the money to meet much of an influx. If we don’t find a way to address these issues and break through this barrier, we fear riders will seek other transportation options and we’ll have missed a tremendous opportunity for our region.”
— Ellen McLean, CEO, Port ­Authority of Allegheny County


“Commentary” features points of view from various sources to enhance readers’ broad awareness of themes that affect public transportation.
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