Texas Transit Association

SAFETEA-LU

Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act - A Legacy for Users

General Highlights

• Signed by President Bush on August 10, 2005
• Allowed total funding to rise to $286.4 billion for the six year authorization period
• Guarantees all states an eventual 92 percent rate of return

Significant Changes

• Provides funding for transit new starts
• Enhances environmental streamlining regulations
• Changes clean air conformity regulations
• Creates a new consolidate safety program
• Expands reliance on innovative financing and tolls

Transit Reauthorization

General Highlights

• Increased transit funding by 46 percent to $52.6 billion for six years
• Increased the proportionate share going to the Non-Urbanized (rural) Formula Program from 3.3 percent to 5.2 percent

New Transit Programs

Growing States Program and High-Density States Program

Together, these programs add $1.7 billion to the Urbanized Area Formula and Non-Urbanized Area Formula programs. This amounts to about a 10 percent increase over the FY2006 - FY2009 period. Half of the funding is distributed to urbanized areas in states whose population densities exceed 370 persons per mile. These states include Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island. The other half of the funding is apportioned to states according to population forecasts for 15 years beyond the date of the most recent census and distributed to both urbanized and non-urbanized areas within each recipient state according to the ration between urban and rural population within that state.

New Freedom Program

This program, designed to increase transportation to persons with disabilities, is authorized at $339 million for FY2006-2009.

Alternative Transportation in Parks and Public Lands Program

This program is authorized at $97 million. It is intended to provide transportation alternatives to the private automobile in national parks and public lands.

Small Transit Intensive Cities Formula Program

This program is funded by a one percent set-aside of the Urbanized Area Formula Program, providing about $150 million for FY2006 - FY2009. The program provides additional funding for small (under 200,000 in population) urbanized areas that provide a level of transit service comparable to the provided by urbanized areas with populations between 200,000 and one million. Factors measured for this program are passenger miles per vehicle revenue mile and vehicle revenue hour, vehicle revenue miles and hours per capita, and passengers and passenger miles per capita.

Small Starts Program

The Small Starts Program is a new section within the New Starts Program. Small Starts projects are those seeking less than $75 million for new fixed-guideway systems or extensions to existing systems. These projects will be subject to a streamlined evaluation process with fewer evaluation categories. $200 million is authorized for FY2006 - FY2009.

New Apportionment Factors for Formula Grants for Non-Urbanized Areas Program

$45 million has been designated from the Non-Urbanized Area Formula Program for public transportation on Indian reservations. 20 percent of the program funding will be apportioned according to a state’s share of the total non-urbanized area, while the remaining 80 percent will continue to be apportioned according to a state’s share of the total non-urbanized population.

Passenger Rail and Rail Safety Provisions

High-Speed Rail Corridor Development

SAFETEA reauthorizes the Swift Rail Act, expanding eligible expenses from planning to development of high-speed rail corridors. Authorized funding continues at $70 million annually for corridor development and $30 million for high-spee rail technology improvements.

Maglev

$90 million is authorized for magnetic levitation train deployment. 50 percent of this funding is for a project between Las Vegas an Primm, Nevada, and 50 percent is for a project east of the Mississippi.

Elimination of Rail-Highway Crossing Hazards in High-Speed Rail Corridors

SAFETEA authorizes a total of $50 million for FY2005 - FY 2009.

Alaska Railroad

Capital rehabilitation and improvements grants benefiting passenger transportation are authorized without specific dollar amounts.

Welded Rail and Tank Car Safety Improvements

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is directed to establish a program to review continuous welded rail joint bar inspection data and to require track owners to improve the identification of cracks in rail joint bars. FRA is also directed to develop regulations for appropriate design standards for pressurized tank cars and to recommend ways to reduce risk of catastrophic fracture of pressurized cars constructed before 1989.

Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS)

Research Program

ITS project costs are now eligible expenses in several of the core highway programs. However, SAFETEA does provide for $110 million annually for ITS research.

SAFETEA Authorization Levels

(in millions of dollars)