Texas Transit Association

Talk of increasing the state motor fuels tax has surfaced in central Texas campaigns. This is the first we have noticed.

Download: 092102GasTax.pdf (60.72 KB).

Download: 092302GasTax.pdf (26.09 KB).

Well, now what? Texas Department of Health has invited interested parties to review and provide comment on their new RFP model. This appears to be in response to last year’s procurement fiasco, the resulting fallout at the Legislature, the legislative audit that occurred and continued rumors about incompetent and even fraudulent contractors. The review and comment meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, October 8, 2002 in Austin.

Download: MTP Invite.doc (29 KB).

Economic development has been one of the major highlights and side benefits of Dallas Area Rapid Transit’s construction of light passenger rail and its requisite boarding stations. The stations have become a magnet for economic development, this time the new Arapaho Station in the DART member city of Richardson. The Arapaho Transit Center could have a movie theater, restaurants and sidewalk cafes, say consultants studying ways to make DART light-rail stations popular destinations. The consultants provided recommendations for advancing economic development within a half-mile radius of the Arapaho station.

Download: Arapaho.doc (26 KB).

This recent article of Sept 19 by a Capitol reporter sheds some light on how the State budget can be scrubbed.

Download: Scrub.pdf (42.81 KB).

Two good summaries of the current state of the State Budget for the coming Legislative Session in January 2003.

Download: BudgetNews.pdf (70.46 KB).

Hoping to ease traffic and revive older suburbs, Fannie Mae is offering bigger mortgages to people who buy homes near train stations and bus stops and agree to limits on how many cars they can own.

“Smart Commute” is a mortgage initiative created by the Federal National Mortgage Association, better known as Fannie Mae, that links housing and public transportation.

Smart Commute pilot programs are being tested in Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, Salt Lake City and Philadelphia. Fannie Mae is also looking to include Washington, Baltimore, Louisville, Ky., and State College, Pa.

Buyers who purchase a home within a quarter-mile of a bus line or a half-mile of a train station can qualify for a mortgage up to 8 percent larger than they could get under a traditional loan.

In exchange, they must agree to limit the number of cars they own to no more than one per adult driver. The program is aimed in part at reviving older suburbs that fell out of favor when people began driving longer distances to work.

The program is based on studies showing that people who commute on public transportation can save $ 200 to $ 250 per month, compared to the cost of owning, maintaining and insuring an automobile.

“Basically what the program acknowledges is that commuting by train or by bus is cheaper than owning a car, and because you are spending less money, you can afford more house,” said Barry Seymour of the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, which did research for the program.

So far the loan offer is still considered a pilot program.

Federal National Mortgage Association: http://www.fanniemae.com/