States provided nearly $9 billion in funding for transit in FY 2003, compared to about $7 billion in funding provided by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) of the U.S. DOT that same year. The nearly $9 billion in state funding for FY 2003 is more than double the $3.7 billion provided by the states in FY 1990.
The recently released report by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), the U.S. Department of Transportation and American Public Transportation Association is titled the 2003 Survey of State Funding for Public Transportation. The transportation departments in all 50 states and the District of Columbia responded to the survey.
The most utilized sources of funding for transit in the states and the District of Columbia include:
* General fund (20 states);
* Gas tax (15 states);
* Motor vehicle/rental car sales taxes (10 states);
* Registration/title/license fees (8 states);
* Bond proceeds (8 states); and
* General sales tax (7 states).
About one-half of the state funding for transit in FY 2003 was designated exclusively for operating assistance, roughly 25% was directed for capital purposes and the remaining nearly 25% could be used for capital and operating expenses.