At a telephonic meeting of the Board of Directors of the Rail Users’ Network (RUN) held on September 25, 2021, the following resolution was adopted unanimously:
WHEREAS the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant changes in travel patters in the United States, including reduced reduced commuting on regionally-operated railroads which formerly served large numbers of commuters, and reduced use of public transportation (transit) generally; and
Many transit providers have been hard-hit financially by these recent reductions in ridership caused by the COVID-19 pandemic since March, 2020; and
Transit, including rail transit and regionally-operated railroads, continues to provide a vital service by providing mobility for persons who do not have convenient access to an automobile for whatever reason, as well as for persons in metropolitan areas who chose to use it to fulfill their mobility needs; and
Federal support for transit has historically been limited to financial assistance for capital projects only, with no provision for operating support, and only recent COVID-19 relief legislation has permitted federal operating support for transit on a temporary basis; and
Attracting riders to transit, supporting struggling transit systems nationwide, getting people out of their automobiles and consequent environmental benefits, like fighting the effects of climate change, can only happen if transit agencies receive enough operating support to provide sufficient service; and
It is widely expected that mobility needs will increase as the nation recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic; necessitating increases in transit service to provide mobility for riders who need it; and
It is also widely expected that revenue from riders will not be sufficient to provide the needed level of mobility on transit; and that such insufficiency could become a situation of long duration; and
WHEREAS RUN is dedicated to improving mobility on transit both for motorists who choose to use transit and for non-motorists who depend on it for all of their mobility: it is hereby
RESOLVED that RUN hereby calls for current statutory provisions allowing federal operating assistance for transit be made permanent; and
FURTHER RESOLVED that sufficient funds be authorized for maintaining the existing level of transit service, expansion of transit service as the nation recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, and permanent operation of transit systems to provide the levels of mobility for all riders in the future.
This resolution shall be sent to appropriate members of Congress, the United States Department of Transportation, and other concerned or interested parties.
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RICHARD RUDOLPH, Ph.D., Chair