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We're getting the money. It's happening this time.

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From the VIAblog:

VIA Blog

Investments in transit produce more jobs

Posted: 1/21/2010

Earlier this month, Smart Growth America, the Center for Neighborhood Technology, and the U.S. federation of state Public Interest Research Groups together put out a report titled "What we learned from the stimulus: And how to use what we learned to speed job creation in the 2010 jobs bill".

The report unequivocally states that stimulus funding spent on public transportation projects was more effective in producing jobs than similar dollars spent on highway projects. For every one billion dollars spent on public transportation, for example, 16,419 job-months were produced compared to 8,781 job-months for every one billion dollars spent on highway infrastructure. The analysis on Smart Growth America's website even includes a sidebar case study that focuses on Texas.

As of October 31, Texas had obligated 100% of its transit fixed guideway apportionments; 96% of its transit capital assistance apportionments; and 64% of its Surface Transportation Program (STP) apportionment, which it obligated almost entirely to highways. More important, 65% of Texas' transit apportionment dollars were under contract, while only 46% of highway infrastructure dollars were under contract.

Transit contracts in Texas supported 38,317 job-months per billion dollars expended while highway contracts supported just 7,596. As a result, although Texas received six times more STP funds than transit funds, the transit funds created more total jobs: as of October 31, [sic]

9,135 job-months supported by transit contracts versus 7,937 supported by highway contracts.

If the funding sent to Texas for surface transportation had been allocated on a 50-50 basis, $1.31 billion each to roads and to public transportation, then, liberally assuming a contract rate of 65% for each, $852 million under contract for transit would be supporting (.852 x 38317) or 32,626 job-months created or retained, and $852 Million under contract for highways would be supporting 6762 job-months created or retained. This is a total of 39,388 job-months, versus (9135+7937) or 17,032 under the current split in that state. A balanced distribution would have produced 22,356 more (or 2.3 times as many) job-months.

That's a lot of numbers to ponder, but it all boils down to this: transit investments result in more people working, even in Texas.