Federal stimulus cash devoted to mass transit has created twice as many jobs per dollar as highway investment, a trio of public transportation advocates said today.
The report from U.S. PIRG, Smart Growth America and the Center for Neighborhood Technology found that every billion dollars spent on transit produced 16,419 months of employment, or "job-months." Meanwhile, every billion spent on projects funded under highway infrastructure programs produced 8,781 job-months.
The groups said the numbers show that the jobs bill passed by the House last month fails to maximize potential job creation from the roughly $36 billion it devotes to roads, bridges and transit and should instead provide a larger funding share for transit.
The jobs legislation (H.R. 2847) provides $27.1 billion for surface transportation programs like highway construction and bridge maintenance versus $8.4 billion for public transportation. The Senate is expected to craft its version of the package early this year.
The House bill's transportation funding is similar to that included in last year's stimulus package, which funneled $27.5 billion to highways and $8.4 billion to transit.
"We cannot afford to keep doing the same thing over and over again and expect different results," said Phineas Baxandall, a senior analyst for U.S. PIRG. "The fact is, investments in public transportation will produce more jobs quicker and will address billions of dollars of unmet needs."
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Stimulus money to mass transit beats highway investment in job creation
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