This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Billions of federal dollars are invested in public transportation each year, but those investments may yield greater ridership gains in smaller and midsize transit systems, particularly in the South and West, than in the nation's largest metropolitan areas, according to a new study co-authored by a University of Houston researcher. The findings come as Congress works on the next federal surface transportation bill.
"In the largest metropolitan areas, an additional dollar generates roughly one-third as much new ridership as it does in a small or midsize city. The reasons are fairly intuitive; smaller transit systems often still have considerable room to grow," said Kailai Wang, assistant professor of industrial and systems engineering. Wang's findings are published in the journal Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice.
Despite its potential to reduce traffic congestion, lower emissions and provide affordable transportation, public transportation remains underused in the United States, with only 5% of commuters relying on it as of 2019. The Federal Transit Administration currently distributes roughly $20 billion a year to help transit agencies expand fleets, maintain infrastructure and improve service. The study found that while all levels of government funding matter, federal funding has the greatest impact on transit growth, largely by fueling capital investment and fleet expansion.
But the same dollar does not have the same effect everywhere. A new route in a fast-growing Sun Belt city, for example, may give residents their first practical alternative to driving and can therefore attract new riders quickly. In cities such as New York and Chicago, core transit networks are already extensive, so additional funding is more likely to strengthen existing service than to open entirely new travel opportunities.
Wang's study tracked 417 U.S. urbanized areas from 2010 to 2019, the decade before the pandemic, to better isolate the effects of transit funding without the unprecedented disruptions caused by COVID-19. While the findings suggest that future federal investments may have a greater impact on transit systems with room to grow, Wang says they don't suggest taking money away from or providing less support to large transit systems. "The New York region alone carries a very large share of the nation's transit trips, and maintaining those systems remains critically important," he said.
Pengyu Zhu et al, Public transit funding and transit use: a panel study of U.S. urbanized areas 2010–2019, Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.tra.2026.105133 MA in English, copy editor since 2021 with experience in higher education and health content. Dedicated to trustworthy science news.
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