July 29, 2018
Houston METRO, our local transit agency, is currently working on a new draft plan to determine future projects. Compared to other major urban areas, Houston has inadequate public transit infrastructure, and a huge limiting factor on future transit improvements will be funding. Nearly all state governments in the U.S. contribute directly to help fund their own state's urban transit needs. But two states do not: Texas and Ohio.
An effort is now underway to encourage the Texas Legislature to start providing direct funding aid for transit. Farm & City, a new 501c3 organization based in Austin, is spearheading this push.
The link below (at the Farm & City website) includes a graph of 2016 Transit Funding for the 25 largest U.S. metropolitan regions (plus Austin, which is #34). You will see that of major metro areas, Houston has one of the lowest per capita levels of transit funding. The other Texas metro areas have similar low levels of funding.
http://www.farmandcity.org/sample-page/texurban/1000-texans-for-transit/
You can support this effort to get the state of Texas to contribute to local transit funding by writing to your state representative and state senator. Below is a sample letter that one can copy.
You can find your state representatives and their contact info by using this search tool:
https://fyi.capitol.texas.gov/Home.aspx
(for email addresses, follow the link to the state rep's own website)
Dear
Texas does not have enough public transportation funding to meet the needs or our growing population. Kids are stuck in car-dependent neighborhoods with dangerous streets. Workers are limited in the jobs they can reach on time. The costs of car crashes and congestion are squandering Texas' wealth.
I want my representatives in the Texas Legislature to help fund our transit systems as other states have successfully done.
Will you work to fund transit directly in the 2019 session and support local leaders in their local transit funding efforts?
Sincerely,
The link below (at the Farm & City website) includes a graph of 2016 Transit Funding for the 25 largest U.S. metropolitan regions (plus Austin, which is #34). You will see that of major metro areas, Houston has one of the lowest per capita levels of transit funding. The other Texas metro areas have similar low levels of funding.
http://www.farmandcity.org/sample-page/texurban/1000-texans-for-transit/
You can support this effort to get the state of Texas to contribute to local transit funding by writing to your state representative and state senator. Below is a sample letter that one can copy.
You can find your state representatives and their contact info by using this search tool:
https://fyi.capitol.texas.gov/Home.aspx
(for email addresses, follow the link to the state rep's own website)
Dear
Texas does not have enough public transportation funding to meet the needs or our growing population. Kids are stuck in car-dependent neighborhoods with dangerous streets. Workers are limited in the jobs they can reach on time. The costs of car crashes and congestion are squandering Texas' wealth.
I want my representatives in the Texas Legislature to help fund our transit systems as other states have successfully done.
Will you work to fund transit directly in the 2019 session and support local leaders in their local transit funding efforts?
Sincerely,
[your name]