State, Provincial, and Local Funding: The Key to Keeping Transit Rolling
Many transit systems across the U.S. and Canada are looking for ways to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent losses in ridership and revenue. Using emergency federal funding, many U.S. transit agencies had been able to stretch that money far beyond the pandemic years to supplement ongoing operating costs. But now, pandemic funding is running out, and agencies also face rising costs for fuel, supplies, and other expenses. Stubborn inflation, coupled with a slow ridership recovery, has created unprecedented fiscal cliffs, forcing agencies to consider significant fare increases and service cuts. While the current federal administration has proven to be an unreliable partner on transit funding issues, agencies and advocates are turning to state and local governments to keep our systems moving.
Transit Remains Popular on the Ballot
At the polls, transit funding initiatives tend to be broadly popular with the public. According to the American Public Transportation Association, 16 out of 19 ballot measures for public transit funding were approved by voters in 2025. These included revenue for ATU systems in Kalamazoo, Michigan and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. More recently, West Virginia voters renewed multiple tax levies throughout the state during the May primary election that support the Ohio Valley Regional Transportation Authority, the Tri-State Transit Authority, and the Kanawha Valley Regional Transportation Authority.
Filling the Gaps at the State, Provincial, and Local Level
Last fall, Illinois legislators approved $1.5 billion in new annual operating funding for transit systems throughout the state. The new revenue eliminated a $200 million budget deficit for Chicagoland transit systems, including CTA and Pace. In California, legislators passed a bill authorizing a ballot measure for San Francisco Bay Area voters this November. If approved, that measure would raise almost $1 billion per year in additional funding for Bay Area agencies, including BART, AC Transit, Santa Clara VTA, and SamTrans. Without the funding, regional agencies will face a combined budget deficit of $800 million in 2027.
In Canada, transit agencies face the same pressures to recover ridership amid declining revenue and soaring operational costs. ATU members and climate activists in Manitoba are organizing together to urge the province to restore a 50/50 transit funding agreement that would require future spending increases to be split between the city and the province. The provinces’ contribution has remained flat since 2017. Meanwhile, the Canadian federal government has recently cut its newly announced Public Transit Fund from $30 billion to $25 billion, underscoring the importance of advocating for long-term, stable funding solutions at the state, local, and municipal levels.
Preparing for the Fight Ahead
ATU members, please continue to closely monitor your agencies’ budgets, especially as fuel costs continue to soar amidst unstable global geopolitical forces and limited federal action. These headwinds could bring budget concerns to the forefront even faster than predicted. The fight ahead will require lobbying and building support for increased transit funding amongst elected officials at the state, provincial, and local levels. We must prepare to educate our co-workers about the fight ahead, as well as the riding public, about the effects of losing more transit service and ridership. All our voices rising together will be needed to ensure our services keep rolling.