Dukakis Center For Urban and Regional Policy Northeastern
University School of Public Policy & Urban Affairs
www.northeastern.edu/dukakiscenter A Think and Do Tank Lessons
Learned from Recent Campaigns to Increase Local and State
Transportation and Transit Funding Presented at the Transit
Initiatives And Communities Conference Stephanie PollackJune 26,
2013
Slide 2
Transit Funding: It Isnt Just for Capital Projects
Slide 3
Dukakis Center for Urban & Regional Policy
www.northeastern.edu/dukakiscenter Transit operators are
increasingly raising fares and cutting service
Slide 4
Dukakis Center for Urban & Regional Policy
www.northeastern.edu/dukakiscenter As funding gets tight,
maintenance is deferred and system condition worsens
Slide 5
Dukakis Center for Urban & Regional Policy
www.northeastern.edu/dukakiscenter And transit systems State of
Good Repair backlog grows
Slide 6
Dukakis Center for Urban & Regional Policy
www.northeastern.edu/dukakiscenter In this environment, expansion
can become a dirty word
Slide 7
Dukakis Center for Urban & Regional Policy
www.northeastern.edu/dukakiscenter State and local governments,
left to their own devices, will restrict funding on transit
operations based on the income of their inhabitants, not based on
need.... This is a paradox. The regions with relatively lower
levels of poverty (such as Washington and Boston) can spend
significantly more of their local and state funds on transit
operations than regions with higher levels of poverty (such as
Detroit and Memphis. Yonah Freemark The Transport Public March 12,
2013 If not addressed, undermine ability to secure funds for
capital projects If not addressed, transit advocates can be pitted
one against another State and local government may not have the
resources to provide needed operating funds Therefore, funding
needs to address operating deficits and maintenance needs
Slide 8
Dukakis Center for Urban & Regional Policy
www.northeastern.edu/dukakiscenter Maximizing transit share of
available federal funds through the Metropolitan Planning
Organization Increasing total state spending on transportation and
the share that goes to transit for operations, maintenance and new
capital projects Increasingly in state legislatures, not at the
ballot box Securing funds including operating funds at the ballot
box Conclusion: Transit proponents need to get smarter about
securing funding
Slide 9
Lessons Learned from Finance and Funding Campaigns
Slide 10
Dukakis Center for Urban & Regional Policy
www.northeastern.edu/dukakiscenter Lesson #1: Both the legislature
and voters matter Sometimes the campaign is entirely in the
legislature Keep New York Moving campaign (2009) Transportation
Works for Kansas (2010) Other times legislation is needed prior to
the ballot vote Georgia T-SPLOST Washington State enabling
legislation for King County congestion reduction charge California
enabling legislation for Measure R
Slide 11
Dukakis Center for Urban & Regional Policy
www.northeastern.edu/dukakiscenter Lesson #2: Plans are better than
projects
Slide 12
Dukakis Center for Urban & Regional Policy
www.northeastern.edu/dukakiscenter Lesson #3: Understand what the
public thinks
Slide 13
Dukakis Center for Urban & Regional Policy
www.northeastern.edu/dukakiscenter Lesson #4: One key to victory in
transit campaigns is those who will never use transit
Slide 14
Dukakis Center for Urban & Regional Policy
www.northeastern.edu/dukakiscenter Lesson #5: Humor helps
Slide 15
Dukakis Center for Urban & Regional Policy
www.northeastern.edu/dukakiscenter Lesson #6: The agency needs to
be respectedor invisible
Slide 16
Dukakis Center for Urban & Regional Policy
www.northeastern.edu/dukakiscenter Lesson #7: Service cuts and fare
increases are a strong motivator...
Slide 17
Dukakis Center for Urban & Regional Policy
www.northeastern.edu/dukakiscenter... But may not be enough
Slide 18
Dukakis Center for Urban & Regional Policy
www.northeastern.edu/dukakiscenter Lesson #8: Include funds for
operations including buses Measure R Spending Allocation
Slide 19
Dukakis Center for Urban & Regional Policy
www.northeastern.edu/dukakiscenter Lesson #9: Dont neglect transit
allies
Slide 20
Dukakis Center for Urban & Regional Policy
www.northeastern.edu/dukakiscenter St. Louis Washington state/ King
County Miami Lesson #10: If at first you dont succeed, try, try
again
Slide 21
The next great battle: Ensuring equity in funding sources
Slide 22
Dukakis Center for Urban & Regional Policy
www.northeastern.edu/dukakiscenter Who will pay the proposed taxes
and fees are they progressive or regressive? Who will benefit from
the investments made with the transit funding? If those taxes
and/or fees are not raised, who will pay the higher fares? When
considering equity in funding mechanisms, the question is whether
the method chosen is more regressive than other ways of paying for
transit including fares. Evaluating equity in transit funding
Slide 23
Dukakis Center for Urban & Regional Policy
www.northeastern.edu/dukakiscenter Unlike an income tax, which
generally applies to most income, the sales tax applies only to a
portion of income that is spent and exempts income that is saved.
Since high earners are able to save a much larger share of their
incomes than middle-income families and since the poor can rarely
save at all the tax is inherently regressive. The average states
consumption tax structure is equivalent to an income tax with a 7
percent rate for the poor, a 4.6 percent rate for the middle class,
and a 0.9 percent rate for the wealthiest taxpayers. Sales taxes
frequently used for transit are often regressive
Slide 24
Dukakis Center for Urban & Regional Policy
www.northeastern.edu/dukakiscenter Gasoline taxes are not as
regressive as commonly thought
Slide 25
Dukakis Center for Urban & Regional Policy
www.northeastern.edu/dukakiscenter Rising property values that
support value capture can also cause gentrification
Slide 26
The Kitty and Michael Dukakis Center for Urban & Regional
Policy conducts interdisciplinary research, in collaboration with
civic leaders and scholars both within and beyond Northeastern
University, to identify and implement real solutions to the
critical challenges facing urban areas throughout Greater Boston,
the Commonwealth, and the nation. Founded in 1999 as a think and do
tank, the Dukakis Centers collaborative research and problem-
solving model applies powerful data analysis, multidisciplinary
research and evaluation techniques, and a policy-driven perspective
to address a wide range of issues facing cities, towns, and
suburbs, with a particular emphasis on the greater Boston region.
The Dukakis Center works to catalyze broad- based efforts to solve
urban problems, acting as both a convener and a trusted and
committed partner to local, state, and national agencies and
organizations. In November 2008 the Center was renamed in honor of
Kitty and Michael Dukakis for the extraordinary work that both of
them have done to make the City of Boston, the Commonwealth, and
the nation a better place to live and work. Policy Focus Areas:
Economic Development Housing Labor/Management Relations Program
Evaluation State and Local Public Finance Transportation Workforce
Development Northeastern University Dukakis Center for Urban &
Regional Policy Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy
Northeastern University (617) 373-7870
www.northeastern.edu/dukakiscenter A Think and Do Tank