ODOT STIP. Section 8: Transit. MAP-21 and Transit

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1 The ODOT s Office of Transit administers the state and federal funding for many programs that use a variety of funding sources: federal, state, and local. The FTA is the major source of federal funding to pay for rural and small urban transit systems operating and capital expenses. Large urban systems rely on local tax revenue, mostly sales tax, and fares to cover their operating expenses. Urban capital projects are paid for using federal funds from FTA and local dedicated sources. Transit systems receive and annual apportionment of federal assistance for capital, operating, and planning expenses based on a published formula. FTA also offers discretionary grant opportunities, and ODOT offers a discretionary program to the urban systems through the Ohio Transit Preservation Partnership Program. The state formula programs involve rural, small urban and large urban transit systems and include: Elderly and Disabled Transit Fare Assistance Ohio Public Transportation Grant Program Ohio Technical Assistance Program State transit programs do not have a dedicated source of funding. As mentioned, the largest transit systems have local dedicated sources of funds, but the majority of the small urban and all but one rural system rely on local funds derived from boards of county commissioners, municipalities, fares, and human service contract revenue, among other sources. Ohio has 61 Transit agencies providing service in 61 of Ohio s 88 counties. Ohio has 27 urban transit systems and 34 rural transit systems. In 2013 Ohioans took over 115 million trips using ODOT-funded public transit systems. There are 3,286 vehicles in Ohio s public transit fleet and 95.6% are wheelchairaccessible. MAP-21 and Transit On July 6, 2012, President Obama signed into law MAP-21. This law, which took effect on October 1, 2012, reauthorized surface transportation programs including the FTA programs through federal FY This reauthorization amends the Federal Transit Laws codified in 49 USC Chapter 53. MAP-21 consolidated, repealed, or revised several of the existing transit programs in order to improve efficiency and track key goals and objectives. Similar to the highway programs, the decline of federal funding sources has placed an emphasis on the restoration and replacement of the nation s aging public transportation infrastructure. These are just a couple of the changes under MAP-21: The New Freedom program was merged with Section 5310 to become the Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities program. Operating assistance was eligible under this program for the first time. The Jobs Access and Reverse Commute (JARC) program was repealed; however, JARC activities are eligible under Sections 5307 (Urban Public Transit) and 5311 (Rural Public Transit). Safety of all public transit funded by FTA became a priority and changes were made to the Rail Fixed Guideway State Safety and Security Program and a Bus Safety program was mandated. 38

2 Asset Management and Performance Based planning were mandated. Ohio s metropolitan areas are among the most spread out in the nation. Smart Growth America s Measuring Sprawl 2014 report ranks the most sprawling and most compact metropolitan areas of the nation. The ranking for the report is based on an evaluation of the development patterns in the 221 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. Each metro area is given a score on four factors: density, land use mix, street connectivity and activity centering. Smart Growth America combines the scores on the four factors to create a Sprawl Index. A metro area with a Sprawl Index score greater than 100 is considered more compact. A metro area with a Sprawl Index score less than 100 is considered more sprawled out. All of Ohio s metropolitan areas except for Canton-Massillon ranked in the bottom half of the Sprawl Index rankings, out of 221 metro areas, and four of Ohio s metropolitan areas had Sprawl Index scores less than 100 and were among the most sprawled out in the nation. See Figure 8.1 for national rankings of Ohio s metropolitan areas by Sprawl Index. Figure 8.1 MSA National Ranking Sprawl Index Score Canton-Massillon, OH Akron, OH Dayton, OH Toledo, OH Columbus, OH Cleveland-Elryia- Mentor, OH Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN Youngstown-Warren- Boardman, OH-PA Trends Affecting Transit Demand Ohio keeps an eye on the trends that have an impact on transit demand. One of the key demographics is Ohio s aging population. Between 2010 and 2030, the state s population is estimated to grow only 2 percent. During this same time period, the state s senior population (persons aged 65 or older) is expected to increase by 66 percent as the Baby Boomer generation ages. By 2015, a third of all seniors will be Baby Boomers, and that percentage jumps to nearly 9 in 10 by What s trending in Ohio; Ohio is growing slowly. Most counties are expected to lose population. Ohio is getting older and poorer, especially in rural areas. Household composition and size are changing, with smaller households and fewer traditional households. Current growth is driven in part by foreign-born population, who tend to have more experience with and higher expectations for transit service. Millennials have a keen interest in transit, with many driving less and choosing to live in cities with robust transit options. While many larger urban areas are densifying, sprawling residential and commercial growth remains the predominant land use pattern in Ohio. Demographic and socio-economic characteristics, or an analysis of transit reliance, also help explain the need for transit service. Transit reliance combines four demographic and socio-economic characteristics into a single measure that estimates who might have a greater tendency to use transit as their primary method of transport. The four characteristics 39

3 were chosen based on national experience and research, and include older adults, persons with disabilities, low-income individuals, and zero-vehicle households (see below figure). Warren County is part of the Cincinnati and Dayton urbanized areas. Ohio also has two systems that moved from urban back to rural with their populations falling below 50,000: Sandusky is in Erie County. Washington County is no longer part of the Parkersburg urbanized area except in a small area along the river in Belpre, Ohio. With the most recent census, Ohio has 27 urban systems and 34 rural systems. For more information on each of these transit systems, see the Status of Public Transit in Ohio ( Divisions/Planning/Transit/Documents/Programs/ Publication/StatusOfPublicTransitInOhio2014.pdf) published by the ODOT Office of Transit. The apportionments for the state of Ohio from FTA for public transit programs may be found at: FFY 2014Apportionments and 2010 Census The following FFY STIP estimates are based on the new program structure, formulas, and authorized funding levels provided with MAP-21. These estimates take into account the 2010 census data which includes the designation of new urbanized areas. There are three transit systems that moved from rural to urban as a result of the 2010 census: Delaware County is now part of the Columbus urbanized area. Medina County is part of both the Cleveland urbanized area and Akron urbanized area. 40

4 Figure 8.2: Ohio Transit Agencies 1. Allen County Regional Transit Authority (ACRTA) 2. Ashland Public Transit 3. Ashtabula County Transportation System (ACTS) 4. Athens Transit 5. Bowling Green Transit 6. Butler County Regional Transit Authority (BCRTA) 7. Carroll County Transit System 8. Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) 9. Champaign Transit System 10. Chillicothe Transit System 11. Clermont Transportation Connection (CTC) 12. Columbiana County/Community Action Rural Transit System (CARTS) 13. Crawford County Transportation Program 14. Delaware Area Transit Agency (DATA 15. Eastern Ohio Regional Transit Authority (EORTA) 16. Fayette County Transportation Program 17. Geauga County Transit 18. Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) 19. Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority (GDRTA) 41

5 20. Greene County Transit Board (Greene CATS) 21. Greenville Transit System 22. Hancock Area Transportation Services (HATS) 23. Harrison County Rural Transit (HCRT) 24. Huron County Transit 25. Knox Area Transit (KAT) 26. Laketran 27. Lancaster Public Transit System 28. Lawrence County Transit 29. Licking County Transit Services 30. Logan County/Transportation for Logan County (TLC) 31. Logan Transit System (City of Logan) 32. Lorain County Transit (LCT) 33. Marion Area Transit (MAT) 34. Medina County Transit 35. METRO Regional Transit Authority (Akron) 36. Miami County Transit System 37. Middletown Transit System 38. Monroe County Public Transportation 39. Morgan County Transit 40. Ottawa County Transportation Agency (OCTA) 41. Perry County Transit (PCT) 42. Pickaway Area Rural Transit 43. Pike County/Community Action Transit System (CATS) 44. Portage Area Regional Transportation Authority (PARTA) 45. Richland County Transit (RCT) 46. Sandusky Transit System/Erie County (STS) 47. Scioto County/Access Scioto County (ASC) 48. Seneca County Agency Transportation (SCAT) 49. Shelby Public Transit 50. South East Area Transit (SEAT) 51. Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA) 52. Springfield City Area Transit (SCAT) 53. Stark Area Regional Transit Authority (SARTA) 54. Steel Valley Regional Transit Authority (SVRTA) 55. Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority (TARTA) 56. Transportation Resources for Independent People of Sandusky County (TRIPS) 57. Trumbull Transit System 58. Warren County Transit Service 59. Washington County/Community Action Bus Lines (CABL) 60. Wilmington Transit System 61. Western Reserve Transit Authority (WRTA) 42