This Week in Passenger Transport

Ninety-six percent of responding congressional candidates view public transportation as an essential part of a balanced transportation program, according to a survey released Oct. 28 by APTA.

The survey conducted under the Public Transportation Partnership for Tomorrow (PT)² initiative suggests that the vast majority of 2002 congressional candidates are strong public transportation supporters and likely to push for increased investment for transit and highway projects nationwide.

One hundred fourteen candidates for U.S. House and Senate seats in 37 states responded to the survey. Broken down along party lines, 66 of the respondents were Democrats, and 48 were Republicans.

Responses were received from all parts of the U.S., with the largest numbers of responses coming from California, 11; New York, nine; Texas, eight; and Florida and Michigan, seven each.

The survey, conducted for the Center for Transportation Excellence, revealed that more than 90 percent of survey respondents support additional federal investment as well as funding guarantees for public transportation and highway projects.

Candidates in the survey said the leading reasons they support public transportation are to promote economic growth (82 percent), to reduce congestion (81 percent), to reduce pollution (74 percent), and to save energy (72 percent).

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