For the past few months, campaigns have bombarded voters with ads talking about everything from taxes to food costs to border security. But one thing that does not get enough attention is transportation. This year’s election is critical for the future of public transportation in metro-Atlanta and the United States as a whole.
There are numerous benefits in investing in public transit. From an environmental perspective, public transportation produces less greenhouse gasses and air pollution than driving. It is also more space and energy efficient. MARTA buses can seat 40 people (and hold more standing) while taking up the same space as two cars and using the same amount of fuel as six cars.
From a health perspective, biking and walking are also better for you than driving. They enable more social interaction and work your cardiovascular system. While the success of multimodal transportation relies on design decisions made on a local and state level, they also rely on the availability of funding, supplied in part by the federal government.
This year’s presidential election will play a large role in federal funding. Former President Donald Trump’s campaign has promised to address rising costs of car ownership. Trump has criticized President Biden’s vehicle emission mandate, which he says increases car prices. This ignores the financial savings of households owning fewer cars and the negative externalities of increased driving such as congestion and sprawl.
The Trump administration exemplified a preference for car-dependent sprawl by funding new and wider roads in rural areas through the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Discretionary Grant program. The White House budget also suggested cutting Amtrak’s budget in half for fiscal years 2019 and 2021.
Vice President Kamala Harris plans to retain the transportation stance of the Biden administration, which has funneled billions of dollars in funding into major passenger rails projects nationwide. Rail is more sustainable than flying and driving and can be convenient for cities 100-400 miles apart when paired with strong public transportation. Under the Biden Administration, the DOT created the Corridor Identification and Development program, which has provided funding for studying passenger rail between Atlanta, Nashville, and Memphis, along with over 50 other routes.
Project 2025 is a policy agenda assembled by The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, in anticipation of the next conservative President. Among other plans, it suggests completely eliminating the current Discretionary Grant program, and instead giving that money to the state DOTs. This would be detrimental for most transit systems in southern states such as Georgia. In Atlanta, 40 percent of the funding for operating buses and trains comes from the federal government. If Georgia continues to allocate funding as they have been, money previously allocated to MARTA operations would be diverted to rural transit operations, transit construction projects and road expansion, forcing MARTA to cut service.
Although Trump has distanced himself from Project 2025, many of his personal agenda items align with it. Trump is no stranger to accepting policy plans from The Heritage Foundation — his administration adopted many of its policy suggestions in 2017.
On a local level, Cobb County and Gwinnett County have a referendum on the Nov. 2024 ballot asking voters whether or not to implement a one percent Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) to help fund transit growth. These plans would improve bus service and expand microtransit to help connect residents to amenities and provide job access.
While transit may be seen as an unnecessary government waste, it is actually a vital service. It enables the creation of vibrant walkable neighborhoods free from the geometric constraints of cars. It allows children, the elderly and disabled to live independently. It promotes physical and mental health and a sense of community. It helps to make our nation a better place for future generations.
Regardless of the outcome of this election, I hope you will continue to advocate year-round for the change you want to see, as I plan to do. Reach out to elected and appointed officials and make your opinion heard.