03-23-2017, 12:44 PM
(03-23-2017, 12:38 PM)Viewfromthe42 Wrote:(03-23-2017, 12:14 PM)tomh009 Wrote: I'm thinking of a funding model whereby every transit agency would receive a federal government subsidy equivalent to, say, 20% of fare revenue would work well. It's better than a fixed subsidy because (1) it directly subsidizes the fares, whether trip or monthly, and (2) it increases as transit usage increases.
It's nice to dream.
Again, this only works if there are conditions attached. If, today, riders pay 50% of GRT costs and regional tax revenues pay 50%, you could have the region decide that now 50% of GRT costs will be riders, 20% will be federal funds, and 30% will be regional tax revenues, meaning that 20% goes back to the general revenues.
That part is controlled by each city or region, nothing the federal government can dictate. The city/region can also change the 50% target to 40% or 60%, independent of the federal government. So the local funding level is really separate from the federal subsidy, and it really doesn't make the federal subsidy model "work" or "not work".