The Fix for Busted Transit Funding (Transit and COVID-19: The Online Event Series)

Money from the federal CARES Act is making its way to transit agencies around the country, providing badly needed financial breathing room so that public transportation systems can afford to operate the frequent service needed to safely move essential workers and people making essential trips.

But at many agencies, the federal money may only last a few months. That’s because many transit agencies rely on revenue from passenger fares and taxes and fees that are drying up as people reduce their travel and the economy slips into a downturn. Many of these funding sources were regressive to begin with, and are proving fragile in this crisis.

Seattle bore the early brunt of COVID-19, and is also one of the places where relief funds will go the least far. Katie Wilson of the Seattle Transit Riders Union has written incisively about how the region’s over-reliance on sales tax revenue has put transit in a shaky foundation—a lesson that is relevant not just for Seattle but across the country. Join Wilson and TransitCenter’s Steven Higashide for a conversation about how to put this essential service on financially resilient footing, both now and after the crisis.