Bipartisan, bicameral legislation introduced recently on Capitol Hill would modernize how the federal government evaluates transit projects seeking funding through the Federal Transit Administration’s Capital Investment Grants (CIG) program.
The Promoting Access to Transit in High-Growth Communities Act, or the PATH Act, S. 5114/H.R. 9926, introduced on July 23 by U.S. Sens. John Curtis (R-UT) and Mark Kelly (D-AZ), and U.S. Reps. Burgess Owens (R-UT) and Dina Titus (D-NV), would amend the U.S. Code to include certain ridership forecasting methods in determinations of whether a project under the fixed guideway CIG program is justified.
“Communities across Utah are growing faster than ever, and our transportation planning needs to reflect where people are headed — not just where they live today,” said Curtis, who sponsored S. 5114. “The PATH Act gives fast-growing regions a fairer opportunity to compete for federal transit investments by recognizing future demand alongside current conditions. Better forecasting means better infrastructure decisions, less congestion, and stronger communities.”
Current federal transit funding evaluations rely heavily on existing population density and ridership, which can disadvantage rapidly growing communities where infrastructure has not yet caught up with population growth, according to a bill summary provided by the lawmakers.
“Arizona is one of the fastest‑growing states, but federal transit funding ignores that reality,” said Kelly. “This bill changes that by making population growth a factor when federal dollars are awarded.”
The PATH Act would allow the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to incorporate additional forecasting methods when evaluating a project’s future ridership and overall justification, the summary says.
Specifically, the proposed bill would update the evaluation criteria for projects applying for funding under the CIG program by allowing ridership forecasts to consider: population growth rates, in addition to population density; the population measure that best reflects a project’s future ridership potential; current transit ridership in the project corridor; and local development planning activities that demonstrate future growth.
“For too long, federal transit dollars have gone to big cities that grew a century ago, funding the upkeep of infrastructure they already have, while fast-growing states like Utah were left fighting for scraps,” said Owens, who sponsored H.R. 9926.
“This bill fixes that formula and levels the playing field,” he added. “It ensures that states like ours, which have seen record growth and had the foresight to plan for it, can compete for limited federal dollars and put them to work on projects that will have long-lasting and meaningful impacts.”