Inadequate regional transit burdens Infrastructure Grade.
Last week the American Society of Civil Engineers released their report card on the state of our nations infrastructure. Earlier, we broke down the report and analyzed what the numbers mean for Ohio and Cincinnati infrastructure but Next City has reviewed the numbers for rail and mass transit. Even though regional rail infrastructure has improved through Amtrak, local mass transit continues to lag behind with a D grade from the ASCE. The report highlights that even though more people are riding transit, the condition of our nations mass transit infrastructure has a backlog in $78 billion worth of repairs. More from Next City:
Transit that doesn’t fall under Amtrak’s purview fared much worse on the ASCE’s report card, earning a D and therefore pulling down the nation’s overall lousy-to-begin-with G.P.A.
Public transit ridership increased by 34 percent between 1995 and 2011, according to the American Public Transit Association, and the ASCE report states that access to transit across the country has grown by nearly 10 percent. Although transit investment has also increased, “deficient and deteriorating” regional transit systems cost the national economy $90 billion in 2010.