U.S. Legislative Report — ATU Calls on U.S. Congress to Invest in Transit and Make it Safer
In January, the U.S. Congress kicked off hearings to discuss a new federal surface transportation bill. The current law, known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), is set to expire next September. Now is the time to start lobbying for the new bill, and the ATU has started that process by releasing our key priorities in a new document called “Your Ride is Here.”
Changing Times
Much has changed since the BIL was passed in late 2021. Many people continue to work from home, and overall ridership is only about 75% of 2019 levels, resulting in fare revenue losses. Of course, workers in industries that require in-person interaction continue to rely on transit - especially bus service - to travel to work and other key destinations. With the ATU’s support, Congress stepped up and provided our employers with billions of dollars in emergency transit funding to keep America moving during the pandemic. But now, as the COVID funds dry up, transit agencies are staring out over a fiscal cliff. While some had the foresight to save their money for a rainy day, in all corners of America, it is now pouring. In our proposal, the ATU therefore calls on lawmakers to increase not only capital funding, for new buses and rail cars, but also funding for operations, wages, and benefits.
Safety and Training
In addition, the time is now for the federal government to address some of the most serious issues facing the transit industry, including safety, workforce development, and new and emerging technology that is quickly changing the way Americans commute. According to the Federal Transit Administration, assaults on transit workers increased more than 232 percent between 2014 and 2024; among these were two of our members: Local 587-Seattle, WA, Brother Shawn Yim, and Local 732-Atlanta GA, Brother Leroy Ramos, who were tragically killed on the job. We have started to address this issue through the labor-management safety committees set up in the BIL, but further action is needed. Our new proposal calls for minimum vehicle design safety standards for transit buses. No fixed-route or paratransit bus should be operated in revenue service unless the vehicle is equipped with a barrier between the passenger and driver compartments that fully encloses the operator’s workstation and prevents the unwanted entry of persons, fluids, and articles into the workstation. Moreover, bus drivers can no longer be sitting ducks, fending for themselves. Our Union calls on Congress to establish a new program to fund unarmed transit ambassadors and fare enforcement inspectors to interact with and engage transit workers, members of the public, and others for the purpose of establishing an official presence and deterring disruptive behavior.
Your Ride is Here also looks to build on the progress we made in the BIL on workforce development. Our Union calls for even more money to be set aside for critical training, especially for our mechanics. We also propose to rein in microtransit, the new app-based services that are negatively affecting our members and riders. Instead of contracting out or using independent contractors, transit systems should be required to perform such services in-house with existing, experienced public transit employees.
Finally, we also urge Congress to reject autonomous buses, which are extremely dangerous. Highlighting the amazing things that bus drivers do every day to keep passengers and our entire communities safe, we urge lawmakers to require very high standards before any autonomous bus hits the road. We carry precious cargo!
Outlook
The November elections certainly changed the politics here in Washington. Republicans now control all branches of Government. Will they be responsive to the working families that got them elected? Time will tell, but our job is to educate lawmakers about these critical issues facing our industry and make the case for changes in the law. Together, we can and will succeed. To get started, check out the Union’s proposal at www.atu.org and get involved in our campaign.