A nonprofit publication of the Kentucky Center for Public Service Journalism

Letter to editor: TANK provides important services to region, needs local matching for federal dollars


To the Editor:
 
Public transportation across Kentucky provides 31 million trips each year. Most of these trips are taken to jobs or educational institutions, or they provide access to basic needs like health care.

Our employers and their employees need public transportation: The three largest public transit systems in Kentucky alone connect employers with employees more than 11 million times a year.
 
Our senior citizens need public transportation: Kentucky’s elderly and disabled populations take nearly 3 million trips per year on public transportation.
 

 
Our community needs public transportation: The Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky (TANK) provides 3.4 million transit trips of year, most of which connect people to jobs and school. 

Furthermore, transit is an important tool to deliver a workforce to the front door of our region’s growing businesses. 
 
Despite providing an important service for the work force, students and elderly, Kentucky ranks 39th in total funding for public transportation.
 
Kentucky’s transit authorities currently are leaving available federal dollars on the table due to the lack of local matching funds. Additional state funding is necessary to take advantage of an 80/20 match for federal transit dollars, which would be an excellent return on investment for our community.
 
That’s why we have joined the Kentucky Infrastructure Coalition. Kentucky needs a long-term, sustainable funding mechanism that provides adequate revenues for all modes of transportation so our state can maintain the infrastructure and public transportation we have today and build what we need for our future.
 
Tim Donoghue
Chair of the Board
Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky

 


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