PRESS RELEASE
In a new report, Policy Matters explains state funding for Ohio’s 27 urban and 38 rural public transit systems. The report compares funding streams for Ohio’s public transportation systems to that of four similar states (Michigan, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Illinois), all of which invest significantly more state resources in their systems, with significant benefits for riders, whether they use public transit based on necessity or personal preference.
“After decades of underinvestment, the state legislature has a responsibility to do better by the people who depend on public transit in Ohio — and those who would like to use it, if only they could access the safe, reliable services we deserve,” said report co-author, Policy Matters researcher Molly Bryden.
“More funding from the state wouldn’t just make for better transit service,” said Bryden. “It would lead to lower emissions from personal vehicles, mitigating some of the disproportionate health impacts that are among the many legacies of racial redlining — as are disproportionate transportation burdens, which reliable public transit would also alleviate.”
The report’s recommendations include a renewed commitment to ODOT’s 2015 goal of funding 10% of statewide public transit spending with state budget appropriations by next year. (As of 2022, the most recent data available, that figure stood at just 4%.)
“Ohio has the resources to meet that commitment,” Bryden said. “For example, the legislature can generate billions by closing some of the state’s poorly targeted tax breaks that primarily benefit the wealthiest Ohioans and cost the state more than $11 billion each year in FY 2024-25.”
The report, co-authored with Policy Matters interns Lila Wright and Joseph Liang, lays the groundwork for advocates to advance transportation funding priorities in next year’s state budget negotiations. “Only a small fraction of ODOT’s budget goes to public transportation,” Bryden said. “There’s so much room to grow our transit systems — if state legislators choose to do their part.”