I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4367 
To alter requirements relating to recommendations for funding by the Federal 
Transit Administration of fixed guideway projects, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 16, 2009 
Mr. ELLISON (for himself and Mr. DEFAZIO) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To alter requirements relating to recommendations for fund-
ing by the Federal Transit Administration of fixed guide-
way projects, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Transportation Equity 
Act of 2009’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) According to the National Surface Trans-
portation Policy and Revenue Study Commission, 
approximately 80 percent of the population of the 
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United States lives in metropolitan areas, with over 
60 percent of the population living in areas with at 
least 1,000,000 individuals. 
(2) Over 85 percent of the critical transpor-
tation infrastructure of the United States is in met-
ropolitan areas. 
(3) Metropolitan areas are most often com-
prised of several counties, cities, suburbs, and towns 
with commuting ties to an urban core. 
(4) According to the United States census, al-
most 50 percent of the 100 largest cities in the 
United States have predominantly minority popu-
lations, while suburbs are comprised of predomi-
nately Caucasian populations. 
(5) Throughout the United States, public trans-
portation users are disproportionately minorities 
with low to moderate incomes. Overall, public transit 
users are 45 percent Caucasian, 31 percent African- 
American, and 18 percent Latino. 
(6) In urban areas, African-Americans and 
Latinos comprise 54 percent of public transportation 
users, including 62 percent of bus users, 35 percent 
of subway users, and 29 percent of commuter rail 
users. 
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(7) Just 7 percent of Caucasian households do 
not own a car, while 24 percent of African-American 
households, 17 percent of Latino households, and 13 
percent of Asian-American households do not own a 
car. 
(8) Public transit provides affordable transpor-
tation choices and has the demonstrated ability to 
reduce out-of-pocket housing and transportation ex-
penses for a household with access to transportation 
choices within .5 miles of the household. 
(9) The main criteria used by the Federal 
Transit Administration to make determinations with 
respect to providing Federal New Starts funding for 
a public transit project, known as the cost-effective-
ness index, has major limitations, including limita-
tions that negatively impact the ability of transit 
projects serving minorities in urban areas to effec-
tively compete for funding. 
(10) The primary calculation of the cost-effec-
tiveness index attempts to quantify the dollar value 
of a single benefit to users of Federal New Starts 
projects, travel time saved compared to a baseline 
project, while ignoring other important benefits. 
(11) The cost-effectiveness index relies solely on 
travel demand models oriented toward highway com-
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muter trips. The models fail to accurately capture 
transit ridership by non-commuters and by individ-
uals making non-highway oriented trips, including 
trips made by pedestrians and cyclists. Because mi-
nority, low-income, and urban residents make up a 
larger share of non-commuter and non-highway ori-
ented trips, the cost-effectiveness index undercounts 
these individuals and places a reduced value on the 
time saved by the non-highway and non-commuter 
trips of these individuals. 
(12) The bias against urban transit users has 
caused some minority communities to file lawsuits 
against the Federal Transit Administration. 
(13) 
The 
Federal 
Transit 
Administration 
should end its reliance on the cost-effectiveness 
index because of the disproportionate negative im-
pact of the index on minority and urban commu-
nities. 
SEC. 3. ADJUSTMENTS. 
The adjustments made in the Federal Transit Ad-
ministrator’s Dear Colleague letter of April 29, 2005, to 
require a ‘‘medium’’ for the cost-effectiveness rating, in 
order for fixed guideway projects to be recommended for 
funding by the Federal Transit Administration, shall not 
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apply to any project evaluated under subsection (d) or (e) 
of section 5309 of title 49, United States Code. 
Æ 
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