Transit funding

• Local funding for transit comes from user fees, contracts with human service agencies and local taxes.


• Iowa devotes an amount equal to 4 percent of the fees for new registration collected on sales of motor vehicles and accessory equipment to support public transportation. Most of these funds are distributed by a formula, based on each system's performance during the previous year in terms of rides, miles and local funding support.


• The federal government, through the Federal Transit Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation, offers a number of programs to support local public transportation. Most of these programs are funded through the Mass Transit Account.


• 2011 Transit operational funding sources: Iowa's urban transit operations were funded 66.12 percent from local sources, 7.51 percent from state funds and 26.37 percent from federal funds; regional transit operations were funded 59.4 percent from local funds, 16.58 percent from the state and 24.02 percent from the federal government.


• Additional information about Iowa's public transit industry, including statistics from individual systems, can be found at http://www.iowadot.gov/transit/index.aspx.