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 Federal Motor Fuel Tax (2.86 cents per gallon of the Federal Motor Fuel Tax is dedicated to transit).
• 2008 Transit operational funding sources: Iowa's urban transit operations were funded 64.4 percent from local sources, 8.5 percent from state funds and 27.1 percent from federal funds; regional transit operations were funded 58.8 percent from local funds, 18.6 percent from the state and 22.6 percent from the federal government.
• Additional information about Iowa's public transit industry, including statistics from individual systems, can be found at www.iatransit.com.