Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Federal Transit Administration

Report: Bush-Era Transit ‘Cost-Effectiveness’ Rule to Cost Charlotte $67M

When the Obama administration moved in January to undo a 2005 rule that made a federal "cost-effectiveness" rating the most important factor in determining which transit projects received funding, critics and even some transit advocates were skeptical, questioning whether the U.S. DOT would be able to legitimately quantify the community-building benefits of rail and bus networks.

Charlotte_SharonRdWest1.jpgThe new light rail line in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo: UrbanRail.net)

But federal officials continued to describe the shift as a significant boost for local transit planners, who will no longer need to design the budgets for new transit lines around the confines of a cost-effectiveness formula that attempted to measure the "incremental cost per hour" for each traveler.

Those who cheered the demise of the cost-effectiveness rule got new ammunition today from Greenwire, which sent a reporter to Charlotte, North Carolina, to track the city's plans for expanding its three-year-old light rail line.

The full story is available only to subscribers, but it puts a $67 million price tag on local  transit planners' mandate to comply with the Bush-era cost-effectiveness standard. As Greenwire's Josh Voorhees explains:

Charlotte officials had originally wanted to build theline -- the first in a planned network spanning the metro area -- withthree-car trains. But the project was scaled back to a two-car systemto comply with a complicated cost-effectiveness formula then at theheart of the U.S. Transportation Department's criteria for federalfunding.

"In order to get the score we needed, they told uswe had to find a way to cut the project's scope," said John Muth, chiefdevelopment officer for the Charlotte Area Transit System. "We didn'treally have other options if we wanted the federal funding."

Now, as the city plans the second phase of its light-rail project, athree-car, 11-mile extension of the existing line from Uptown intonortheast Charlotte, it also must retrofit the existing track to carrythe longer trains. That means not only buying more rail cars, but alsolengthening platforms and boosting power distribution. Estimated pricetag of the retrofits: an additional $67 million.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Advocates In America’s Deadliest Car Crash City Are Forming a Powerful Coalition

A group of Memphis advocates are uniting to challenge car dependency and unravel its devastating impacts on residents

October 1, 2025

BIG ZERO: Trump Stiffs NYC Transit System in ‘Sanctuary City’ Tantrum

The federal government is denying the MTA tens of millions of dollars in public safety funding over of New York's immigration policies.

September 30, 2025

More Transit Means Safer Streets

Promoting transit isn't just a social good. It's also a tool to achieve Vision Zero.

September 30, 2025

DATA: Not Paying Fines? Keep Speeding, Says New York City

It's yet another case of "anything goes" for drivers in Adams's New York.

September 30, 2025

Tuesday’s Headlines Pay Through the Nose

Why does a bus cost Cincinnati $937,000, while Singapore spends $333,000? David Zipper has the answer.

September 30, 2025

Newsom Names GM CEO Mary Barra as Villain in Fight with Feds over Air Quality

Car company executives make good rhetorical foils. But they can't be held responsible for the state's shortcomings.

September 29, 2025
See all posts