Transit funding is a final obstacle to an infrastructure deal: What is the 80-20 split, and why does

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

it matter?

Senate negotiators say they are close to finalizing a $1 trillion infrastructure deal, but funding for transit has emerged as one of the last big obstacles. Republicans and Democrats are sparring over a long-standing ratio of funding for highways and transit known as the 80-20 split.

The split — giving transit one dollar for each four that highways get — has its roots in the 1980s but has only been sustained by an uneasy truce between lawmakers. Republicans have sometimes proposed scaling back transit funding, while Democrats have hoped to increase its share. The dispute has arisen again as a group of senators tries to wrap up the infrastructure package.

In recent days, uncertainty over funding for buses and rail lines prompted some Democrats — who see spending on transit as a way to achieve environmental and racial-equity goals — to indicate that their support for the overall package was wavering. Some Republicans, meanwhile, are quick to highlight that transit agencies received $70 billion in coronavirus relief money, arguing they do not deserve another infusion of cash.

Why is federal transportation spending split the way it is?

The 80-20 approach has its roots in a 1982 effort to raise the federal gas tax by 5 cents. To gain the support of transit advocates, Congress agreed to deposit 1 cent in a new transit account, with the other 4 cents going to highways. In the years since, the split has become a shorthand for the government’s broader approach to funding transportation.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2021/07/23/transit-highways-infrastructure-deal/

[Wounded Bear]

1. Should be 60-40, or maybe even 50-50...

we've been ignoring urban transportation for too long.

[Ron Green]

2. No New Roads.

We need to maintain the ones we really need, and close the ones we don’t. Just as added lanes fill up with traffic, reduced capacity will eventually lead to people finding another way.

Hence 20-80 is the right number, not 80-20.