DOT 44-03
Friday, May 16, 2003
Contact:  Kim Riddle      
Tel:  (202) 366-5580

Senior U.S. Transportation Officials Tour Intermodal Facilities in the Northeast, Stress Importance of Seamless Transportation Options and Surface Transportation Funding

U.S. Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy Jeffrey N. Shane and U.S. Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy Emil Frankel, joined by bus line executives and industry officials, today toured Boston’s South Station, the Portsmouth Transportation Center in Portsmouth, NH, and the Portland Intermodal Facility in Portland, ME as part of the rollout for the Bush Administration’s new surface transportation bill. 

“The facilities in Boston, Portsmouth and Portland provide travelers a seamless, safe and efficient transition from one mode to another, said Under Secretary Shane.   “The Safe, Accountable, Flexible and Efficient Transportation Equity Act of 2003 (SAFETEA) builds on the intermodal approaches of ISTEA and TEA-21 by authorizing a $425 million grant program to fund capital improvements to improve intercity bus access to significant intermodal facilities.”  

The six-year $247 billion proposal serves as the largest surface and public transportation investment in U.S. history.  SAFETEA provisions relevant to Intercity Bus Service include: 

·        increasing funding for formula grants for other than urbanized areas by 58 percent over TEA-21 levels;

·        creating a new $85 million a year Intermodal Passenger Facilities Program;

·        providing $6.9 million per year for a Rural Transportation Accessibility Program, and;

·        increasing funding to an average of $231 million per year for Motor Carrier Safety Grants.  

If enacted, SAFETEA will consolidate and expand federal safety programs, create jobs and sustain economic growth, reduce congestion and minimize project delays, empower local decision makers by increasing funding flexibility, increase environmental stewardship and protections, and increase transit efficiency for a more seamless transportation network.

These three intermodal facilities showcase a major goal of the Bush Administration’s recently announced surface transportation reauthorization proposal. 

###

Briefing Room