person and members have the option is always to appear virtually or in person. last thursday i invitedpe their witness fta administered or nuria fernandez to columbus to see the excitement in the community as they plan to build one of the best rapid transit networks in the country. acolumbus is growing and we pass the chips act in ohio it will grow even faster faster. this meant in the infrastructure bill will help central ohio prepare for more people expand service connect or iowans with these exciting job opportunities with bus rapid transit. we visited the west broad street corridor and janet pinkerton but we saw the opportunity for fast bus service that will spur more development in new affordable housing along the route. columbus is not alone. a new brt route planning its own network a and communities like pittsburgh and senator toomey's stateng have investments moving forward with fta support there for too long the unitedw states hasn't not invested in public transit the way we should. we have fallen far behind the rest of the world the new transit technology. with a bipartisan infrastructure law we are finally working to catch up. a bipartisan and for structural includes the largest investment in public transit not just to build upis the numbers but what that investment to do and how this will matter in ohio is live in people across the country. it will connect more committees to mean faster service and more neighborhoods in open up more job art into the soul workers are limited by a less the doesn't reachh the jobsite. families are continuing to feel the pain of high gas prices after russia's attack on ukraine. if there's a reliable bus orr train nearby workers don't have to choose between paying for gas or making the rent. it will make a difference especially in so many communities s that have not had reliable transit. black and communities have been red-lined and cut off by jobsite interstates and walled off from neighborhoods in rural areas where walking is not an option in smaller cities and towns that haven't been able to afford expensive transit like big cities. i grew up in one of the cities. alongside these opportunities we know the transit industry faces challenges great high fuel prices diesel bus operations in the private sector transit agencies compete for qualified workers. we are lucky to have an exceptional leader to deliver on the prop -- promises of the. structure bill. that's where nuria fernandez comes for it but she's been on the job since last june and she is the first one of color and first latina to leave ftap chanter -- in the wake of the pandemic workers are still adjusting their commutes. we need to preserve transit routes and help transit agencies keep their highly-skilled workers on the job. administrator fta is an focused on implementing the most consequential and in our administration. fta is hoping going to get stay the art zero-emission buses on the road and it's important in our fight against climate change to clean the air in our communities with new modern buses for americans to wright. fta makes it easier for agencies to comply withe the no low traditional bus program. ft has worked to get funding out the door to capitol investment grants program and help rural committees with their options. the administrator has maintained that same commitment and thank you ms. fernandez for giving transit workers are strong boy set fta she's working to make sure workers at the training needed for the next generation of service. fta has continues sharp focus. in this committee we have always supportedat safety efforts. i worked with ranking member to me and chairman crapo on safety issues and the infrastructure bill. minister fernandez of a tortured testimony. >> thank you mr. chairman and administrator fernandez welcome. we'll hear from the fta on the infrastructurer law and i as i'e stated before we have borrowed billions more dollars and that's what happened with the sloppy lottery so much new spending $118 billion had to be transferredrr from the treasurys general fund, the highway trust fund which is a specific account finance with gas tax revenue to cover mass transit and highway construction casebeer president biden would make the shortfall by suspending the federal gas tax for three months reasoning that the solution to high gas prices isn't more supply. more debt. it suggested we want to help commuters and families suffering from inflation we could start by reversing the administration's actions to keep us from using america's own fossil energy. federal spending certain they should be driven by an assessment of our nations need however last year's infrastructure law seems in many ways to been driven by democratic legal imperatives. the bill funnels electric vehicle charging stations. transit wass given $108.1 billin over a five-yearas period. put that number into perspective it's almost twice what transit does in the last reauthorization and this staggering sum is on top of the nearly $85 billion just one year of the covid pandemic. the vast majorityis that money would drive covid losses. nearly $85 billion exceeded the combined annual operating capitol costs of all transit agencies in united states of americail combined. at the time democrats try to justify paying for more than 100% of transit agency budgets by saying the transit systems would collapse that declining ridership and the collapse of state and local tax revenue. except the tax collection set an all-time record in 2020 which was exceeded in 2021 and on top of this all-time record tax revenue collected by state and local governments congress gave states more than $850 billion to deal with covid. we are still billions of dollars will go to transit agencies that are facing systemic ridership declines will the for covid. reaching a high of 10.7 billion trips in 2014 ridership has steadily fallen by almost 8% in 2019 alone the for covid. last two years steeper declines in ridership by over 70%. according to fta ridership now is only about 60% of pre-pandemic levels. agency leaders in new york pittsburgh and washington have all said many ofus their riders simply won't return in transit agencies that offered ridership don't expect that to happen this decade. why give away more taxpayer money to agencies serving far fewer riders. shockingly it at ta has allowed transit agency seeking federal funding for projects to expand systems to use pre-pandemic ridership data from 2019. transit agencies largest source for extension projects is fta grant program. there are transit agency seeking millions and even billions of federal tax funding for projects for streetcars commuter rail light rail and bus transit and to justify their funding request for fta has allowed these transit agencies to usee pre-pandemic data on ridership from 2019 and 2020. this boggles the mind as transit ridership was already -- pre-covid and transit administrations are admitting read it ridership will not -- it will have the invective increasing long-term maintenance backlogs but i have no doubt if you let years after these projectsts are completed transit agencies welcome back to congress pleading for more subsidies to operate systems that have become far too long for demand. also concerningg is fda's will furl disregard of the law. the law requires agencies to make progress on the deferred maintenance backlogs in order to qualify for grants. fta plans to allow agencies to qualify for grants even when they are falling further behind in the overall deferred maintenance. that's no way to protect taxpayers wanted to follow the law and speaking of protecting taxpayers/people shoulde feel safe while using transit. as i stated at the last hearing the rate is a deeply disturbing it doesn't appear to fta is taking this issue seriously enough. let me conclude with the observation. understand it's not entirely transit agencies felt that some people are choosing not to use their services. that doesn't mean congress should be throwing billions of federal taxpayer dollars at them to build out more services for writers that they don't have but i look forward to discussing the future of mass transit. >> thank you senator toomey in the chair recognizes administrator fernandez. thank you for your service. mr. chairman good morning chairman brown ranking member to me members of the committee it's a pleasure to testify on the transit administration bipartisan infrastructure law. if the privilege of a lifetime to lead to fta for such of critical time for public transin or ago covid-19 was ravaging transit systems impacting every aspect of industry you appreciate congress providing $70 billionn really funding for communities nationwide in response to this crisis. it made certainn americans had the rides rides they need and serving hundreds of elephants of jobs that transit agencies in the supply chain that maintains transit vehicles facilities and more. transit help keep america open. ridership is 60% of pre-pandemic levels and it's climbing every day. recognizing the importance of transit and so many committees congress has instructed fta for $800 billion in funding over the next five years and we don't take that responsibility lightly. i will highlight fta's plan for the future. on safety secretary buttigieg said every transit renner deserves a safe and reliable trip in every transit worker should be a link conduct their duties without fear of injury and we are doing in a everything in our power to them do that. many transit agencies are required by law with equal representation of front-line workers. by the end of the year all agencies inmi urbanized areas wl have a safety plan to comply with the requirements including the safety committee. we are also collecting data. these actions will give fda more safety needs and resources to address those needs. our workwe development and workr safety is of particular concern for protecting and expanding the transit is a top priority. transit workers needic more co-workers. thanks to the dedicated funding from congress fta established o work for center. the center has reached thousands of people in several hundred agencies with targeted technical assistance on to upscaling their work for sprint sending another critical aspect in assuring safety of our transit systems is to keep it in good repair. from rails in your two wheels in cincinnati the fta will work swiftly performed the funding s available after the preparatis at. this summer we anticipate having other competitive programs. regarding the accessible plan i want to thank the committee in congress formm providing the resources making headway in the backlog of 900 transit rail systems that remain inaccessible fork two years after the -- our focus is not only with big cities. fta has supported transit and rural rural in tribal areas for decades. it's those areas where transit can make all the difference for senior citizens if our veteran who needs care. inin closing going forward we wl adapt to meet the changing needs of our nation that i want to take this opportunityre to reiterate despite the challenges of tandem with a core value of transit is not change. over the next five years and beyond allon of this at the fta are excited to continue working with this committeend and all te communities t states and nation who rely on transit to invest in historic funding equitably. thank you and i will be happy to answer any questions. >> thank you administratordi fernandez. thank you for coming in visiting the west broad street corridor. i'm sure we will receive other requests for funding the coming years that the bipartisan for structure law provided advance preparations for the program including significant hunting for the crt project and a small start category. we do it 80% federal share in the federal government rarely contribute that much for transit tragic sprint should fta give a share of the project where the law allows? there was an increase of 23 billion the funding of capitol transit for the next five years. with a sustained investment in the reviews into the own stability the past year alone we have seen a 150% increase in the pipeline of projects entering the new start project full capacity and expedited projectct delivery. of the current projects are for small start so i've heard from the project sponsors especially smaller andry midsize cities tht a local match can present a problem and we are working closely with them as applications become available to assist them with identifying not only what their needs are from a national perspective. with the amount of federal funds we can make available to them. >> in your testimony stated fta will initiate the program established by the new infrastructure law and the excess ability program and the rail vehicle replacement program. the greater cleveland regional transit authority has made significant progress in making its rail stations accessible to riders with disabilities that the agency has 17 remaining stops. these investments are long overdue and rta has another pressing problem. the replacement of its entire rail. agencies like cleveland and philadelphia and the ranking members said in his state have or of course the date back to the carter and reagan administration so that means armany rail cars are in excess f 40 or so. possible for 19 to have a plan up for these projects later of this year? >> mr. chairman we will issue a notice of funding opportunity for the program this summer and hope to have that announced by the end of the year. regarding a the rail vehicle replacement program as you noted a lot of the transit agency's particular the legacy agencies have vehicles that exceeded their useful life and that affects the timely delivery of service and impact the schedule. we will be issuing a notice of funding opportunity for that program this fall and hope to have thehe announcement by early next year. >> my last question i've heard from two agencies in ohio southwest ohio regional transit in akron metro that they are having issues of post projects. fta is created a categorical exclusion. i'm a strong supporter of the environment and how you are but a categorical exclusion should be easy to apply for particularly for transit projects that almost by definition help the environment to these agencies face challenges with her uniform relocation act and appraisal requirements. these issues are challenging for small and medium-sized agencies. thank you for looking at these issues and can fta keep working to find solutions toty help thee agencies and any other project any other projects that any other project with a similar any other project with a similar challenge is. >> yes mr. chairman we certainly can and we have worked closely with grantees as they are considering new systems extending systems and they also offer free courses through the national transit institute. assy you stated there a lot of challenges particularly for small operators and we will continue for a regional offices to provide that service and make that available to guide them through the process. >> thank you. i will ask another question since your answers are short of the most witnesses. we talked about how agencies are approaching the use of battery electric and hydrogen powered buses as we discussed the city of canton ohioay is in nation's leader in hydrogen buses. what are you hearing from me industry and how is it helping to consider both of those technologies? >> it's exciting to hear the industry overall is making transitions and a lot of them substantially taking advantage of formula dollars to transition their fleets and that the bipartisan infrastructure law as you no mr. chairman the increase in funding is going to make available specific percentages, 25% or low emission vehicles and we are seeing some members of the industry pursuing the type of technology that will reduce greenhouse gas and technology that can better address their needs. >> thank you. >> thank you mr. chairman and administrator fernandez welcome and just for the record the chairman's observation that your answers tend to be shorter than those of us witnesses is a very high compliment here in the senate. in your written testimony you highlight that secretary buttigieg said safety is then northstar. despite having far fewer riders new york chicago l.a. and philadelphia among others are seeing spikes in transit crime. new york city's mayor a former said he doesn't feel safe on the subway. he mentioned every transit rider deserves a safe secure and transit trip to the agency's as i mentioned during my opening comments will receive staggering amounts of federal taxpayer funding recently including funding that could be used for security and to combat crime. my question is how much of all of this money that we have recently delivered to transit agencies is actually being used to fight crime in our transit systems? >> senator toomey every transit agencycy is committed to safetys is the u.s. department of setransportation and what we are experiencing in what transit agencies are experiencing at this time is the result of many factors. given the pandemic the effect that has had on loss of life and livelihood. >> i have limited time. i understand their many factors contribute. my question is a huge amount of new resources we provided is being used to address this spike? >> the transit agencies have access to their formula dollars and they are applying those dollars in all programs including safety and if you're looking for a specific ip happy to provide you with the numbers. >> i would appreciate it if you would. i'd like to know first of all the fta isn't backtrackingnu the amount of money that's being her dangerous subway systems less dangerous and how much that is. it's also mymy understanding in most cities fare evasion is a fine and cracking down on it reduces the incidence of criminal activity in the subway systems. does fta collect data? >> the national transportation association does not collect information but does collect the information on how much of the fair ratio with the operating budget for each of the agencies and what it cost how much is generated by fares. >> thank you acknowledged there's a correlation between, high correlation between fare evasion and a criminal activity. >> there is aa correlation and there are many factors that affect it. >> but this is not this one. people are choosing not to pay their fare and they are breaking the law and not shockingly some of them want to break other laws because they are after all our lawbreakers. evasion is an important violation of the law that fta should be tracking and they don't track it. >> senator toomey we have do not track the fare evasion. transit agencies have fare gates andnc we collect their affairs n a different manner. the information is provided to us we have the sources of funds. >> okay. let'sfo go into the topic of the capitol investment grants. last years and for structure lower choirs transit agencies make progress on their deferred maintenance of their transit systems in order to be eligible to receive a cit grant and the ideas to help protect federal taxpayers and make sure the funds are not being on large capitol projects and transit agencies are. my concern is the new interim guidance of fta is put out makes a mockery of this requirement from the statue. therefore categories of assets in which they are art deferred maintenance backlogs. here in trim guidance allows the transit agency to make no progress whatsoever in effect we go on three out of the four. on the fourth which is rolling stock their 26 different types of rolling stock assets and under your interim guidance and agency can beof losing ground on deferred maintenance on 25 of the 26 as long as they are making some progress on onee of them. that qualifies them for this progress requirement. this does not seem like a faithful implementation of the law. so could you explain what is the justification for ignoring 75% of the categories of assets when they account for a large proportion of deferred maintenance? >> senator toomey first of all thank you and this committee in congress for including that requirement in the infrastructure law. support that all transit agencies have in fact identified the state of their assets and the lifecycle of what needs to be replaced. the capitol investment grant approval we put out guidance for that early this spring and received public comment and in particular the ones regarding the targets and how to publish a -- in the near future. right now we continue to evaluate the various categories of assets and how they are being monitored or. and one of the things that we do know is that transit agencies when they are applying for the capitol investment grant program we do a full review on their budget nat behre review of their capitol program in their ability to continue operating the systems that they have paid >> while i'm out of time but i want to point out it's impossible for me to understand the implementationng of the lawo systematically exclude the vast majority of deferred maintenance categories and they know it's an interim guidance. i'm certainly hoping the final guidance will address a much more comprehensive category of deferred maintenance in the statue. thank you mr. chairman. >> thank you senator toomey. senator masto. >> you and i have had multiple conversations about the gateway programs in the past. bradley gateway connects new jersey to new york pennwa stati. passenger trips on porter and 50 transit is the lynchpin of the entire northeast corridor a region that accounts for 20% of the gdp of the nation. a capitol investment program grants program is the primary federal lending source for phase 1 of the gateway program which includes building a new portalmi in northridge which is critical from boston to washington. the existing century-old tunnels were badly damaged a superstorm sandy. he hired her shape the biden at a stretch and support to the project which assigned a full funding agreement with fda and the work has been done to move the hudson river time of project the fta's report released in a recommend for the first time the hudson river tunnel project received funding in fy23. administrator can you speak for a moment aboutor the importancef the hudson river tunnel project and receiving funding in fy23? >> last fall the hudson tunnel project partners made significanttec improvements with the financial plan and by updating that we were able to do rate the project is medium-high rson the program. this rating is what resulted in the recommendation of the budget for fiscal year 23 for the months unit. this project is of significance and it's partly in the project development phase . there are several steps that need to be achieved through the funding grantnt agreement that nonetheless just last week the project partners of new york new jersey and the port authority signedde into law an understandg with the gateway development commission which in fact outlines the payment contributing towards the portal northridge project in addition to the hudson tunnel. that's a good step in the right direction and the gateway development commission will set the stage to stand up the entity for federal funds for that project. >> the hudson river tunnel remain on track to receive fy23 fundings? >> that there were several other steps following the project development. engineering the federal government will lock in the project. >> he said it was regional and i would say it's a project of national significance but we have 20% of the entire nation's gdp generated by the region and this is a lynchpin to mobility for businesses to get workers to work and for people to go to hospitals and a whole host of other things is a project of national significance. i heard senator to me question the need for strong federal support for lower ridership. the regional planning association released a report thatn confirms the continued ned for the gateway project and found hudson project would return to or exceed pre-pandemic levels by the time the hudson river tom overbilled and received pre-pandemic levels of 15 toem 32%. our transit agencies were hard hit by the pandemic but the fact remains transit will remain a vital and growing part of our transportation mix and i'm proud of the much-needed investments thatat the bipartisan system wil make you modernizing your transit systems that have long been an advocate of transit oriented development. i see the transformative effect it can have on commuters going back to my time as mayor. to properly plan and execute it can bring significant new investment to committees providing economic opportunities for families and business owners while ensuring affordable housing for residents. the bipartisan structure bill is a program that i helped. several years ago and i appreciate the fta update availability of funding in 2022. will it help. more livable sustainable communities? >> public transportation is about people and the models that are used to provide service her models driven by transportation so housing, affordable housing to high capacity transit centers with high-quality transit service there is a need in the transportation development which encourages a public-private partnership development as well in the investments. in quarters where transit exists and create that identity that's necessary to support the continued growth of communities. >> thank you very much. >> senator cortezy masto. >> thanknk you and administrator fernandez thank you for being your as well. let me follow y up on what my friend and colleague senator menendez was talking about when it comes n to this transit and housing. just recently i sent a letter to d.o.t. and fta about implementing my better plan act which passed infrastructure bill and what the latest decision does is as it requires more of housing and transportation planning and establishes a voluntary housing coordination process that ngos and government can undertake to align transportation investment with increased housing supply. my first question to you is to confirm the department is working onun a response to my letter and implementation of my legislation in the bipartisan infrastructurenf package. senator cortez masto we are working with our partners at u.s. department of transportation to implement the housing coordination plan that will help metropolitan organization to put more emphasis on regional goals for integrating housing specifically affordable housing transportation to the economic plan. we also have a working group with the department of housing and urban development in the community's effort in that interagency group will be focusing primarily on the intersection of housing and transportation too help advance the needs of what we have is one of the highest costs to a household. transportation is followed by housing and picking keep affordable transportation affordable housing in the state quarters that would save a lot of dollars. >> thank you appreciate that. i also want to highlight the aspect of the bipartisan infrastructure bill that truly involves climate change and it is a climate bill and it has provided over 5.5 billion in emission reduction transit investments in this country. it is vital given the environmental ear tackling envy wildfires and that's not including the school buses in the change i was able to get port ev charging eligibility through transit formula dollars. i've seen first-hand the impact that this money has made in my state. just recently in reno a fleet of over 70 buses we waved goodbye to left diesel fuel bus there and what they have implemented a were celebrating is the complete retirement of their dirtier buses and they are 13 years ahead of schedule and that's a benefit not just to that community but to the many families that breathe the air in that community as well. what you see as the prospects of efficient manufacturing of cleaner technologies such as electric buses and the batteries powering them? >> senator there have been some challenges with the implementation and the availability that would we are seeing isng manufacturing manufacturing a step to produce an increase in the number of manufactures it will be helping deliver and charging stations in addition to building upon that supply chain. we have a long-term goal in the long-term goalel is to transitin all public transportation buses to a cleaner and greener technology and the funding that was made available through the bipartisan infrastructure law for low and no emission this and -- will help us get there so we are highly encouraged. there are supply chain challenges but we see it as short term. in the long-term the plan is transit agencies the ones your you have referenced that have really stepped up and develop plans and we are helping those who have not developed a plan to create it transition plan for their fleet. >> thank you. talk about workforce measures. you started that conversation are you touched on in your comments. he are we building the necessary -- the necessary pipeline we need and bringing the workforce along with us and the infrastructure package to create the opportunities? >> we are targeting out because we recognize the workforce is the one that's going to make a significant difference. we have the manufacturing side of our industry that he or use for trolleys buses and trains. the administration last year created ae workforce center in recognition the industry is experiencing a day large percentage ofsi transit workers. and and recognizing we need to continue providing service and that service is going to take us into communities where we will be closing transit deserts and access higher-quality service for the transit workforce center will be focusing on the recruitment training and retention in addition to upscaling with a transition from emissions engines to electric and apprenticeships creating apprenticeship programs and identifying opportunities for community colleges and job for and others. >> senator smith of minnesota's recognize. >> thank you mr. chair. administrator fernandez is so good to see you again i think it was a year or so ago they came to minnesota for the field hearing for the subcommittee and mr. chair with would attract the field hearing talking about transit issues in minnesota and i greatly appreciate you taking the time to talk with their local leaders about our transit needs so thank you so much. i want to follow-up on something that my good friend and colleague from nevada was just talking about to the bipartisan infrastructure law has already put millions of dollars into transit systems around the country for building new lines replacing buses and improving at the structure and these dollars are supporting transit agencies that are pursuing cream -- clean energy through low or no emission vehicles. this is an issue close to my heart because companies in minnesota are working very hard to meet the increasing demand for zero-emission assist. like all bus manufacturers there's a shortage of microchips which makes it hard too fill orders in a timely way. this is something i've been hearing about for minnesota transit agencies at the subcommittee hearing. we heard a lot of talk in washington about the impact of the shortage on the car market. it's important to pay attention when its impact in transit also breaking you talk about this administrator fernandez? what is the impact of the chip shortage on our capacity to implement the bipartisan infrastructure law and the follow-up it seems to me he mr. chair we could enact the competitiveness bill and this would be another benefit of that for transit in united states as well. could you talk to the chip shortage and its impact on transit? >> i'm so glad you've referenced the field hearing because it was my pleasure to join you there. the supply chain for manufacturing particularly around the metals and minerals needed for this transition has been one that has been highlighted and d.o.t. continues to be one of the lead agencies on white house supply-chain disruption task force. i'm encouraged by the progress that has been made and as i stated earlier to focus on how we get our systems operational and get the tools and materials and the components that are necessary is something that has garnered high attention that they d.o.t.. the manager can manufacturing -- manufacturers are stepping up and planned production of chip production.up this will keep pace with the -- we issued a notice off funding opportunity with the combined -- that included no or low emission vehicles. we will be announcing the collections of those and that meansil we'll have hundreds of w buses that will be manufactured in the industry stepping up to meet that challenge. >> we want these buses manufactured in the united states and the more we have of the components including microchips also manufactured in the ice age will be better better off and it goes to of having that. i have a couple of seconds about to ask about something related to equity. transit me know is a vital tool for advancing equity in disadvantaged communities. it's the way in which people get to their jobs and education and they get their groceries and health care that we no transit can be harmful to communities that are displaced. there is displacement of economic and cultural corridors and it would be small cebusinesses. i'm proud of the work of the council in minnesota and hennepin county has done on the extension in minnesota. they created an anti-displacement workgroup that is organized to mitigate the issues of displacement transit. bringing this equity lines to transits is important and if i appreciate her conversations about minnesota but could you address this briefly administrator fernandez and what is the ebbbb d.a. doing to think about expanding access to contracts for example addressing needs we have around smaller minority businesses impacted by transiting created opportunities for them? >> equity is one ofad the highet price considerations. want to make sure funding is an equalizer and if the provides access for open as we think about development that happens in communitieslf or cheekily investment that is going to be part of a joint development project. theti emphasis on on the relocation act forcing -- working closely with the community that outrage that transit agencies document for these changes and mitigation are going to be included in the projects. those are all part of the vehicle process. dish and to that part of building that partnership with the community went this new investment taking place. as a small and disadvantaged businesses we have our programs following the regulations in place and we'll be updating those because we want to see more small and disadvantages businesses be part of the great investment that the laww is bringing to transit agencies across the nation. >> thank you chairman brown and administrator fernandez for joining us today for the bipartisan infrastructure law or presents a historic to update or highways producing rubber and in public transit systems. $100 million going to the vephoenix and mesa metro area. the federal transit is a crucial role to play in inverting these laws to. i look for jordan bean my colleagues on this committee to contain to advance implementation of the bipartisan infrastructure law so small businesses get ahead. thank you for your public service. i think both at -- fta for the light rail project early this year. this extension of the natural light well -- light row will extend and encourage redevelopment at the metro center site. images in hearing more about the rollout of the no emissions -- valley matcher in the city of phoenix have prioritizedll transition planning and construction of electric vehicle charging into structure. i hope they fta will partner on this project. what advice would you offer to valley metro in transitioning to electric power? >> senator the valley metro has done terrific things in transforming the corridors that they are providing service in. related to the transition to low or no emission vehicles one of the firstey things or regional offices are working closely with bigger recipients is reminding them and applying they require to have a transition plan and we have divided a template for how that transition plan can be developed. we certainly want to providequ a roadmap for that plan and in the law there were six points that have to be addressed. he my recommendation is if they are in the process of developing a plan original offices available in theyy have a transition plan and tie that transition plan to their capitol program so that it connects with the notice of funding opportunities they are putting out every and they can build upon that to achieve their goals are bringing those bagels to their community. >> i'm the 25th this year the streetcar openre to the public. it receives federal grant funding and support from a public-private partnership involving the city arizona state university and property in this. if better enables local residents and students to navigate and reached carriage destinations in tempe but a combination of local businesses of city parks are facilities and sports venues are served by light rail and streetcar. how can it serve as a model for other cities looking to make their communities more adaptable in one location and how can they transit at cyst communities in these efforts? >> the example of the streetcar is a green because each committee needs to identify a public transportation system that best serves them. some committees that will be the boss and others albeit trolley. this is a model of listening to the community working with the community in identifying and the best solution for that community so thanks for elevating the tempe trolley. >> what thank you. the bipartisan infrastructure law increases theirt federal public transit in communities of all sizes and i'm proud of the first hour, senator morant to increase funding. these are cities in arizona with high-performing transit systems. a mountain lion at flagstaff provided rides. thee human system took -- in the fourth quarter 2021 alone can you track the investment in these types of smaller transit intensive city's? >> aqr that question senator sinema. the smaller communities and cities that are separated there is a need for public transportation. the services are not as frequent as an urbanized areas and therefore having sufficient access to transit services for people with disabilities and services for seniors are veterans that need access to the clinic or the community as a whole is crucial. so many committees public transportation especially in rural areas is ava lifeline. just like he lay on a vehicle knowing there's a public transportation system that is a phonecall away to request -- for many people in this nation. >> thank you. thank you mr. chair. >> senator warner from virginia is recognized. >> thank you mr. chairman. i'm glad you are having this important hearing. administrator fernandez lemmy say how happy i am -- let me say how happy i am -- as you know our system here is in the hole national capitol region. we have staff members that use the model on a daily basis. transit systems around the country are having some challengesas in getting ridershp levels back up. on a more generalized basis in a generalized basis can you talk about fta's relationship with the community and what fta is doing to help them get active pre-covid ridership? >> senator thank you very much for that question. because the transit authority is here in the nation's capitol is where we are located as well. i use metro all the time and i can tell you the ridership the metro system is continuing to grow. we have to sometimes wait for another train. nonetheless a relationship is a very good one. we have a responsibility for providing safety oversight through the metropolitan safety commission. the operations of the metro and working with ramada inn transit agencies across the country to assist them with transit renewl and the system with ideas exchanges of information and collaboration on how they can not only build back ridership but also the safety challenges they have experienced through peer-to-peer review and collaboration. the leadership changes that have occurred recently with the former general t manager retirig and incoming general manager joining on july 25 from austin, texas is a great opportunity for ramada to continue focusing on all the things that matter and that is safety ridership and delivering the highest quality of service to people who live here and work here. >> administrator i appreciate that response and in these last few minutes bringing metro to dulles has been ao long above process and we have the airport authority which is under construction back over the metro. my hope is that obviously have to make sure it's safe. but we do have a safety assessment. we have got to make sure we get that face to open in the safeway. we have been working closely with the safety commission. can you give us a sense? dove you feel with the new genel manager coming and we have a comment time man of the year to get this open to thehesa public. do you have any concerns about meeting those? >> from a information i perceived for a regional office in philadelphia and the project is proceeding. they are doing testing and that's one of the reasons it will ensure all of the systems have been installed and will operate safely. the decision once the testing is completed would be the federal etransit administration would be signing off on the next step in the identification or dissemination of the service operation and we would do so once we are satisfied that it is safe to b operate. >> i look forward to working with you on this and if they are concerned i hope we hear sooner rather than later. there a lot off service concerns that have not beenre addressed. i appreciate your experience working with metro. >> thank you senator warner senator warren of massachusetts. >> thank you mr. chairman. i want to discuss the national transportation authority which has been plagued with a nuke issue shutdown due to safety concerns. in a letter on april 14 the federal transit administration agency that you ran administrator fernandez expressed extreme concern for greta: safetynet stated the fta was going to cole consume an increase in the oversight role in the system closed quote and tamed data with the roadmap to building a robust safety culture. i share the fta's concerned up a special safetyad directives however they reacted by reducing teservice frequency on many lin. the service cuts have negatively impacted all riders many of whom ifr am public transportation to get to work or school. i have two questions. the first is how do we get to a point where people are literally dying in second when will the fta have a detailed roadmap to get it back on track? thank you so much for highlighting the importance of safety in public transportation particularly on the rail system. bsu noted the letter that was issued by her chief safety officer was the result of a series of events that have occurred subsequent to a study of 2019 that identified a series of issues that need to be addressed that the transit agency was in line to address. when we experienced ongoing safety incidents that could have been averted that's the reason ween sent that letter. >> i'm sorry but you talk about a series of issues. the question i have is how did we get this why? people die on the -- what went wrong? >> that is the question. the situation here safety is our number one priority is and to focus on the weather it's decision-making or thereof contributes to incidents that result in death. that's why he raised the flag and go beyond just raising the flag where we step in and we immediately sent personnel so we can conduct the safety management inspection and was throughout the inspection we identified additional issues and we issued a safety directive. >> when do expect to have a report so we can get it back on? >> we are going to be issuing a report a in august through the safety management inspection funding. the massachusetts-based transportation authority needs to continue one with the training and they need to hire personnel and that's one of the reasons to your second question the impact on ridership and the impact on service. that impact on service only occurs when projects and maintenance had not been completed in a timely manner that now need to be performed. >> i appreciate that. i think what you're saying is the mta was not paying enough attention. i look forward to the report in august and i will hold you to that. prioritizing safety and service should not be either/or. should be both and one other thing i want to ask about and that iss a investment and electrification. a big part of the answer when it comes to making the mta safer and more moderate electrification would improve service and reduce long-term maintenance costs and would help us meet our climate goals and would solve the issues of housing affordability traffic congestion efficiency and at the same time help. new jobs and create economic prosperity and environmental justice. under the baker s mr. should be mtas not privatizing electrification.ri administrator electrification would cost more and upfront capitol costs. would this be a way to make it safer and more reliable, greener, create jobs and reduce costs in the long run? >> senator would achieve all of the above and we did issue a grant for the replacement of the facility. i believe there is a loan involved to ensure that they have an adequate ability to accommodate electric vehicle's. >> electrifying rail would mean a faster and more reliable ride and a cleaner environmental and it's mystifying that there are no tangible plans to get us there for transitioning to an electric system would be costly for. right now the commonwealth has a large budget surplus and is set to receive record amount of federal funding for the infrastructure bill. rather than continue to pour money into technology for the last century we can replace broken down trains with electric ones and invest more in electric buses. i always thought it would be easy but we have to use every tool in the toolbox to convert these disasters and get massachusetts residents the first-class infrastructure they deserve. thank you. >> senator reed of rhode island does recognize. >> thank you and thank you administeredsi her. fuel costs are in everyone's mind. the transit authority's statewide. they did not negotiate a contracty, did $2 per gallon but that contract expires. the price is three or four timev as much. the situation is such your agency does not allow moving capitol and two gas subsidies for lack of a better term. they introduced language. would fta be sympathetic to allow for sure period of time the ability to move money from some of these funds like the capitol fund into gasoline? >> senator reed one of the things that was made available to all transit agencies particularly those who would use their money specifically for capitoll maintenance is the ability to have access to operating dollars and the majority of the relief funds have been obligated to the transit agencies that continue to roll ion those dollars for operation.ma shouldve congress adopt a provision that allows for the use of capitol funds for operation we would follow through with the law. >> thank you very much administrator. everyone is discussing the promiseyo he of electric vehicls and buses and we are trying with the help of your agency to create a completely electric system where we would be totally electric on the island. one of the poems we discovered is that these electric vehicles don't have the range is so we need more ofun them. fda has a limit on the number of state buses and again i'm wondering if you can discuss th. >> thank you for that question. the transition to elect vehicles within receiving a lot of queries from transit agencies and it's a priority too have transit vehicles being replaced when their useful lives have expired and are looking for cleaner emissions. we have a number doped into our existing racial policy in bleeding courage all transit agencies looking for flexibility to work with the office so we can guide them through that process. in fact this past december i issued a letter detailing the specific flexibilities and particularly as relates to a transition to lower emission. ae specific example is the agencies introducing fewer emission vehicles into their fleet are able to keep their existing vehicles pass their useful life towards their ratio. >> thank you and again i think incentivizing electrification is essential to getting on the roads faster but the benefits. i would not have asked the first question if we were all electric and paying $2 or less a gallon. workforce development is critical. i just came from a hearing on the preparations committee and the defense industry and everyone is looking for it and again theyey are putting in a grant for a new us and bus facilities program to update its maintenance garage but also include training of maintenance personnel in cooperation with the institute of technology which is a not-for-profit tech school with an excellent reputation. i would just ask you to look favorably on this application. thank you madam administrator. >> thank you senator reed the center also offers recognize from his office. >> thank you mr. chairman and administrator fernandez for administrator fernandez for joining us today and thank you for your service. i want to begin by drawinggi yor attention to the recent earthquake that affect savannah and chatham county georgia. it did significant damage to the transit ferry system. will you please commit to working with my office to identify if possible resources that could be brought to bear to help chatham county to repair the damage? >> yes senator. a regional office in savannah has been in contact with chatham and working to provide them with technical assistance. >> thank you and just for clarity madam administrator will yourommit that you enter team will continue to work at my office to identify all potential solutions that fta can offer to help chatham county? >> yes, senator i will. >> madam administrator and along the same lines as for your commitment to work with my office more broadly to identify possible legislative improvements that could be made to the emergency response lefunding program to make it moe flexible and to give your team more authority and potentially moreth resources to help the systems impacted by natural disasters and emergencies quickly you engage her team with mine to identify improvements to that program? >> senator we are happy to provide assistance with emergency relief for any other program that you are anxious to didn't. >> thank you so much madam administrator. the georgia specific transit authorities the bipartisan infrastructure law provides the historic opportunity for improvements upgrades andfe expansion of critical transportation transit infrastructure in the state of georgia. for example in metro atlanta stategr route 400 bus routes hae broad support and six between the open city station in greenbriar holt. that's a long-awaited critical piece of infrastructure for southwestn atlanta. understanding these competitive grant programs we'd commit to work with me and local stakeholders to maximize the prospects for these projects and we will do everything we can as georgia leaders to maximize the chances of success. >> senator the headquarters office in addition to the regional offices available to provide any assistance to transit agencies as they are putting thefi applications to ensure the requirements in the applications are there any questions to better understand what it is and what the intended program is. we will continue providing guidance. >> looking forward to working with you to maximize the chance of success for those transit liness along georgia 400. i'd like to ask more broadly as well if you will dedicate a member of your team to meet with the member of my staff and a representative from the fra and folks in metro atlanta expanding commuter rail service for planninga. session to discuss hw the real service might be brought on linelk to serve metro atlanta and the role fta would play with local transit authorities and the fra and we'd designate a staff member and engage with my office in planningit along those lines? >> the regional office administrator of the fta togetherni with fra that is the type of assistance that we provide and he will be available to support and participate in meetings that you and your team will call regarding this process. >> thank you so much. no or low emission buses presents an opportunity for communities like chatham county and chatham area transit recitations like georgia stated university to upgrade their buses to electric and no emission buses. both of those institutions are aligned for federal funding to do that. we you please provide to my office and update for the regional office on the process of the screenit applications? >> yes senator. our office will provide that information to your office. >> thank you very much madam minister and thank you mr. chairman. >> thank you so very much mr. chairman and folks in georgia are very much focused on public transit and like representative ossoff it's a high party. public transportation from commuters are so going to work toward veterans and seniors who live inly rural sure to using oe of our 80 rural transit services.. i think that's an important point because often we talk about public transit you assume it's urban. rural committees roland transit systems and sometimes more. safely and efficiently getting to where they need to go is a priority of mine and that's why that's include provisions for my capitol investments grant program and increase the cag program. the provision i wrote to lift the size is enabling georgia's largest public transportation system to improve its transportation infrastructure to benefit millions of passengers. administrator fernandez how will lifting the project side for small starts create jobs, allow more committees to benefit from the cag program and expand public transportation services? senator the small starts program is part of our capitol investment grant and i can say to you there's a pipeline in our cig with 60 projects to 50% of those were small starts in we are seeing more public transit projects coming into the fold and the pipeline itself is 150% greater than anything we have ever had. by lifting that what we do is give transit agencies the opportunity to better bring their resources their local resources and to bewh able to accelerate some of the projects that they have an art portfolio and it's a single project that they are pursuing in the community and it will be their first ever project. he gives them the opportunity to get that project sooner and to bring that high-quality service to the corridors that it will serve. >> it's often said that peoplegh can't get to where they are going they can get to where they are going for more simply we need to help people get to where they need to go physically. i look forward to working with the fta to ensure the bipartisan infrastructure law continues to expandic access to public transportation in georgia and the rural committees. systems are played a critical role in preserving public health and filling in the gaps whether it's fuel delivery or rides to vaccination sites. i'm not surprised when i travel across georgia waycross and columbus i hear and see demand for small urban and rural transit services to connect georgians to connect health care services education jobs grocery stores and so much more. last year and the hope that to help rural in disadvantaged communities identify and address their transportation needs. i'm glad this year's government funding bill provided $20 million for the hope that in assistance and the property program which willth unlock funding for transit projects in communities like chatham county and will improve access to jobs. administrator fernandez in its early implementation of the persistent program as it works to make public transportation services more accessible? >> it's a very important program and what we are learning is there are communities where the access to a minivan that can get an individual who recently had surgery and needs to go for physical therapy and can no longer drive is there a connection to help improvement in their ability to recover. it was recently in jackson mississippi and had the opportunity to talk to a woman who had experienced just that where she thought public transportation was further people and she realized that other person was hurt. and recognizing she lived on the street that do not have a name or an address that the vehicle was able to reach her location and get to -- get her tours you need to go. we recognize we've been cognizant of the significance of a having public transportation in rural areas and that's one of the reasons for it we are coordinating council bringing all of the resources of an government that are available whether it's human services or departments and agencies to encourage leveraging those dollars so service transportation nonemergency transportation is available to anse individual matter where thy live. >> you talk about the ordinary everyday lives of georgians congress as you know funded their property program in appropriations and is not terminally authorized programs and other years but can you talk about the importance of the running of these programs? >> these programs are very important. we f know these areas are designated winners 20% poverty in the county and that's how it's designated and recognized many of these locations are distant from urban centers and distant from otherwe critical needs and access points. clearly having human service transportation together with rural operators working collaborative to this collaboratively to ensure their size access to individuals whether it's for medical services that the public transportation can be there when it's needed. >> thank you. senator warner that would add that vote senator ossoff and senator warner have spoken many times about the importance of public transportation. frankly it's been ignored for farke too many years he and the demand is beginning to pay off. i know you have the same interest administrator fernandez. senator van hollen is recognized from his office. ..fr thank you for all your good work. i want to start with associating myself with the comments made by senator warner, with respect to the washington metro system. wmata, >> we have some ongoing safety issues for a larger long-term challenge, bringing back the writers of lost during covid-19, recovered much of that would have a ways to go so we look forward to your input and your ideas on the front we also have a lot of important other important transit projects that have been made possible by the bipartisan infrastructure bill including the southern rapid transit project and only going to all oft the details but i jt would ask you for a commitment your office work with us to identify the maximum possibilities to move thebu project forward. >> yes senator, working with the charles county in southern maryland transit corridor project s and they are not a direct recipient yet with a regional office has been t workg very closely with them to ensure they comply with all of these requirements. >> will thank you for being on top of this issue and appreciate it we look forward to continue to work withe you and your team add of course, the infrastructure is an essential component but the other essential piece that makesou everything run other workers on the transit workers that is very pleased that a piece of legislation that i introduced to strengthen the safety and transit workers along with passengers was past included as far as the infrastructure bill and you mentioned that in your testimony that the transit authorities located in large urban areas must establish their safety committees comprised about management labor officials by the end of this month and that all transit agents must complete their safety plans by the end of the year and my question is as you monitor these deadlines, are you confident that will be on track in terms of getting those safety committees up and running. >> my expectation is that all transit agencies are on track to get that up and running senator, and when the legislation when the bipartisan law was enacted, in november of last year, is effective immediately in the transit agencies all understood based on additional information that what was required of them and those that have had the safety committees make sure there was equal representation and those that had agreed to safety committees have ample time to do so i think the additional timing that is been allowed through july 31st november 15th, enactment is adequate for them to make those changes necessary in order to update the public safety transportation safety plans by the end of this year. >> thank you and thank you for holding the fee to the fire in terms of this and when i talked to transit workers, you are often terrible stories about the kind of abuse they have to taken so some of the changes that i expect be made and i think will go a long way to address these issues, and that of course raises the larger issue of the workforce as you will know, we are experiencing workforce demands in many different sectors of the transit workforce situation is no different and we did as part of the infrastructure bill as you know, include the efforts with respect to investment in the i know that you focus on the transit force center and could you just speak briefly about your vision for the program and how the fundinge is slowing from those focuses. >> yes, and such an excellent question given where we are with all of the demands an increase funding both under construction that investment grant and the investment in the stock upgrading in the real vehicles in addition to the bus so that the way that we envision this work for center moving forward is to be able to serve transit agencies and provide them with some verysi specific it guidelis and provide them with training module and also help them make connections at the local level with our community colleges so that they can create the d opportunities for not only recruiting but also training in upscaling existing workforce to work in the new vehicles and to work on the new technologies that is out there. michael other industries are in competition for the talent and for individuals who want to become whether it's a bus operator maitland and maintenance for line worker and therefore, looking beyond the industry and connecting with high schools nets one of the other areas that that workforce suitable connect with local schools in addition to labor shops of the apprenticeship programs can be developed and those already existing can be opened and made available to the pipeline continue to grow and we do see attrition in the industry and one make sure that is a sufficient pipelines to fill that attrition. >> thank you, one last question. >> thank you very much mr. chairman and as you know last year in for structure law requires the secretary of transportation to establish a program focused on the mudeployment of advanced digital construction management systems under the fda's animation program. increasingly expanding innovative technologies forma construction, tight timelines and save federal taxpayers money these type of technologies also applieddi throughout the lifecye of transportation infrastructure including the maintenance phase and during this committees last transit hearing in february, central ohio transit authority testifiedin that they use advand technology systems to help with predictive maintenance repair and improvements so administrative - can you briefly provide an update on timing personti establishing this program. >> yes,st sooner to be i truly appreciate thatmi were having ts conversation about the advanced presentation administration i was trained in this was in it without a doubt one of the best opportunities that the transit industry has two not only establish a good problem management program but also the oversight of that program to ensure the use of technologies, we can predict and we can forecast, the schedule in the budget and keep the project on task in the the large projects have beenic using it is been nod by the general manager as west has white and the other what we are seeing those an increase in funding from the 23 billion capitol investment grant and that means we will have more transit agencies in many of them are small operators that may not have some already so this is clearly an opportunity and we are in the process now of collecting information so that we can not only identify what is been used and with some of the entities are that have applied best technologies and what they have learned and what we see the gaps and you know as i noted, with the interesting small operators nothing on projects, concert and projects that there is certainly an opportunity to refer them to connect and what if any additional research can be made available. our intent is to move forward with it. >> do you knowingly program will be establishing that we will be issuing the information on the research aspect of this is again for your research program and will be issuing information on that in my expectation is that will be toward the end of theca year. >> thanke you. >> center, miss nuria fernandez has been working on different fronts for the promise of investments in pro and an important update sent i think administration or princess money today for the senators who wish to submit questions, for the hearing record in these questions are you one week from today and on tuesday july 19 so the witnesses please a mental responses to the questions, the record 45 days and without the hearing is adjourned and thank you. 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