Rural transit director: small agencies hamstrung by matching rules, paperwork and staffing shortages

Prairie Hills Transit executive director Barb Klein told the House subcommittee that small and rural transit systems face a different set of challenges than large urban agencies and that federal policy and program rules often worsen those challenges.

Klein described Prairie Hills Transit’s service area and scale: “We operate 60 vehicles with a staff of 60. In 2024, we carried 132,000 passengers representing a nearly 5% increase from our pre pandemic ridership,” she said. The operation serves a 16,500 square‑mile area and runs routes for veterans, medical trips and other rural needs.

Klein and other witnesses urged Congress to standardize local match rates so smaller systems do not face a 50% match requirement for operating funds while larger systems get lower rates. “The vast majority of federal transit programs require 20% local match. Rural and small city transit systems required to match at 50%,” Klein testified, urging a uniform 20% match for rural operating funds.

Witnesses asked for FTA discretionary program set‑asides for rural applicants, simplified procurement and reporting requirements, and help getting local match (through federal incentives, state routing of funds, or flexible formulas). Committee members from rural districts pressed for these changes and asked for a list of regulations that could be scaled to agency size.

Klein said regulatory relief and more predictable formula funding would let small systems expand hours and routes while preserving safety and training standards.