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Cities, transit and TDM groups warn cuts to CTR, regional mobility and vanpool grants will harm ridership and congestion relief
Summary
Testimony from cities, transit agencies, employer transportation programs and TDM groups urged restoration of funding for commute trip reduction (CTR), regional mobility grants, vanpool and TDM programs, arguing cuts would reduce transit access, hurt employers' benefits and increase congestion and emissions.
Representatives of cities, transit agencies, transportation‑demand management groups and employer coalitions told the committee that reductions to commute trip reduction (CTR), regional mobility grants, vanpool and other TDM programs would erode congestion mitigation, harm transit ridership and jeopardize federal matching grants.
“Commute trip reduction isn't just about businesses. It's about people,” Alex Hudson of a Seattle‑based CTR organization said, describing CTR as a program that helps workers save time and money and reduces congestion and emissions. Hudson and others warned that a proposed 60% cut or deep reduction to CTR funding would harm working people across the state as federal funds decline.
Erin Lenhart of Bothell and Veronica Jarvis of a TDM technical committee said moving or eliminating regional mobility grants and vanpool grants jeopardizes projects that rely on multiple funding sources and program continuity. City and TMA representatives — from Bellevue, Redmond, Tacoma and Vancouver among others — urged the committee to restore funding to avoid losing federal grants, planned pilot services and employer‑based transit programs.
Transit advocates and the Washington State Transit Association said that regional mobility grant funds typically provide $70–80 million in new project money each biennium and that cancelling or moving that funding would undercut ongoing and planned transit expansions.
Why it matters: Several cities and employer programs argued that CTR and regional mobility funding leverage private investment (employer transit passes and ridership incentives), support commute options for lower‑income workers, and are cost‑effective congestion and emissions reduction tools. They asked the committee to restore funds in the substitute transportation budget or otherwise identify alternative resources.
