This Sunday, Aug. 14, MPTA celebrated 35 years of working to ensure transit has a voice in the state of Missouri.
With a reception in the Greater Kansas City Regional Chamber Board Room at KC’s Historic Union Station, MPTA members, Missouri legislators, transit vendors, and other transit supporters gathered to celebrate MTPA’s 35th Anniversary.
The Missouri Public Transit Association was established in 1980 to provide a unified voice for public and specialized transportation providers in the state and to work toward elevating the status of public transit as a priority. Today, MPTA continues its work by looking at the future of transit in MO.
MPTA President Cindy Baker noted that “The Missouri Public Transit Association believes now is the time to make the case for transit funding in Missouri. The facts show investment in transit increases access to jobs, education and healthcare; creates development opportunities, and provides reinvestment in disadvantaged areas of the state.” She continued her remarks by addressing Missouri’s dismal record for funding transit.
Missouri ranks 44th in public transportation funding among the 50 states, investing only 9 cents ($0.09) per capita on public transportation. In contrast, 14 states reported per capita funding between $30 and $770. “We have some room to grow,” Baker remarked, “Especially considering that people in literally every county in Missouri rely on public transportation for access to medical care, school, jobs, and other essential services.”
MPTA provider members provide more than 67 million rides almost everywhere for everybody every day in Missouri, and, and they employ thousands in communities across the state.
