American Public Transportation Association (APTA) President William Millar issued the following statement on Monday. Metro is a member of APTA:

“On behalf of the millions of Americans who rely on public transportation every day, I call on President Obama to address the urgent need for infrastructure investment, including public transportation, in his State of the Union Address tomorrow. This investment is key to putting our country onto the path of economic recovery and competitiveness.

Since the last federal surface transportation legislation expired nearly 16 months ago, President Obama should work with Congress to pass a new, well-funded, multi-year surface transportation authorization bill this year.

Transportation investments offer long-term benefits that last for many decades.  First and foremost, public transportation investment is about jobs. For every $1 billion invested in public transit, 36,000 public and private sector jobs are supported and created. His continued support for investment in high-speed rail is important as it will create a new industry that will add thousands of jobs for American workers. Public transportation investment stimulates the economy in other ways as every $1 dollar invested in public transportation yields $4 in economic returns.

Creating and supporting jobs through transportation infrastructure investments should be a top priority for all our national leaders.  The benefits are great both in the short and long term.”

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The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) is a nonprofit international association of 1,500 public and private member organizations, engaged in the areas of bus, paratransit, light rail, commuter rail, subways, waterborne services, and intercity and high-speed passenger rail. This includes: transit systems; planning, design, construction, and finance firms; product and service providers; academic institutions; transit associations and state departments of transportation. APTA members serve the public interest by providing safe, efficient and economical transit services and products. More than 90 percent of the people using public transportation in the United States and Canada ride APTA member systems.