 Good afternoon everyone. My name is Carol Werner. I'm the executive director of the environmental and energy study Institute And I am very happy to welcome you to this event this afternoon To take a close look at an issue that we think is a very very important in terms of thinking about What is going on in our country and the future of? transportation this very very important sector to our economy and Indeed to its many impacts with regard to environment to public health and how our Country runs at the national level at the regional the state and at the local level and so we are particularly pleased to be working With regard to this forum today with the American Public Transportation Association as well as the National League of Cities and the US Travel Association Because what we see with regard to investments in public transportation Dramatically affects the kinds of services that are provided to Americans across the country Everywhere where we live and work where we have our businesses And so we're going to hear a lot more about that from our speakers this afternoon And of course as everyone I think is acutely aware Transportation Infrastructure is a very very hot topic on Capitol Hill this week There are many meetings going on across the house and Senate Because this is infrastructure week Many hearings have been held on both the house and the Senate side with regard to pending transportation bills and Of course the Senate this morning in committee marked up its transportation reauthorization bill Which is expiring the end of this fiscal year September 30th So there are huge questions huge stakes in terms of thinking about the whole role of public transportation And what it really does for us and I am so pleased to be able to introduce as our first speaker today Michael Milano fee who is the president and CEO of the American Public Transportation Association and His entire career of over 26 years it has been spent in Public transportation he of course has been serving on many boards and commissions But very importantly he has worked on the manufacturing side for a bus manufacturer And he has also led public transit agencies in a number of cities across the country before joining APTA as its CEO and president and Like me he also here in Washington does not have a car and uses a metro every single day And so Michael is going to lead out off our discussion this afternoon in terms of Presenting the findings of a new report that had been commissioned by APTA and its partners Taking a very Important new look with the new data coming forward with regard to the economics of transit investment Michael Thank you so much Carol. We appreciate it Thank you so much for all that you do and we really appreciate all the all the wonderful efforts of Environmental and energy study Institute you've done so much to advance thought within the capital and we really appreciate all of your efforts and hosting us here today I'm very pleased to be participating in this event that focuses on the economic impact of public transportation Transportation as part of the inaugural Infrastructure week, and I'm sure you all saw the cards the hallmark cards that are in the stores for infrastructure week This is a great week to be here And it's great to be here with two champions. We're going to tell phenomenal local stories We've got mayor Becker from Salt Lake City. We appreciate being two-term mayor Becker from Salt Lake City You have you've had tremendous strong leadership You have shown what can happen when a community comes together and you can invest in infrastructure and really advance your community on so many levels and advance The business story the economic story the transportation story within your community You've done a tremendous job and welcome you here and look forward to hearing your local story very much And Elliot always great to see you here and to have the opportunity to share a podium with you You always outshine the great speaking as hard as I work on it You're so eloquent but to hear this local story here in DC and I wish we've got good transportation investment new things coming here in The city as well, and it's it's great to be here and share that with you and And most recently we were at together at the US Travel Association event They held a special event in November at the museum and it was called connecting America through travel It was a special conference that was spent a whole day just connecting talking about the connection between travel industry and Transportation one of the things that we talked about that we presented a report on the importance of having an airport connection to your downtown Something you just recently opened mayor Becker in Salt Lake City and certainly we enjoy here in DC And it's great to see how that data is again reinforcing an investment in public transportation How it yields great benefits for your businesses and for your community to make it stronger and more globally competitive Let's talk about the research that we're here to discuss today And we're excited to talk about what we think is a piece of groundbreaking research and the study which is titled the Economic impact of public transportation, and I believe we have some copies here Available they're not into me. Yes, we do It was conducted for apta by the economic development research group headed by Glenn Wiesbrod and He's a prominent economist in the transportation sector For the first time what we're able to do here is to measure the productivity gains from the investment in Operations in capital in public transportation and this analysis it goes beyond the traditional measurements And typically we look at when we put the money into public transportation We look at the money that goes to the capital side into the operating side and you typically think of Orange vests and hard hats, and we're going beyond that now. We're going to be looking at how it Improves business productivity in several ways and the study will detail that going forward at the household level The savings are achieved by reducing congestion and less reliance on a mobile use This saves the overall economy at least 18.4 billion dollars a year We're also improving employers access to labor market and enhancing the free flow of people goods and commerce throughout our communities While reducing the impacts of congestion when you think about it if we can get cars off the roadway Your goods your commerce your people can flow more freely through your community They're wasting less time on the roadways and they're working more efficiently We're able to capture the value of those improvements through this study and that contributes more than 10 billion dollars the US economy and as I talked to Another mayor recently he talked about how they had a recent connection to their airport Just something that was new and they one of the impacts they found wasn't just getting people to and from the airport But it was getting the workers to and from and what do you need the workers? They're the most one the weather is bad and having that Transportation took away the fear of getting workers to and from the airport and it made it brought more stability to their economy It was a real plus for their city So let's talk about this next graphic this side slide shows here is on the left Traditional measure measures we use the looking at the capital and operating investment that yields about 22,000 jobs And that's again, that's the hard hats in yellow vests We're doing now is we're also looking at adding in the household savings The improved employer labor access and the impacts of reduced congestion And that's what those blend together to is to create increased productivity in your community So as we invest in public transportation, we get this enhanced improvement of almost 29,000 jobs And when you think about it, why do we invest in infrastructure? Why do we make these big investments in capital infrastructure that lasts for decades in our community? We do that to make our cities work better This is the measure of the better We've found a way to measure the better and this encapsulates that and it rolls up to over 50,000 jobs Over 50,700 jobs on average that we Improve that we sustain or create in our communities through the investment of public transportation And that's for each billion dollars. So look at that We're 50,000 jobs for each billion dollars And many of you in this room have seen infrastructure just like this going on in your communities As we're building new public transportation infrastructure This is the first time that we've been able to quantify these substantial Productivity gains, and that's what we think this report is so important. People are asking why are we spending these dollars? What are we going to get for it? This is quantifying that and giving us the ability to tell a better story An overall investment in public transportation it offers a four dollar return For every dollar that's invested and this tremendous return on investment that resonates throughout the study There's also a remarkable return on the investment in terms of generating Tax revenue at the state the local and the federal level Total tax receipts are estimated at 10.4 billion per year for local state and federal governments And this is from a combination of enhanced productivity Traditional impact of spending resulting from substantial public transportation investment Let's go beyond the numbers. Here's some Great examples. There are great examples all across the country and not just in large cities not just on coastal cities But cities large and small across the country where we're seeing the benefits. This is San Diego up here But let's talk about a little local city and and give you a little a little warm-up before we hear from mayor beckard from elliott Let's talk about Eugene, Oregon. Nice small city out west They put a brt system in place. They call it the emx and it opened in 2007 See it's got nice level boarding off-board fare payment there and it connects springfield to downtown Eugene, Oregon This bus rapid transit system runs about 60 of its operation in a dedicated right away And what's the benefit that we get from that the service operates Pretty much during business hours. It runs from 6 to 11 with buses running every 10 minutes on there So you don't have to wait you don't have to look up a schedule. Just go out there every 10 minutes There's a bus running This is very interesting. We've learned the congestion. Of course, it's one of the main factors impacting our health of our communities and economic viability By putting this in place the max has established itself as a valuable Economic development tool for Eugene. Why? Because along the main corridor traffic congestion was reduced by 30 percent As a result of putting this in place Putting one brt line in place improvement of congestion of city by 30 percent That's a much faster flow of people gets in commerce throughout the community And this connects major areas of employment and consumer spending such as their gateway mall Sacred Heart Medical Center and the University of Oregon And it's just one community that's reaping economic benefits from more public transportation investment As more and more communities look to boost their economic growth This study can better help them measure significant productivity that it can gain And help them to place their communities in a place of improved economic viability and competitiveness on a global scale So during national infrastructure week, we are pleased to have the opportunity to share this tool today For those who are looking to provide more clarity on how this investment can impact the national economy As well as your local community So let's turn to the federal partnership We are after all in the capital today and as you know the current federal Program expires September 30th as Carol pointed out. I would see we're all aware of that We've developed a set of recommendations that are board unanimously approved in December So we did as we took those numbers those recommendations and we put them through the data That's encompassed in this report And what we found is that with our recommended investment over six years of just over a hundred billion dollars a hundred point four to be exact We predict that we'll have the following benefits for our country We already know from our traditional measurement of public transit that the investment will yield For each billion dollars will yield investment of 1.1 million jobs And this could turn into 2.4 million jobs overall for the hundred billion program Based on the millions of dollars spent by the employees. So as we put more people to work They're going to spend is going to be that multiplier. We're going to see additional jobs throughout our country Our recommendations for congress would garner 66 billion dollars in business sales per year To put that in perspective that's more earnings than google had in 2013 Investment in transit matters And let's not forget that this rolls through to the private sector. It is the private sector that builds our infrastructure It's our private sector that builds our rolling stock or buses and trains And fully 73 of the federal dollars that flow into the public transportation industry Flow right through the private sector because they're primarily capital dollars They flow through the private sector. They're creating jobs all across this nation And our recommendation for investment in public transit garners 81 billion dollars In gross domestic product or gdp every year and that ranks higher than a gdp of more than 100 nations The facts are clear public transportation investment makes the u.s economy Significantly more vital and productive by generating hundreds of thousands of good paying long-term private sector jobs In millions of dollars of tax revenue and it delivers a four fold rate of return on this investment Thank you very much for the opportunity to be here. I look forward to questions later on carol. I return the podium to you. Thank you Pretty impressive data I now want to turn to mayor ralph becker who is the mayor of salt lake city. He as michael Looted he has been elected to reelected to a second term He in 2011 And I think what's important to also recognize is that his leadership has been recognized by his peers And that he is the first vice president of the national league of cities And he is part of the president's state local and tribal leaders task force on climate preparedness and resilience Before becoming mayor Mayor becker served in the utah state legislature as a member of its house of representative for 11 years And served as the house minority leader for five of those years He has a very interesting story to tell with regard to what is going on in salt lake one of our Really Wonderful cities in this country. And so to tell that story and the transportation Uh peace of how this has really made salt lake city come alive. Mayor becker Well, thank you. It's so good to be with you and to be part of this forum discussing A transit and its impact on our economy and really the impact on our lives and in our communities As you're describing my background. I thought that was a long time in politics I don't know that that's that's where where I expected to be or certainly what Is necessarily a testimony to um to quality living. I'll put it that way But on the other hand, I'll say that um That what we do uh those of us who work in the public sector or work around public transit and And and work for our communities and our states and regions and and nation Uh gives incredible satisfaction Uh to be able to do what we believe Hopefully we'll serve our communities and and serve our society Today and and leading into the future As I think about transit and think about transportation and its effect on its economy I can't help but think about it in the context of Of how we live and how we make make decisions And for us at the community level and I I know this is very specifically true in salt lake city But I think this is true in communities with the national lake of cities us conference and mayors and and other local governments We look at livability we look at what is it that is going to create the environment the full environment natural physical and social environment That makes for a healthy community and makes for a healthy society that we live in And so that context really um Leads I think to a discussion about the the elements and the parts of our communities and the parts of our Decisions in our society that make us successful that make people happy Uh and that make people uh prosperous and the society prosperous Um in the case of what we've done I'm going to hone in here really on our region and in in the salt lake area In the case of what we have done and I've seen happen now from before I certainly became mayor I think it's centered around three things One is to establish a clear vision for our community and for our region That the community is a whole and community leaders whether they're private or public sector buy into as As what we want to be Given where we are today And in the case of the salt lake region the wasatch front as we call it Um, we've been very fortunate for now more than 20 years Uh to have had an ongoing community visioning process I think that terms gets overused a bit but an ongoing really effort and process that's involved people Uh in their neighborhoods, uh in their own forms in their planning commissions and city councils and county commissions and county councils Um and with the business community in an ongoing effort to define Where we are today, but more importantly, where do we where do we want to be in the future? And what is it going to take for us to get there? And that has I think shaped a common sense of purpose In our region that has allowed us to do things that I think Not only wouldn't be impossible otherwise But I don't think anyone would have expected otherwise So the the vision is incredibly important a second piece of that. I think are the partnerships of people Rallying around that vision regardless of their Even their necessary specific ideas about what the outcome should be and and keeping a Keeping in mind strongly what the outcomes are that we want And and finally communicating and by communicating. I don't just mean us telling folks What what we believe they want but having that ongoing interaction in a way that shapes and adapts and and reforms continually what it is That we do and how we do it So in terms of a livability and sustainable community that means in a place like salt lake Looking at air quality looking at our use of energy looking at our prosperity and economy Looking at our overall quality of life But let me talk Sort of quickly in terms of the of the Of the region here We've got obviously a beautiful environment to work from we've got some incredible natural assets But we also Have had the benefit of deciding really I'd say back in the early and mid 90s That if we were going to maintain this quality of life that we sow treasure We're going to have to change our transportation systems Specifically we couldn't build roads and build our way out of and into the future That we want And with that came some decisions some of them I'd say risky decisions at the time To start building rail and light rail specifically And we had a great entrepreneurial partner with the utah transit authority That was willing to take risks that I think very few leaders probably would in other words after a Failed to build light rail they went ahead and built it They did happen to cost the general manager his job. It's a small price to pay Because it was it was controversial people didn't know what to expect they said people wouldn't get out of their cars But the fact of the matter was Like I think every place around the country the day rail opened The world changed for us and it was no longer a question of whether or not people would write it We were exceeding ridership projections It was a question of how quickly could we build out the system and from that point on referendum after referendum passed with over 60% of the vote So we built this of an initial spine of light rail and then an extension up to the university in our medical center From downtown salt lake a spine that went all the way through the salt lake valley And then uta went back to the public and we all went back to the public private and public together and And passed a referendum that basically amounted to building 70 miles of rail in seven years light rail commuter rail and most recently streetcar That wasn't part of that package, but we were fortunate with the tiger grant and our federal partners there And we now have a system that has an incredibly strong backbone And there are a few things I think that led to the success ongoing one was Those 70 miles of rail were built a year ahead of schedule And they were built under budget now that doesn't happen very much in government So we're all very pleased when that happens, but it also creates the kind of confidence in the public that we We are going to live up to our responsibilities and obligations To do that now specifically i'm going to talk about quickly two Two developments in salt lake city Um, we had uh We've had from the beginning really plans to build a rail line from downtown to the airport. This is the street Post construction of the light rail line out to the airport But when we decided to uh to put the light rail line in with our transit partners We said we're going to completely redo this street make it a complete street This was probably one of the ugliest streets in our region It was in a it went through a badly underserved area in terms of the population and um And which just was not a desirable place When we rebuilt this street We took out a lane in each direction. We put in bicycle lanes on the street We obviously have light rail running down the middle. We buried the the electric Utilities we put in new lighting we put in new landscaping We have an off off street 10 foot shared path not a sidewalk so for both bicycles and pedestrians And immediately the investment started In a major way We now have over a thousand new units of housing along this street this open last april And we are seeing a relatively quick transformation of this street and the development around the street We redid all the zoning as well And planning is owning in the corridor to a form-based transit oriented development zone To be able to provide for the flexibility of what what folks wanted Today, this is our model street for an arterial road and arterial street In utah and really serves as an example for us in the city and us throughout the region of how we can and should accommodate The all forms of transportation We we say in the in our mobility agenda drive if you want and you must but let's not make that the best or easiest way to get around And this street exemplifies that it is now being heavily used I think For um For others To follow and as I said, we're kind of reaping rewards We also just opened so this opened in april in december we opened our first street car line salt lake had 140 miles of street car Like most places around the country in 1950 basically disappeared much to our chagrin today Roger rabbit killed it and we're sorry for the we're sorry for the loss But it has really Again had this incredible impetus Both economic impetus but also community Um togetherness and connectedness In a part of our city again that was underserved Uh, we opened this line in december. We already have over 400 million dollars Um of investment around that and the applications keep coming in and we're hoping to We now have approval. We're hoping to extend that line here in the very in the very near near future Um, so it's had an incredible impact Um economically in our community, but in the energy and in particularly this part of the city This is an older part of the city that had a business district that was In pretty bad shape And it is now I think one of the best neighborhoods It was recognized as one of the 10 best neighborhoods in the country And really street car has been the catalyst for it. It was starting to happen You could see signs of it before certainly street car develop Um, but once uh, we were able to be successful with the tiger grant and move from it being 25 years away under the state transportation implementation plan To it it happening virtually in a three to five year period Um, the whole condition of this entire part of the city Started to transform and that's just accelerating over time So we of course love our story in salt lake and love our love our city We feel like we've got a long ways to go. We've got ambitious plans To expand our streetcar system Not just in this area, but two other streetcar lines in salt lake are in various stages of planning and design Um, and we see it as a key to our future That not only does it create the kind of prosperity which is critical to the success of of any city But it ties people together Uh, the transit and alternative modes doesn't put people in a shell It gets people interacting with each other and living with each other and engaging in conversation In ways that never happens In us and almost solely as has been our experience now for for too many decades Where we're driving back and forth both to work and to play And to get our kids around and do our errands. So We're excited about our future, you know, I um, I tell other folks both in our region and elsewhere That for us as a city, we're gonna maintain our streets We're gonna do our best to take care of our sidewalks But our future infrastructure investment is around transit and it's both for the Prosperity of our city, but for the health of our community And I think our community recognizes that the region increasingly recognizes it And I should say that I'm hopeful Well, we can't always hold out too much hope that this year in congress We will see a transportation reauthorization bill that allows us to commit the kind of long-term investment that we need to make To be able to to continue to make the improvements in our community that reflects today's needs not the needs of decades ago and And that recognizes the changing paradigm in transit and transportation Increasingly, that's where we want to invest and we see others active transportation is probably the most energetic area bikes and pedestrians that I see in our whole region today And we we need our partnerships. We need our private partnerships We need our state partnerships from the local level and we need our federal partnerships And I think you know on behalf of cities and towns across the country Uh, we want our federal government to work with us as partners in congress so that we can be successful as communities Thank you for allowing me to be with you Thank you very very much for telling The salt lake city story, which I think is so important and I think that there are some other Slides that you may want to talk about a little bit later in terms of of Showing parts of that story as well if you would like to and When we move to discussion and so our final presenter this afternoon before we move to Discussion with with all of you is elliott fergusson who is the president and ceo of destination dc Which is the official convention and tourism corporation for Our nation's capital for for right here and Certainly all of us who live In the washington metro area know how important Tourism is all of the meetings that are held here. It is just an incredibly Vibrant part of making this economy and this city in this region Hum and so we are very excited to have elliott here today to really talk about Uh about that whole piece of our economy And its whole connection with regard to transit elliott Thank you. Thank you carol and good afternoon to all of you. We appreciate your excitement in the glamorous uh infrastructure week Presentation of the day because it is sexy and very important Um as carol stated, I um have the pleasure of being I guess the big cheerleader for promoting washington as a convention and tourism destination And um, I normally would have tons of slides and things that showcase why washington is a great destination But i'm assuming I don't have to do that with you guys because you hopefully live here or you're here and you're being able to To enjoy the city But if you want to learn more about what we do washington.org is our website You'll hear and see tons of information on dc as a destination, which is the part in which we do the most We work really closely with apta We really appreciate the role that you all bring to the table michael and um and the the importance of infrastructure Which is something we were talking about early this morning at the us travel executive forum in which I attended And uh, mayor becker. I work really closely with scott beck my counterpart insult lake city, which is an extraordinary destination and I applaud you guys and your efforts in terms of bringing the infrastructure together Which is really important So now dc is a destination. We have 18 million visitors that came to washington in 2013 My goal is to continue to make that number go up so I can keep my job Um, so what that means for us as folks that live here is that if you love the cherry blossom festival But you hated the traffic In the future years we intend to continue to have more and more people come to the city So infrastructure is extremely important to us because You know all the things in which people say that are great about, uh, washington as a destination Um, we always get dinged for the same things Traffic in the city parking is difficult congestion and of course parking tickets, which you are official when you get a parking ticket when you move to washington dc Which I did 12 years ago So our goal as we tell people to come to washington dc is we tell them do not drive to washington You know when you're in the city, it's a small destination. It's easy to get around All the infrastructure changes that are happening in our destination are extremely important and crucial to the overall goal of bringing people to the city Because we don't want cars, but we want more people And one of the things in which we focus on with us travel association Who i'm also representing is the fact that by the year 2021 President obama basically said that he wants over 101 million visitors to the the us Which we're on our way to that number and that goal very soon But as we listen to those numbers and we look at the numbers of folks that are coming to washington and salt lake and other cities We realize that the glamorous part of what i do in terms of marketing washington Cannot be successful without the infrastructure that's needed to make sure that we can get folks around the city So the fact that metro is finally going out to delos by the year 2018 Um, keep my fingers crossed We know it's almost there Is extremely important to us because as we're going after the global community The global community is basically saying when we come to washington dc or to salt lake or any other city We don't we don't want to drive we want to walk around the city. We want to get on a bicycle We want to experience our destination the destination in which we're visiting because that's what they're accustomed to in their cities So we need to make sure that infrastructure is in place for a variety of reasons So that on a time like this when so many people are in the city Graduations are taking place and i'm getting the calls from folks saying i can't find a room in washington And they have to stay outside of the city We want them to be able to take metro to get into washington dc because it's easy and accessible Safe friendly and all those other variables that are extremely important to us as You look around washington the key things that are that um the positives that people say about washington Is of course how great the metro system is we're not the largest in the country But we're one of the cleanest and more efficient systems in the country So the expansion of metro as we're looking at bringing more and more people to the region is vital to the success of Of our destination as we continue to grow Right now there are over 50 cranes in the air in washington dc And a lot of that infrastructure that's going in place is in place for visitation to the city So we're looking at new hotels new restaurants things that are happening in maryland and national harbor And of course the trolley the the study in terms of having trolley go out to national harbor because it's important that folks That are staying out there because they're telling them that they're coming to washington And then they get there and they realize they're not but they want to come to the city And we need to make sure that they have access to washington So we're we're making sure that they have a way to get to our city and enjoy sporting events and restaurants And all the things that they were told when they when they originally started looking at washington as a destination So as we look at what's important as a destination What we do is economic development. So we're in place Similar to what michael said in terms of the infrastructure changes to create new jobs Because in washington dc the fastest growing sector of our economy is tourism So we're not the largest the federal government employs more But we're the fastest growing and we'll create more jobs long term Just like in salt lake city and other destinations that rely heavily on on on the infrastructure of visitation And the way I look at infrastructure is I think about it Like when you finish college and you move to a city like washington or salt lake and you get that efficiency apartment Because it's you want to live in the heart of the city. I live on capitol hill right down the street I know how it is and though I have a car, but I do take public transportation on a regular basis So five years later, you're probably going to get married You might still live in that efficiency apartment because you still want to live in the city and then a few years later you have kids Are you going to stay in that efficiency apartment? Probably not unless you really really like each other So when you think about infrastructure think about it from the standpoint of How you continue to evolve as a person and your life continues to change And one of the things some of the things in which we focus on as a destination and as a country through us travel Is the fact that once upon a time probably over 30 or 40 years ago the infrastructure in the united states We were number one Right now we're not we're like number 20 something in terms of infrastructure So we're not keeping up with the global demands and the changes that are happening in other countries that have stronger infrastructure You know, we talk about china and we talk about other destinations that have high speed rail And connectivity to any place in the country now We know they're catching up But by being by being the last it's like being the the last ballpark that's built You're always the best until the next one is built and that's what's happening in all those other countries And our infrastructure has existed for a long period of time And I talked about the number of visitors coming to the united states Well, if you've flown into any of our airports We were just talking earlier today and the president of the miami convention and visitors bureau said it takes about three or four Hours to get through customs to come into the sit and to miami Welcome to the united states not so much So we've got to focus on infrastructure changes because if you travel anywhere outside of the united states You know their their airports are fantastic. They're like malls. They're 24 hours You actually want to stay there. You don't mind getting stuck because they're nice Well, maybe not true there But but you get my point and I think that the infrastructure changes that are important to the united states Are the things in which we need to focus on and things in which we were discussing early today at the us travel association This morning. We started our conversations with with Amy globuchar who came in senator globuchar and talked about the importance of travel to the united states as a whole And how infrastructure plays a key role And our ability to bring people to our country and move people around our destination So as we're looking as we look at marketing our destination, which that's the fun part That's the cheerleader part. We also look at the things that are really really important and vital to our success So our campaign is dc cool So we don't want people coming to washington and say it was an uncool experience because I couldn't get around or I couldn't get to certain parts of the city So the infrastructure that we see on h street northeast that will continue to um evolve The circulator and other modes of transportation and the fact that we encourage visitors to take public transportation Plays a vital role in our ability to attract folks to our city because it only takes one person You know, it's like growing up, you know, if I remember talking to my mom And I said you remember back in when I was five years old and I did this wrong and you did this to me And I remember when I did this wrong and you did this to me and she says well Do you remember any of the good things that happened? I'm like well, of course I do but my point is If you have a bad experience, that's what you're going to go back and talk about You might say yeah, I had a good time in the us or in washington dc But if you had a really really bad experience that's going to resonate and that's going to change people's perceptions of your destination And perhaps dissuade them from coming to to washington or or any other city So infrastructure changes are extremely important to us And we applaud the importance and glamour of national infrastructure weeks So I appreciate the opportunity to share some comments and I look forward to answering any questions Thanks so much, Elliott And I must say it really is incredible no matter where you go the whole role of tourism of visitation In so many cities where it has become such a huge part of so many towns and cities Local economies and what's what's really going on there before we start q&a I was just wondering we can show some of those other remaining slides Mayor becker if you wanted to just say a couple words about them. Do you want to put them up aim right? So that we get the full salt lake city treatment here Well, you'd have to come to salt lake which we'd love to have you do if you want the full well, it's a terrific city so So I I think we just had a few slides here of the of the light rail lines And I think we may have had one as well of the streetcar line But these are light rail and downtown salt lake And we can't help but show views of salt lake We are really are in the mountains and and and love the Love our surroundings So really I don't need to show too much more. I think I think I just grabbed some of the basics and Okay, just want to make sure we saw the streetcars. So great. Okay So now let's open it up for q&a and if you could identify yourself, please Okay in the back Good afternoon, and thank you to all the presenters and for the studies and the information which is very valuable and helpful My name is rick ryback. I'm with just economics and One of the things that occurs to me is that transit can be a double-edged sword On the one hand we create transit to facilitate development and to help people particularly people who don't have the income to afford They're an automobile to help meet their mobility and accessibility needs But on the other hand if transit is well designed and well executed Land price increases around the transit stations can displace the very businesses and families that we were intending to be the beneficiaries and uh some some cities have Utilized value capture techniques to help internalize these negative externalities to help reduce real estate speculation and the ensuing Troubles that that can cause And thereby make both housing and business locations more affordable near transit Just wondering if the speakers have any knowledge about that and any experience with using value capture to help Make transit a greater benefit to the people who who need it. Thank you Rick, thank you for the question You've touched on a couple of really key issues there. The first is it's value capture It's a a technique that is used in other countries You certainly find it in japan and hong kong and other communities where they the their structure is set up with the Transportation network owns much of the land along the corridor We're able to take the revenue that's generated from the private sector businesses there to continue to facilitate the operation of that Transportation there as we look at some of our policies going forward Those are things that we want to look as a policy change or opportunity within our own country In an adjunct type of example of that is certainly the dullest corridor in the silver line We're using a similar revenue off of the tollway out to the airport to build the silver line And actually it's the airport authority that's building the silver line and turning it over to wamata And so there's a combination of where we see the increase Transportation options is creating that value and helping to sustain the operation So often we look at these capital investments infrastructure big expensive projects take years to build last for decades We have to continue to invest in them if we don't they'll atrophy and we've certainly Looked through that in some of our cities and we're seeing that investment that we're making now and and wamata's in the metro System here or system was allowed to atrophy a little bit and now we're investing to bring it back and continue to have a good State of good repair So if we have a model allows us to continue to do that It's very important The other thing that you talked about is the impact on housing values along transit corridors And we did a study last year with the national wilderness association found that Residential real estate since 08 along high frequency transit corridors was 42 percent more resilient What that meant is is prices dropped they dropped less along transit corridors as they came back They came up better along transit corridors That's because they allowed access to jobs And I think that's one of the curious to focus on here is if you have access to jobs You have access to have good transportation It is safe reliable dependable and you can count on with your family If you know what it's going to cost you every day You can build a family budget around that and allows Being on that transit corridor allows you to have a more efficient effective household You don't you don't have to have a car and so it allows you to have a be a greater active person within your community I might just say from the experience we've had in Salt Lake City you raise actually a really important Topic as it relates to transit development rail development particularly where you get These these increases in values among obviously the surrounding property owners From transit and how do we Recapture that in a way that goes to the benefit of the community and provide for a leveling of housing costs We've got a number of tools locally and it varies a lot from community to community in in Utah We have redevelopment agencies and community development agencies And in Salt Lake City and I think at times at least I'm not sure if it still is today has been a requirement That 20 percent of the incremental value that we get From the increased values in our redevelopment areas has to go into affordable housing And we've we've not only taken that to heart. I think we've usually exceeded that sort of a commitment in terms of how we as a city Participate in making sure we have a good mix of affordable housing Among our housing types in our redevelopment areas and in all of our Transit quarters. We just developed a new one in the corridor going out to the airport We've had one in the sugar house area where our street car line just opened We're seeing actually a really good of housing affordability and we're committed to that Going forward. So it can be I think a real Challenge and problem if it is not addressed upfront and things that communities do and and transit agencies obviously can be helpful in that as well Yeah, I totally agree. Thank you Clearly There's always a negative associated with the cost of housing increasing With any any development, but the positives outweigh the negatives and I think that in washington There is a a goal to make sure that there is a percentage of affordable housing for that reason But I think when you look at the positives of the development, you know, the good good example as you look at Across the river anacostia river As we're talking additional transit lines, especially with trolleys You're now looking at businesses that may not have necessarily Looked at those particular areas creating new jobs and opening shop in those areas And the same with the suburbs and of the greater washington area So you're now looking at new housing going up because of those transportation routes that exist not necessarily In northern virginia with the silver line because that's but you do see even additional development along those areas So there there are always pluses and minuses and it's important that we make sure that our local governments Focus on the needs of the indigenous population in those areas and make sure that there is some type of affordable housing Okay, um, we'll start here. They're about four or five hands. So we'll start here with you first here the mayor of I have a follow-up question on that for the mayor As a washington dc resident, we all have our feelings about your affordable housing That's another conversation The affordable units that you're developing that from the redevelopment Reinvestment, are they along the transportation corridor or are they scattered along the city? They need to be spent in the corridor in in the redevelopment area now the corridor It's often the redevelopment area is larger than just the area. That's immediately approximate to the transit line, but The redevelopment areas we've got different ones spread around the around the city, but the ones around the rail lines They need to be spent Generally, they need to be spent in those corridors in that redevelopment area. There are ways to Shift that money around but that's the general approach Okay, over here I've got a simple question for uh, mayor becker. How did you get the uh state inhabit department? D o t to give up two lanes of traffic on the university line that seemed like a significant achievement It would have been except we took over the road By the way, that cost us about 80 million dollars to take over their roads. So they were glad to give it up But I will say this um in uh In in very recent times literally the last six months with the new u dot as we call them our state highway department Uh director, we have seen them adopt a complete streets philosophy I think they're one of the first in the country to do that as a state highway system But it's already making big differences in the way we're developing our road systems and streets Thank you There Thank you. Hi sander bear with the smart cities council As mayor becker said the paradigm is shifting for transportation across the world. I think But i'm very curious about the financing strategies because so many cities around the world are sort of struggling With you know finding money finding new money Looking at maybe some new options for financing transit projects And the other question is have you seen or heard of new apps? That cities are using that Generate revenue um parking congestion traffic congestion, etc. Thank you Um financing is always a challenge Every project seems to take a life of its own when it comes to figuring out financing and we've attempted to be creative entrepreneurial Tap every possible source we can to accomplish our projects because the revenues in general have not been going up Um certainly relative to inflation and just overall costs. So We just the short answer is we try to be creative. We do everything from creating redevelopment and and community development areas We we've worked on and done some property tax assessments along the corridor We've partnered heavily whenever we can With federal government in the case of our street car line. We were fortunate to get a tiger grant to be To achieve that. Otherwise, we really wouldn't have been able to develop it And we've we've entered into some interesting construction and development partnerships with not only our transit agency, but with the contractor To achieve cost savings and sharing the cost savings among the three partners that are making the investment So it's been a mix of things I think the big untapped area and it was mentioned earlier really goes with more almost direct private sector investment In the in the development of our transit and I think we've got A ways to go there. We've had a hard time I think realizing what realizing the potential there because I think when you're looking at a private investment My own sense is that you need to work with the business community and the property owners well in advance of when the project is coming online Otherwise, they think they're already going to get the project and get the increased values So it makes it much more difficult and we've got I know we have a ways to go But I also know there others have been successful around the country. I think and And looking at all different kinds of ways to finance, but that is actually On some of our bigger projects that we're looking at now We're trying to plan for the financing piece of this from the very beginning of conception because otherwise I think we fall behind the eight ball And if I just might add to that I think one of the important things to remember is that public transportation is and has been for many many years A combination of funding. It's the passengers are paying their fares every time they get on the bus or the train They're paying their fare There's a local portion that comes from either Sales tax or at the lorem tax or or any combination of taxes and other Fees that are generated locally oftentimes the state participates at some level and then the federal government participation, which is primarily capital especially for Large urban and cities So there's a combination of all those pieces and then you add in now the the financing piece We're moving for more of a funding model of a financing model of making sure that we Maintain the ability for cities to borrow for all their different capital needs and not just in in the one area but also the as we move into this View and we talk about it here in the report Transportation is just moving people from A to B. It's about redeveloping our communities making our cities work better the economic Vitality of them and the redevelopment of different parts of our communities If we look at it in a more holistic way you have greater opportunities to bring in more partners and to have that public Private partnership It's not just about moving a person from A to B. It's about making our city work better I mean more globally competitive and that's what brings in that bigger financing piece And it's also about the connectivity from a national perspective as well You know and the federal we can't do what needs to happen in the us without the federal government's involvement You know the fact that you cannot catch a train From washington dc going west Is is a deal breaker in terms of the way we're perceived as a destination because if you go anywhere in europe You can go by train anywhere and everywhere So as we're looking at what's happening in cities, which is extremely important And we haven't even touched on the environmental The the positive environmental impact of having the public transportation as an option But when you think about our infrastructure as a country our highways bridges things in which we hear about on a regular basis Which need improvement We'd love to see high speed rail throughout you know in my lifetime And throughout beyond just going from washington dc to boston Which as the rest of the as the global community looks at coming to the us Their first you know, they're not necessarily wanted to fly from place to place even though we're a large country They want to experience Uh traveling across country and seeing the midwest and seeing other destinations And it's just it's not even possible and that's a that's a black eye for us as a destination in terms of apps There are some apps associated with traffic. Um, and I can maybe share some with you after after the panel Okay, we have a few hands So, okay, we'll start here first and we'll take a couple over here and then we'll Go to the mayor John wetmore with pedestrians org How important is having walkable areas Around transit stops to getting the full economic benefit of transit Oh, it's it's critical It's people need choices. What we're seeing is People want to have choices and especially on both ends of the genealogical spectrum We've got the baby boomers that are often moving back into our cities and they want to drive less We've got the millennials. We don't want to own cars in the first place and they want to have those options So being walkable being able to have choices to use a shared ride bike to take transit take a bus to have All those options. It's a key part of the development and in salt lake you beef dimension sidewalks, but Uh, how is uh improving the pedestrian environment been part of building out your transit system I mean in my view it actually starts with the pedestrian environment because if we have walkable neighborhoods and walkable communities And we have those nodes, uh, where the commercial services and people want to go It makes it easier for people to get out of their vehicles. It makes it people to gain access to services And it creates the kind of environment that people want in a city and I mentioned the sugar house streetcar line for us that area was Not only sort of autocentric But it was very uncomfortable to get around on foot today. It is as lively as our downtown Which has become incredibly vibrant in the last three to five years So it makes a huge difference in both where people want to be It makes a huge difference in the sort of quality of the experience that people People seek and it uh, it's it's what we want in city. So I mean, I view the pedestrian environment is where we really should be starting from and then we build on that with All of the other modes because if we create the right pedestrian environment and have the other supporting transit number one there but having the other supporting modes then Then our communities are going to be the healthy places people want to be Washington was named the most walkable city in the u.s And anytime you're on a list like that, it's good and bad because one you have to live up to it And you want to make sure that people are safe as they're walking around the city From an international perspective as we're going after that market It's not just about the international market, but from an economic perspective. They stay longer. They spend more They're not complaining about rates of hotels. So we go after that market for obvious economic reasons The domestic market harder to get them to walk I would just left the city. I guess I shouldn't name it but Dallas and You know just going from I I mentioned to some folks that I was with Oh, it's just five blocks down the street and they wanted to hop in their car And you know in washington the mentel, you know, why would I drive five blocks? So it's harder for us to get the domestic community accustomed to Bike share and walking around and then of course the local community to accept and embrace those those changes Which are extremely important Okay, a couple hands over here And and then we'll come back over here. Okay Hi, my name is Aisha. Um, I'm from california. So I'm wondering Where I'm from in ventura county is just north of los angeles and los angeles thanks to measure our taxing itself Just a little bit has been expanding its rail mbrt networks, however My county although we're very pro slow growth and all of that containing sprawl However, we don't have any real dedicated funds for transit despite that we're part of nacto for some reason So I'm curious even though we're on board with the design standards and what have you Nobody wants to touch our county and I'm not sure exactly What does that mean? How can we foster? more of A partnership or coordination do we need a national infrastructure bank? I don't know what it'll take to help this cross county network Actualize especially when we don't really know what high-speed rail How long as you said it'll actually come. Um, so we don't necessarily have those dollars to leverage So what do you do because that's only part of the picture? So, um, how do you get that cross county? Synergy, yeah Big question may require an offline Conversation go ahead michael. Yeah, well, we don't typically apply on individual cities projects that the key there is And the americans speak eloquently, but you you have to have everyone they're telling the message it has to be the business community it has to be The citizens and it has to be government working together it toward that common goal We've seen a true renaissance in in the greater la basin A tremendous amount of investment and and looking at a holistic way in the mta. There is is Not just transit, but they're the roads. They're the bridges. They look at it in a more holistic way And that's been a very good thing And we've seen it, you know down the coast towards san diego and and moving up up the coast as well And there's good service, you know All the way to Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo and those other areas in some ways, but it continued to improve What we're seeing is more and more communities are Are investing in their cities and doing that local option and passing local transit taxes And you saw the mayor talk about what they've done in salt lake city There were 15 local transit tax elections last year 11 of those passed a 70 passage rate The previous year an election year presidential year There were 49 of 62 local transit tax initiatives that passed a 79 passage rate So it what it comes down to and I think as the mayor has shown us in salt lake and we've seen other communities is that When you show a definitive project here is what we are going to build here is when we are going to build it We will finish on this date and here's the people you can hold accountable Then you'll see that voters support those initiatives and that's why we have some challenges as we talk about in the federal level It's harder to hold the federal level accountable And so it's it's a bigger leap and that's why local initiatives tend to move more quickly than than it does on the federal level on times Okay, um, there's okay. We'll take this question and then over here. Hi. I'm Henry I'm from the national association of railroad passengers And I was just wondering if you saw a difference in the economic impact of rail based transit versus um, road based transit such as Thank you Let's it's really about The environment you build in brt can have a very similar impact to rail But it's about the infrastructure you put in with it if you're just putting up colorful signs That may not do it If you saw you saw the pictures we had of talking about what we've got on in utah Or in cleave one other cities of major major investment. We've got a big one going on in Grand Rapids michigan right now first one to the michigan where you have that built environment You've got level platforms You've got shelters that embrace the community Locally and reflects that Where you see that build out and where you see oftentimes a portion of the track of the roadway That is dedicated right away Then you'll see communities will build around and you can see a very similar economic impact All that we do in washington is is so as we look at the drive-in market a large part of it It ties into amtrak's accessibility from boston to washington dc and other points as well As you look at our marketing efforts And short-term opportunities to bring people because most visitors now or most of us we decide where we're going three months out versus a year Which is how it was done about 20 years ago So there's a greater opportunity for us to get some short-term visitation from From new york so a lot of what we do as a matter of fact We're going to australia in a couple weeks With new york city and we're going with new york and philadelphia because the only non-stop flights are From australia to the east coast are into new york So a large large part of what we're doing and we're seeing larger numbers of australians coming to Washington eventually we'd like to get a non-stop flight But what we're doing with those other cities for obvious reasons is going over to sydney and to other and into new zealand And promoting the package with amtrak for obvious reasons and amtrak will be there with us Interesting, okay here I'm mark front guys. I'm the publisher for governing. I just wanted to make a comment You know mayor becker mentioned that they used to have a wonderful streetcar system in the 50s until roger abit took it away and Mr. Ferguson mentioned that there's no train going west out of Out of dc. I'm a big train rider my wife won't fly so I spent a lot of time on amtrak I want to point out that in both of those instances That subway system or that that streetcar system was built by private companies Those were private streetcar systems virtually everywhere And amtrak is a recent creation that took over private privately built rail lines that ran all over the united states So there is a way to simply go back to where we were before and get a great deal more investment from the private sector We just have to think I think creatively and I'd welcome your thoughts about that But it's you know, I think it's important to remember that what we have now is a recent aberration You know from the 50s or the 70s before that we had privately built transit systems including you know Penn station in in uh in new york was built by the penn central railroad It wasn't built by the government Unfortunately the penn central is gone now. Yeah Yeah And and many of those electric railways were part of the power company. That's why they're called the traction companies and as their business models changed as More options became available The eventually in the late 50s early 60s and led to the what became the urban mass transit act of 64 Because those systems were being abandoned because they simply weren't viable anymore and they couldn't Couldn't sustain those economically They turned them over to the cities and said we need your help. It's important for the city to have good transportation We couldn't afford to do it under their business model and We can we can teach a history class on that but probably not in this session today Yeah, indeed art go ahead Hello art gazetti with apta. My question would be for elliot and elliot in your remarks you mentioned that You know, is it 12 12 million tourists? 18 18 million tourists a year in washington and that was You want the people but the cars the system is such that, you know, you're already full You're the association you're representing the u.s travel association. I'm gonna ask you to go back 10 years Was is the attitudes changed compared to 10 years ago was 10 years ago? maybe more saying Yes, we want people and cars and now it's more saying. Well, you know, that's not working anymore We want the people but not the cars. I'm just asking how it's evolved over say the last 10 years or so, right, right? I think, you know, and I'm representing destination dc and of course u.s travel But I think it really varies from city to city and a city like washington dc 10 years ago You know, the reality is if you drive a car in washington, it's fine but you know, I Don't write me letters about how much it cost to park the car or all the other things that I get So I think that the you know the balance for me is to educate And it's like going to new york who who drives a car to new york city and you pay 80 dollars a day for parking Sometimes more than the hotel room So I think there's certain realities of going to and going to urban environments And taking a vehicle that is probably not the best thing to do 12 years ago. I lived in Atlanta I would have a different attitude about driving into a city like Atlanta Because it's different in terms of being able to get around from from city to from area to area But in washington dc and we all live here We know that it's it's you don't need a car and at the end of the day That's the message is you do not need a car to get around the the city and that's why it's Well, because the public transportation and the growth of public and that's the point of this the the whole infrastructure The growth of infrastructure makes it easier to get from point a to point b And now it's growing to other areas and that's why it's great That we'll go out to dallas because the experience suggests getting off a plane coming into the city and going to other parts Including other cities without actually taking a vehicle which we so if there's anyone here from the america Triple a or anyone let anything like that. I love cars, but but uh, so that's not the message but the but clearly there are certain inherent responsibilities and and that are associated with bringing in cars to the city And then the reality is when you bring it and you park it you're not going to drive it anymore Anyway, so it's like, you know, so it just makes sense to to rely on public transportation It's a good question. You can zip car if you need to or a zip car. Absolutely Yeah And all sorts of options like that are coming up now. Um, any other questions or comments? Okay up here Yes, hello. Curtis Tate of mclatchy newspapers. Great presentation today I read not too long ago that that there was a Proposal for a brt project in nashville And that the the state legislature effectively Made it impossible for that project to go forward. What sort of concern is there about? You know places that You know lawmakers that might want to make a political statement at the expense of transit projects Well to clarify the legislation that was passed in tennessee Um Just asked the project come back to legislature and the issue there had to do with Taking a dedicated lane just for transit or not and and I think as as the mayor pointed out early It's always the first project That's the hardest and and rarely does the manager that starts the first project is either for the ribbon cutting What's there in the audience? But it's it's it's an initial start. I've run that corridor with the cvb people and you've got beautiful new Convention center downtown. It's really changing the how people move about in in nashville And I think you're going to see those Those travel demands change, but there is a real need for that. It's a very good project overall And they're just going to change some of the the scope and how they work with it going forward But I think that overall what you're seeing is you've got to get past that first one I want you to build the first one that it continues to grow and certainly salt lake is an outstanding example of that I wanted to ask a question with regard to ridership because I know that overall Certainly in terms of talking to art, you know in in terms of looking at what's happened when new transit lines have gone in and That they very quickly have been meeting projections and mayor Becker talked About that a little bit in terms of when you first opened could you talk a little bit more in terms of of the kinds of ridership and the expansion then that you are hoping for so when they We don't have enough information yet I don't think to be able to talk about our street car line because it just opened last december and there's some unique conditions there that I think will Take some time before we know what the real ridership is like But for all of our other lines our commuter rail lines and our light rail lines the ridership has exceeded projections Sometimes doubling projections immediately And I think it what it does tell me is going into Pre rail experience is the belief was that people in the west Wouldn't get out of their cars But the key is to be able to give people a decent option That's different than a car and as soon as that happened We saw people change and Today I think our challenge is to keep up with what the demand is for more More transit in our case because our rail backbone is now well established it is much more about fleshing out the system with other modes and I think there's a demand there and if we can get our help as was talked about before sometimes at all levels of government Don't look at things the way we do locally. I've noticed and So in our case we actually need help from our state to be able to give us the authority to raise our transit revenues and Back to a point made earlier From my vantage point in our city, whether The funding or the opportunities come from a public or a private source is immaterial It's whatever source will allow us to make the improvements that help our community and I think we're in an era where The expectation is that if we have a well-run transit system, which we certainly do in utah That we're going to have a much more efficient system Using the infrastructure that's built into developing the system. I know when we started the streetcar we looked very carefully at having Salt Lake City administer the system and doubling up on administrative costs and Trying to provide things like maintenance facilities and all those kinds of things were just Beyond the pale for startup costs for us So for us it just made all the sense in the world to stick with an existing good operator But it may be different in other places and we're certainly open to looking at whatever will work And I just have to say dallas Thought about largest light rail system in the country currently and they're soon being connected to the dfw airport So they're seeing that investment there as well and just to put a wrap on that We saw last year the highest ridership in public transit since 1956 When isenhower was president. It was a 10.7 billion trips on public transportation So certainly there people are riding it and using all across the nation so to follow up on that In terms of thinking about all of the economic development Benefits that that you talk about in terms of the report and That mayor becker talked about in terms of salt lake and what we're seeing here in dc Then are are you seeing a lot of pent up demand Across the country in terms of local governments Saying we need to do more or what's what's kind of happening there? I think the biggest shift we're seeing is it's a holistic view It used to be we'd look at there's our streets here. There's our development here There's transit over there and we looked at them as in siloed entities and what we're seeing now is this Much more holistic view that it's about our community working well. It's about our transportation network working well It's about the productivity the energy efficiency of our communities And if those all work together Seamlessly we can have a much stronger community and it's more economically viable and more globally competitive And as you look at think about what your city looked like 10 years ago And oftentimes there's a very domestic looking network of businesses in your community And you look there now and they're very very international And as ellie talked about not just bringing tourism but bringing businesses in your community They have an expectation of being able to get their employees. They're safe reliable dependable And if they're able to do that it brings their economic cost a bit doing business down that makes your city better a better option Great, um, and I was just curious mayor becker in terms of thinking about your whole role as In leadership role with regard to the national league of cities like do you anticipate in terms of your other? Colleagues other mayors that that this is An area that they are really looking for additional expansion and and additional help Yeah, I can tell you our experience through the national league of cities and the surveys we do For all the communities. They're over 17 000 cities in the united states So we can get a pretty good cross-section when we survey and find out what's important to them And when we transportation is a key and a key to success and dwindling traditional sources of revenue like gas tax revenues make it very difficult Um, but but the the paradigm has shifted I think across the country and it's happening not just in the denser urban areas It's happening throughout our urban areas which represent 80 of our population That people want choices. They want to be able to be able to get around in different ways Whether it's the millennials where it's just natural for them to think in those terms or whether it's those of us Who have been around for a long time We're looking for ways to get around that fit our needs and we want to have the options whether that's Getting around on a bike where it's a nice short-term commute Whether it's connecting a bike to transit where we can easily kind of get around and not have to worry about driving Or whether it's having Zip cars or you know look at what's happening now with caps. I mean with lift and uber and all these other Uh options that are coming up those options are what people want and it's where I think we're we're looking to see Both continuing hopefully federal funding but a shift in the funding that reflects what people are looking for today and that's a challenge because It's folks who are older that are making the decisions usually Uh, you add that to the political dynamic that we have today and it's hard to make those changes, but My sense from a community level is that We know what folks want we need help in realigning and restructuring some of the revenues we get and the sources of revenues So that we can be successful for our communities Great well, and I think that it's so important as the whole discussion debate over policy and the transportation bill goes forward Here in terms of thinking about How valuable it is to really look at what is happening in these communities across the country The benefits the multiple kinds of benefits that are being seen and what What everybody's constituents are seeing and how they are accessing transit and how that needs to fit into then the national policy Purview so If there are any last questions or comments Otherwise, I want to thank our wonderful panel very very much and this is really really helpful discussion And thank you very very