Public transportation is about economic opportunity

It is known across the transportation industry that transit serves an important role in providing communities with access to public services, education centers, health services and employment. Access to employment is a primary determinant of improving the socioeconomic situation of individuals and households. Many are the stories where individuals cannot pursue better jobs or career development due to the lack of transportation alternatives. Even for those who rely on transit to get to their workplaces, not having regular transit service on weekends is a major determinant of continuity in their jobs.

Watch Vice President Kamala Harris talk on April 30 about the importance of adequate access to bus service and how transit enables individuals to avoid the costs of vehicle ownership which drag down the finances of households.

In order for transit to respond to the needs of its customers, it needs to be prioritized as an engine to economic development. The transit systems operators in the San Juan Metro Area require greater levels of investments and annual commitment of funds for capital, operations and human resource development to grow their services and respond more timely to the public’s travel needs. Capital assignments for the San Juan TMA are in the order of $142 million for 2021-2022. With few exceptions (Toa Baja), these assignments are going towards replacement of existing capital and improvements of facilities. By comparison, there are $27M allocated during the same period for operating expenses across 17 transit providers (from Humacao to Manatí). Clearly, the scale is currently tipped towards capital needs.

While capital investments in transit are needed to provide a quality service, the operating expenses better gage the amount of service delivery to the public. In 2019, the combined operating expenses for the municipal transit systems of San Juan, Carolina, Caguas, Cataño, Bayamón, Guaynabo and Toa Baja (96 vehicles) amounted to $7,348,298. This is less than the operating expenses for the Metrobus/Metro Urbano/TU Conexión services outsourced by PRITA ($9,645,329) which operates a fleet of 23 vehicles.