
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
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[Laws in effect as of January 23, 2000]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 23, 2000 and December 4, 2001]
[CITE: 49USC5301]

 
                        TITLE 49--TRANSPORTATION
 
              SUBTITLE III--GENERAL AND INTERMODAL PROGRAMS
 
                     CHAPTER 53--MASS TRANSPORTATION
 
Sec. 5301. Policies, findings, and purposes

    (a) Development of Transportation Systems.--It is in the interest of 
the United States to encourage and promote the development of 
transportation systems that embrace various modes of transportation and 
efficiently maximize mobility of individuals and goods in and through 
urbanized areas and minimize transportation-related fuel consumption and 
air pollution.
    (b) General Findings.--Congress finds that--
        (1) more than 70 percent of the population of the United States 
    is located in rapidly expanding urban areas that generally cross the 
    boundary lines of local jurisdictions and often extend into at least 
    2 States;
        (2) the welfare and vitality of urban areas, the satisfactory 
    movement of people and goods within those areas, and the 
    effectiveness of programs aided by the United States Government are 
    jeopardized by deteriorating or inadequate urban transportation 
    service and facilities, the intensification of traffic congestion, 
    and the lack of coordinated, comprehensive, and continuing 
    development planning;
        (3) transportation is the lifeblood of an urbanized society, and 
    the health and welfare of an urbanized society depend on providing 
    efficient, economical, and convenient transportation in and between 
    urban areas;
        (4) for many years the mass transportation industry capably and 
    profitably satisfied the transportation needs of the urban areas of 
    the United States but in the early 1970's continuing even minimal 
    mass transportation service in urban areas was threatened because 
    maintaining that transportation service was financially burdensome;
        (5) ending that transportation, or the continued increase in its 
    cost to the user, is undesirable and may affect seriously and 
    adversely the welfare of a substantial number of lower income 
    individuals;
        (6) some urban areas were developing preliminary plans for, or 
    carrying out, projects in the early 1970's to revitalize their mass 
    transportation operations;
        (7) significant mass transportation improvements are necessary 
    to achieve national goals for improved air quality, energy 
    conservation, international competitiveness, and mobility for 
    elderly individuals, individuals with disabilities, and economically 
    disadvantaged individuals in urban and rural areas of the United 
    States;
        (8) financial assistance by the Government to develop efficient 
    and coordinated mass transportation systems is essential to solve 
    the urban transportation problems referred to in clause (2) of this 
    subsection; and
        (9) immediate substantial assistance by the Government is needed 
    to enable mass transportation systems to continue providing vital 
    transportation service.

    (c) Rapid Urbanization and Continuing Population Dispersal.--Rapid 
urbanization and continuing dispersal of the population and activities 
in urban areas have made the ability of all citizens to move quickly and 
at a reasonable cost an urgent problem of the Government.
    (d) Elderly Individuals and Individuals With Disabilities.--It is 
the policy of the Government that elderly individuals and individuals 
with disabilities have the same right as other individuals to use mass 
transportation service and facilities. Special efforts shall be made in 
planning and designing mass transportation service and facilities to 
ensure that mass transportation can be used by elderly individuals and 
individuals with disabilities. All programs of the Government assisting 
mass transportation shall carry out this policy.
    (e) Preserving the Environment.--It is the policy of the Government 
that special effort shall be made to preserve the natural beauty of the 
countryside, public park and recreation lands, wildlife and waterfowl 
refuges, and important historical and cultural assets when planning, 
designing, and carrying out an urban mass transportation capital project 
with assistance from the Government under sections 5309 and 5310 of this 
title.
    (f) General Purposes.--The purposes of this chapter are--
        (1) to assist in developing improved mass transportation 
    equipment, facilities, techniques, and methods with the cooperation 
    of public and private mass transportation companies;
        (2) to encourage the planning and establishment of areawide 
    urban mass transportation systems needed for economical and 
    desirable urban development with the cooperation of public and 
    private mass transportation companies;
        (3) to assist States and local governments and their authorities 
    in financing areawide urban mass transportation systems that are to 
    be operated by public or private mass transportation companies as 
    decided by local needs;
        (4) to provide financial assistance to State and local 
    governments and their authorities to help carry out national goals 
    related to mobility for elderly individuals, individuals with 
    disabilities, and economically disadvantaged individuals; and
        (5) to establish a partnership that allows a community, with 
    financial assistance from the Government, to satisfy its urban mass 
    transportation requirements.

(Pub. L. 103-272, Sec. 1(d), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 785.)

                                          Historical and Revision Notes
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------
           Revised  Section                    Source (U.S. Code)              
 Source (Statutes at Large)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------
5301(a)...............................  49 App.:1607(a) (1st sentence).  July 9
, 1964, Pub. L. 88-365, 78 Stat.
                                                                          302, 
Sec.  8(a) (1st sentence); added
                                                                          Nov. 
6, 1978, Pub. L. 95-599, Sec.
                                                                          305(b
), 92 Stat. 2743; Apr. 2, 1987,
                                                                          Pub. 
L. 100-17, Sec.  310, 101 Stat.
                                                                          227; 
restated Dec. 18, 1991, Pub. L.
                                                                          102-2
40, Sec.  3012, 105 Stat. 2098.
5301(b)...............................  49 App.:1601(a).                 July 9
, 1964, Pub. L. 88-365, Sec.  2,
                                                                          78 St
at. 302; Dec. 18, 1991, Pub. L.
                                                                          102-2
40, Sec.  3005, 105 Stat. 2088.
                                        49 App.:1601b.                   Nov. 2
6, 1974, Pub. L. 93-503, Sec.  2,
                                                                          88 St
at. 1566.
5301(c)...............................  49 App.:1601a (1st sentence).    Oct. 1
5, 1970, Pub. L. 91-453, Sec.  1,
                                                                          84 St
at. 962.
5301(d)...............................  49 App.:1612(a).                 July 9
, 1964, Pub. L. 88-365, 78 Stat.
                                                                          302, 
Sec.  16(a); added Oct. 15, 1970,
                                                                          Pub. 
L. 91-453, Sec.  8, 84 Stat. 967;
                                                                          Dec. 
18, 1991, Pub. L. 102-240, Sec.
                                                                          3021(
1), 105 Stat. 2110.
5301(e)...............................  49 App.:1610(a) (1st sentence).  July 9
, 1964, Pub. L. 88-365, Sec.
                                                                          14(a)
 (1st sentence), 78 Stat. 308;
                                                                          Sept.
 8, 1966, Pub. L. 89-562, Sec.
                                                                          2(a)(
1), 80 Stat. 715; restated Oct.
                                                                          15, 1
970, Pub. L. 91-453, Sec.  6, 84
                                                                          Stat.
 966.
5301(f)...............................  49 App.:1601(b).
                                        49 App.:1601a (last sentence).
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------

    In subsection (b)(1), the words ``the predominant part'' in 49 
App.:1601(a)(1) and ``lives in urban areas'' in 49 App.:1601b(1) are 
omitted because of the restatement. The words ``metropolitan and other'' 
in 49 App.:1601(a)(1) are omitted as surplus.
    In subsection (b)(2), the words ``housing, urban renewal, highway, 
and other'', ``being'', ``the . . . provision of'', and ``transportation 
and other'' in 49 App.:1601(a)(2) are omitted as surplus.
    In subsection (b)(4), the words ``the early 1970's'' are substituted 
for ``recent years'' in 49 App.:1601b(4), and the words ``minimal mass 
transportation service'' are substituted for ``this essential public 
service'', for clarity.
     In subsection (b)(5), the word ``particularly'' in 49 App.:1601b(5) 
is omitted as surplus.
    In subsection (b)(6), the words ``were . . . in the early 1970's'' 
are substituted for ``now'' in 49 App.:1601b(6) for clarity. The words 
``engaged in'', ``actually'', and ``comprehensive'' in 49 App.:1601b(6) 
are omitted as surplus.
    In subsection (b)(9), the word ``many'' in 49 App.:1601(b)(7) is 
omitted as surplus.
    In subsection (c), the text of 49 App.:1601a (1st sentence words 
after semicolon) is omitted as executed.
    In subsections (d) and (e), the words ``hereby declared to be'' are 
omitted as surplus.
    In subsection (d), the words ``to ensure that mass transportation 
can be used by elderly individuals and individuals with disabilities'' 
are substituted for ``in the planning and design of mass transportation 
facilities and services so that the availability to elderly persons and 
persons with disabilities of mass transportation which they can 
effectively utilize will be assured'' to eliminate unnecessary words. 
The words ``the field of'' and ``(including the programs under this 
chapter) . . . contain provisions'' are omitted as surplus.
    In subsection (e), the words ``carrying out'' are substituted for 
``construction of'', and the word ``capital'' is added, for consistency 
in the revised chapter. The reference to section 5310 of the revised 
title is added for clarity because a loan or grant made under section 
5310 is deemed to have been made under section 5309.
    In subsection (f)(5), the words ``local'' and ``to exercise the 
initiative necessary'' are omitted as surplus.


                          Contracting Out Study

    Pub. L. 105-178, title III, Sec. 3032, June 9, 1998, 112 Stat. 385, 
as amended by Pub. L. 105-206, title IX, Sec. 9009(v), July 22, 1998, 
112 Stat. 861, provided that:
    ``(a) Study.--Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of 
this Act [June 9, 1998], the Secretary [of Transportation] shall enter 
into an agreement with the Transportation Research Board of the National 
Academy of Sciences to conduct a study of the effect of contracting out 
mass transportation operation and administrative functions on cost, 
availability and level of service, efficiency, safety, quality of 
services provided to transit-dependent populations, and employer-
employee relations.
    ``(b) Terms of Agreement.--The agreement entered into in subsection 
(a) shall provide that--
        ``(1) the Transportation Research Board, in conducting the 
    study, consider the number of grant recipients that have contracted 
    out services, the size of the population served by such grant 
    recipients, the basis for decisions regarding contracting out, and 
    the extent to which contracting out was affected by the integration 
    and coordination of resources of transit agencies and other Federal 
    agencies and programs; and
        ``(2) the panel conducting the study shall include 
    representatives of transit agencies, employees of transit agencies, 
    private contractors, academic and policy analysts, and other 
    interested persons.
    ``(c) Report.--Not later than 24 months after the date of entry into 
the agreement under subsection (a), the Secretary shall transmit to the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 
of the Senate a report containing the results of the study.
    ``(d) Funding.--There shall be available from funds made available 
under section 5338(f)(2) of title 49, United States Code, to carry out 
this section $250,000 for fiscal year 1999.
    ``(e) Contractual Obligation.--Entry into an agreement to carry out 
this section that is financed with amounts made available under 
subsection (d) is a contractual obligation of the United States to pay 
the Government's share of the cost of the study.''


                        Commute-to-Work Benefits

    Pub. L. 102-240, title VIII, Sec. 8004, Dec. 18, 1991, 105 Stat. 
2206, provided that:
    ``(a) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
        ``(1) current Federal policy places commuter transit benefits at 
    a disadvantage compared to drive-to-work benefits;
        ``(2) this Federal policy is inconsistent with important 
    national policy objectives, including the need to conserve energy, 
    reduce reliance on energy imports, lessen congestion, and clean our 
    Nation's air;
        ``(3) commuter transit benefits should be part of a 
    comprehensive solution to national transportation and air pollution 
    problems;
        ``(4) current Federal law allows employers to provide only up to 
    $21 per month in employee benefits for transit or van pools;
        ``(5) the current `cliff provision', which treats an entire 
    commuter transit benefit as taxable income if it exceeds $21 per 
    month, unduly penalizes the most effective employer efforts to 
    change commuter behavior;
        ``(6) employer-provided commuter transit incentives offer many 
    public benefits, including increased access of low-income persons to 
    good jobs, inexpensive reduction of roadway and parking congestion, 
    and cost-effective incentives for timely arrival at work; and
        ``(7) legislation to provide equitable treatment of employer-
    provided commuter transit benefits has been introduced with 
    bipartisan support in both the Senate and House of Representatives.
    ``(b) Policy.--The Congress strongly supports Federal policy that 
promotes increased use of employer-provided commuter transit benefits. 
Such a policy `levels the playing field' between transportation modes 
and is consistent with important national objectives of energy 
conservation, reduced reliance on energy imports, lessened congestion, 
and clean air.''

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in sections 5303, 5307, 5310, 5324 of 
this title.
