Transportation infrastructure is crucial to economic development opportunities, as well as maintaining our quality of life.  The Lubbock Chamber of Commerce is actively promoting several transportation projects that provide our member businesses with access to markets.

• Support more equitable and flexible distribution of federal transportation funds and Passenger Facility Charge (PFC) funds and an increase to the PFC.
• Support various Ports-to-Plains efforts
• Support implementation of airline safety measures in a manner that is safe, while not unnecessarily burdensome to the airline industry or that would discourage travel
• Support coalition efforts to improve freight rail service in West Texas.  From a more long-range standpoint, improving freight rail also would allow Lubbock to consider a less-immediate but still important opportunity for eventual passenger rail access.
• Support U.S. Chamber of Commerce efforts to address long-term infrastructure needs through the Let’s Rebuild America initiative.

Transportation-General

• Remove obstacles to private investment in infrastructure capacity and promote policies to streamline project delivery.
• Ensure adequate public sector investments guided by effective policies and programs.
• Ensure that the funding commitments made in SAFETEA-LU, the federal surface transportation law, are kept.
• Permanently fix the Highway Trust Fund. 
• Build on recent findings and recommendations of the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Commission.
• Advocate a greater emphasis on economic needs and issues in formulating national transportation policies, plans and programs.
• Support greater emphasis on national freight transportation program investments that would implement highway, rail, and marine transportation improvements to benefit commerce.
• Advocate for increasing overall public investment in infrastructure using all potential revenue sources, including user fees and other revenues collected at different level of government.
• Advocate for increased use of financing and credit options, including tax credits and public-private partnerships, to leverage private capital.

Lubbock International Airport & Aviation

• Increased flexibility in the way that the Federal PFC dollars are spent will allow airports to invest in projects that will create an additional revenue stream.
• Transportation Security Administration (TSA) – Continue to press for legislation that will allow non ticketed passengers through the security checkpoint.  Increased traffic flow to venders inside the secure area will positively impact the revenue generated by these businesses which will benefit the airports. 
• Advocate for Congress to complete reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration and the Airway and Airports Trust Fund and include an increase to the PFC maximum collection from $4.50 to $7.50
• Encourage federal policies that recognize the link between our nation’s aviation network and jobs, economic development, global competitiveness, quality of life and national security.
• Encourage Congress and the Administration to expedite air traffic modernization and invest in greater aviation system capacity to meet an expected doubling in aviation traffic over the next 10 years.

Public Transportation

• Operating Assistance for Urbanized Areas (UZAs) with Less Than 100 Peak Hour Buses. 
• Public transportation systems in urbanized areas of more than 200,000 population which operate less than 100 buses in peak operation should be authorized to use 50% of FTA Section 5307 formula funds for operating purposes. 
• FY 2011 Section 5309 Discretionary Earmark
• Citibus plans to submit multi-year Section 5309 Discretionary Earmark requests to cover the renovation/expansion of the Citibus administrative/maintenance facility. The FY 2011 Section 5309 Discretionary Earmark request will be in the amount of $3,500,000 for the following public transportation project: 
• Design and construction of Citibus administration/maintenance facility.  Due to the growth that Citibus has experienced the current Citibus administrative and maintenance facility does not have enough space to safely and effectively run the day-to-day operation of the transit system.  The current maintenance/administration facility was designed in 1981 from a renovated car dealership, and has not had a significant renovation since that time.  The number of Citibus employees has grown from 80 to 185, and the number of peak revenue vehicles has grown from 30 to 78. The maintenance facility needs to be updated with new technology in order to more efficiently maintain the fleet.  The administrative and maintenance facility renovations  will be part of a multi-year Section 5309 request.  Phase I  of this project is expected to cost $3,500,000.