Transportation Funding Reform

This AARP Public Policy Institute report by Sandra Rosenbloom of the University of Arizona and AARP’s Jana Lynott examines whether current and proposed transportation funding sources at all three levels of government are in some way inequitable for low-income people, rural residents, people with disabilities, or older adults. Overall, older and retired travelers make different demands on the transportation network and have very different needs than the average system user. Any taxes and fees that don’t account for these differences may be inequitable. Those that are regressive—taking a larger share of income from low-income persons than higher-income persons—raise ability to pay equity concerns for low-income travelers of any age. … Back to Article