Policy Visions

• Buy America Reform - Buy America policy often limits the utility of limited dollars allocated to transit. Instead of being able to capitalize on economies of scale in established production lines abroad, these restrictions imposed when a project receives over $100k in federal funding force some portion of work to happen domestically in the interest of stimulating local economies. The US has not been a leader in transit manufacturing for the last half century. While the Tri-State region’s procurements often rival those on the global stage in size, Buy America still raises per-unit costs due to higher labor costs. The economic benefits of this local stimulus are at best questionable compared to the forfeited economic benefits of increased utility-per-dollar (e.g. larger rail fleets with reduced delivery times). Full funding with state funds would circumvent this federal regulation, but comes with it the political challenge of up-down state trade-offs, as seen in Massachusetts, where the MBTA Red and Orange Line new cars were required to be built with equivalent domestic product restrictions as Buy America to satisfy east-west state political bartering between the legislature and governor.

Regional Leisure Travel without a Car - Proposing operations and marketing for public travel, asserting its use for urban and regional leisure trips (it is essential to nod to LIRR’s leisure travel packages and promotions here).