Public Transit and Transportation Infrastructure: Creating Jobs and Supporting Transit Across the United States

The briefing outlines a strategy for the U.S. to 'build back better' after COVID-19 by investing in public transit, 'Complete Streets', electric vehicle infrastructure, and low-carbon concrete. It highlights a critical budget shortfall for transit agencies and a significant maintenance backlog, arguing that prioritizing repairs over expansion creates more jobs and reduces emissions.

• Public transit systems in the United States faced a projected budget shortfall of $26–$40 billion by the end of 2020, representing 35–55 percent of their annual budgets, driven by ridership reductions of 60–70 percent in March 2020 alone.
• U.S. transportation infrastructure is severely underfunded and in poor condition, with the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) assigning a "D-" grade to transit infrastructure and a "D" to highways, aviation, and inland waterways. The total cost for necessary maintenance, repairs, and enhancements is estimated at $800 billion.
• Investment in public transportation is more efficient for job creation than road expansion; spending on public transit creates 31 percent more jobs per dollar than spending on new roads, while repairing roads creates 16 percent more jobs than expanding them.
• The U.S. Department of Transportation estimates a national public transit maintenance backlog of approximately $99 billion, while the highway repair backlog is estimated at $400 billion.
• To support the growth of the electric vehicle (EV) market, which is expected to reach over 50 percent market share by 2040, the United States needs to deploy at least 330,000 new public charging outlets by 2025.
• Embodied carbon emissions from concrete used in infrastructure could be reduced by 20 percent through energy efficiency in plants, optimized formulations using supplementary cementation material, and matching performance requirements to project needs.

APA

Carlock, G. (2020). Public Transit and Transportation Infrastructure: Creating Jobs and Supporting Transit Across the United States. World Resources Institute. https://files.wri.org/s3fs-public/expert-note-public-transportation.pdf

Chicago

Carlock, Greg. Public Transit and Transportation Infrastructure: Creating Jobs and Supporting Transit Across the United States. World Resources Institute, 2020. https://files.wri.org/s3fs-public/expert-note-public-transportation.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Carlock |first1=Greg |title=Public Transit and Transportation Infrastructure: Creating Jobs and Supporting Transit Across the United States |publisher=World Resources Institute |date=April 2020 |url=https://files.wri.org/s3fs-public/expert-note-public-transportation.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{carlock2020public, author = {Carlock, Greg}, title = {{Public Transit and Transportation Infrastructure: Creating Jobs and Supporting Transit Across the United States}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2020}, month = apr, url = {https://files.wri.org/s3fs-public/expert-note-public-transportation.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }