Supporting Transit Modernization

Adopted at the 94th Annual Meeting in 2026

  • WHEREAS, city governments are uniquely situated to support and deploy advanced technologies that expand and improve public transit that can have multiple benefits including increasing access to jobs, driving economic growth, reducing congestion, and creating safer and healthier communities; and

    WHEREAS, there have been tremendous technological advances in the use of technology to improve public transit, paratransit, and school transportation over the last decade; and

    WHEREAS, this includes examples such as on-demand microtransit which, following the lead of cities such as West Sacramento, CA, and Arlington, TX, is now used in hundreds of cities across the United States to expand and complement public transit systems;

    WHEREAS, many cities are now operating their entire public transit system on an integrated and single software platform that is increasing ridership and driving more cost-effectively use of taxpayer dollars; and

    WHEREAS, artificial intelligence will create many new opportunities to improve the quality, efficiency, and delivery of public transit;

    WHEREAS, despite the success of cities in using technology to improve transit through public-private partnerships, many federal and state laws and funding systems are stuck in a decades-old, traditional approach; and

    WHEREAS, Mayors are key advocates to lead new approaches that create a more responsive and cost-effective government, and thus can raise awareness about the success of innovative transit solutions and the need to make legislative and policy changes to encourage further development of this promising opportunity to improve mobility,

    NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that The U.S. Conference of Mayors calls for the modernization of federal and state policies to: (1) encourage transit innovation and modernization to create integrated transit systems powered by software and excellent operations; and (2) incentivize cities and public transit agencies to more successfully connect people to jobs, grow ridership, and provide high quality transit to the entire community.
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