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Build America Transportation Investment Center (BATIC) Institute: An AASHTO Center for Excellence
Build America Transportation Investment Center (BATIC) Institute: An AASHTO Center for Excellence

Funding

A final update to this content was completed in March 2022.

The vast majority of surface transportation funding in the U.S. is derived from public sources at the federal, state, and local levels. In 2016, approximately $223.2 billion was invested in highways and another $66.9 billion in transit - $18.2 billion toward capital investments and $48.7 billion toward operating expenses.

Taxes on motor fuel are a significant source, about one-quarter of highway funding in 2016. Vehicle and other taxes and fees, including sales taxes and property taxes provided another quarter for highways. Appropriations from general funds, themselves primarily supported by taxes, accounted for about 30 percent. The remainder of highway funding was derived from tolls, bond proceeds, and investment income.

Although passenger fares were the second largest source of transit funding in 2016, they only accounted for about one-quarter of total revenues. General fund appropriations was the largest source at nearly one-third of total funding. Sales taxes also contributed about 18 percent of total funding.

The various revenue sources that contribute to Federal, state, and local surface transportation funding are summarized in the tables below, presenting highway and transit funding separately. The numbers are taken from 2016 FHWA and FTA data.

Revenue Sources for Highway Funding ($ billions, 2016)
Revenue Type Federal Share State Share Local Share Total Share
User Charges 1
Motor Fuel Taxes $29.1 32.5% $35.4 28.9% $1.0 1.7% $65.5 24.1%
Motor Vehicle Taxes and Fees $5.7 6.4% $29.9 24.4% $2.0 3.3% $37.7 13.8%
Tolls $0.0 0.0% $12.2 10.0% $2.3 3.8% $14.5 5.3%
Subtotal $34.8 38.8% $77.5 63.3% $5.4 8.8% $117.7 43.2%
Other Revenue
Property Taxes and Assessments $0.0 0.0% $0.0 0.0% $12.7 21.3% $12.7 4.7%
Other Taxes and Fees $0.4 0.5% $10.6 8.7% $8.4 14.0% $19.4 7.1%
Bond Issue Proceeds $0.0 0.0% $14.9 12.2% $5.8 9.7% $20.7 7.6%
Investment Income and Other Receipts 3 $0.3 0.3% $12.2 10.0% $6.3 10.5% $18.8 6.9%
General Fund Appropriations 2 $54.1 60.4% $7.2 5.9% $21.5 35.8% $82.8 30.4%
Subtotal $54.8 61.2% $44.9 36.7% $54.8 91.2% $154.5 56.8%
Total Revenues $89.6 100% $122.4 100% $60.1 100% $272.1 100%
Net Intergovernmental Transfers from (or to) Other Levels of Government ($44.2)   $28.7   $15.5      
Funds Drawn From (or Placed in) Reserves ($42.4)   ($6.6)   $0.0   ($49.0) -18.0%
Total Direct Expenditures $3.0 0.1% $144.6 64.8% $75.6 33.9% $223.2 82.0%

 

1 Amounts shown represent only the portion of user charges that are used to fund highway spending; a portion of the revenue generated by motor fuel taxes, motor vehicle taxes and fees, and tolls is used for mass transit and other non-highway purposes. Gross receipts generated by user charges totaled $147.1 billion in 2016.

2 The $54.1 billion shown for Federal includes $51.9 billion transferred from the General Fund to the Highway Account of the Highway Trust Fund. The remainder supported expenditures by the FHWA and other Federal agencies that were not paid for from the Highway Trust Fund.

3 The $0.3 billion figure shown for Federal includes $0.1 billion transferred from the balance of the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Fund to the Highway Account of the Highway Trust Fund.

Source: USDOT Status of the Nation's Highways, Bridges, and Transit | Conditions and Performance | 24th Edition citing FHWA Bulletin: Highway Funding 2013-2016, Table HF-10B, and unpublished FHWA data.

Revenue Sources for Transit Funding ($ millions, 2016)
Revenue Type Federal Share State Share Local Share Total Share
Public Funds
Motor Fuel Taxes $0 0% $1,121 8.7% $180 0.5% $1,302 2%
General Fund Appropriations $11,185 93% $3,674 28.6% $5,282 13.1% $20,141 31%
Income Taxes $0 0% $515 4.0% $116 0.3% $630 1%
Sales Taxes $0 0% $4,110 32.0% $7,440 18.5% $11,550 18%
Property Taxes $0 0% $48 0.4% $615 1.5% $663 1%
Other Dedicated Taxes $0 0% $2,718 21.1% $963 2.4% $3,681 6%
Other Public Funds $0 0% $272 2.1% $252 0.6% $524 1%
Reduced Reporter Fed/State/Local $814 7% $399 3.1% $625 1.6% $1,838 3%
Subtotal $11,999 100% $12,858 100% $15,473 38.4% $40,329 62%
System-Generated Funds
Passenger Fares $0 0% $0 0% $15,789 39.2% $15,789 24%
Other Revenue 1 $0 0% $0 0% $8,988 22.3% $8,988 14%
Subtotal $0 0% $0 0% $24,777 61.6% $24,777 38%
Total Revenues $11,999 100% $12,858 100% $40,250 100% $65,107 100%

1 Other system-generated revenue includes advertising and concessions, park-and-ride lots, investment income, and rental of excess property and equipment.

Source: USDOT Status of the Nation's Highways, Bridges, and Transit | Conditions and Performance | 24th Edition citing National Transit Database