Estimated Impacts of the 2010 Census on the Texas Transit Funding Formula (0-6199-1)

Changes in the population and land area of urbanized areas in Texas will play a significant role in determining the allocation of public transportation funds to service providers in Texas after Census 2010. The purpose of this research report is to review the impacts of the changes in urbanized area population and non-urbanized (rural) population and land area for 2010 on the current Texas Transit Funding Formula for allocation of federal Section 5311 and state rural and urban funds. This collaborative effort between the Texas Transportation Institute and the Institute for Demographic and Socioeconomic Research at the University of Texas at San Antonio draws upon the complementary expertise of public transportation planners, demographers, and geographic information systems professionals of the two research organizations. The research project identifies areas with the potential to exceed 200,000 in population and those non-urbanized areas that have potential to become urbanized (over 50,000 people) in 2010. The implications of these changes will be examined relative to the current public transportation funding allocations. The research staff provides a comprehensive assessment of these changes for the state as a whole and for individual transit service providers.