Medium-sized cities across the country would receive additional federal monies to improve their transportation systems under a bipartisan bill introduced on May 13 by U.S. Rep. Blake Moore (R-UT).
While medium-sized urban areas often provide transit service comparable in quality and intensity to large metropolitan systems, the current federal funding formula for infrastructure projects does not adequately recognize or reward their performance, according to Rep. Moore.
“Existing transit programs often favor either small or large cities, overlooking medium-sized cities such as Ogden and Layton in northern Utah,” Rep. Moore said. “By creating a federal set-aside to reward high-performing transit agencies operating in medium-sized cities, we can ensure that transit agencies are able to meet citizens’ needs and make the long-term investments necessary to support growing populations.”
The congressman cosponsored the Medium Transit Intensive Cities Authorization Act of 2026, H.R. 8785, with bill sponsor U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-CA) to create a new Medium Transit Intensive Cities category within the Section 5307 transit-funding program designed for medium-sized urban areas with 200,000 to 999,999 residents.
Transit agencies in medium-sized regions must currently compete against large urban areas with populations of more than one million that benefit from scale, density, and greater resources. As a result, even high-performing medium-sized transit systems are at a structural disadvantage and are less able to access performance-based funding opportunities available within the existing framework, according to a bill summary provided by Rep. Moore’s staff.
Under H.R. 8785, the Medium Transit Intensive Cities (MTIC) program would dedicate 1.5 percent of Section 5307 funding to reward transit agencies in mid-sized regions that meet or exceed performance benchmarks.
Metrics such as ridership, service frequency, and service provided per capita would be used to ensure that funding is directed toward systems delivering strong results for their communities, the summary says.
“The current federal transit funding framework isn’t adequate for these communities, leaving too many of them without the support they need,” said Rep. Carbajal. “My bipartisan bill closes that gap by ensuring we invest in transit systems that serve their riders effectively, no matter the community’s size.”
H.R. 8785 has been endorsed by the Utah Transit Authority.