Public transit needs funding

To the editor:
The unemployment rate for people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities (I/DD) working in competitive community jobs is estimated at 78 percent.
A barrier to employment faced by people with disabilities is having access to reliable transportation. An important step towards increasing access to public transportation is increasing Indiana’s investment in the Public Mass Transportation Fund (PMTF).
The PMTF, utilized by 65 Indiana transit providers, has been stagnant at $42.5 million the past seven years. Had it remained indexed to the state sales tax (as it was until 2011) and the fund been allowed to grow at the average annualized rate since its inception, it would yield nearly $60 million today.
Employing people with disabilities is good for people, good for business and good for the economy.
The Arc of Indiana, as part of the Indiana Citizens’ Alliance for Transit, continues to call on the Indiana General Assembly to invest in individuals who can and want to be part of the work force and Indiana economy by funding public transportation at that $60 million level each budget year.
John Dickerson
?Executive director?
The Arc of Indiana