Virginia Code 33.2-367: Highway aid to mass transit.
In allocating highway funds, the Board may use such funds for highway aid to mass transit facilities when such use will best accomplish the purpose of serving the transportation needs of the greatest number of people.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 33.2-367
- Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
- Board: means the Commonwealth Transportation Board. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Highway: means the entire width between the boundary lines of every way or place open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel in the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
- highway construction: means highway, passenger and freight rail, or public transportation purposes. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- mass transit: means passenger transportation by rubber-tired, rail, or other surface conveyance that provides shared ride services open to the general public on a regular and continuing basis. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
- State: includes District of Columbia;
(f) "Transit facilities" means all real and personal property located in the Zone, necessary or useful in rendering transit service between points within the Zone, by means of rail, bus, water or air and any other mode of travel, including, without limitation, tracks, rights-of-way, bridges, tunnels, subways, rolling stock for rail, motor vehicle, marine and air transportation, stations, terminals and ports, areas for parking and all equipment, fixtures, buildings and structures and services incidental to or required in connection with the performance of transit service;
(g) "Transit services" means the transportation of persons and their packages and baggage by means of transit facilities between points within the Zone including the transportation of newspapers, express and mail between such points, and charter service which originates within the Zone but does not include taxicab service or individual-ticket-sales sightseeing operations;
(h) "Transit Zone" or "Zone" means the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Zone created and described in Section 3 as well as any additional area that may be added pursuant to Section 83(a) of this Compact; and
(i) "WMATC" means Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Commission. See Virginia Code 33.2-3100
Highway aid to mass transit may be accomplished by (i) using highway funds to aid in paying transit operating costs borne by localities; (ii) acquiring or constructing transit-related highway facilities such as exclusive bus lanes; bus turn-outs; bus passenger shelters; fringe parking facilities, including necessary access roads, to promote transit use and relieve highway congestion; and off-street parking facilities to permit exclusive use of curb lane by buses; or (iii) permitting mass transit facilities to occupy highway median strips without the reimbursement required by § 33.2-1015, all to the end that highway traffic may be relieved through the development of more efficient mass transit.
Expenditures pursuant to this section shall be made from funds available for the construction of state highways within the highway construction district in which the transit facilities are wholly or partly located.
The Board may contract with the governing bodies constituting a transportation district, or in its discretion, other local governing bodies, for the accomplishment of a project to which funds have been allocated under the provisions of this section. Whenever such projects are being financed by advance annual allocation of funds, the Board may make such funds available to the contracting governing bodies in annual increments that may be used for other transit purposes until needed for the project for which allocated; however, the Board may require bond or other satisfactory assurance of final completion of the contract.
The Board may also, at the request of local governing bodies, use funds allocated for urban highways or secondary highways within their jurisdiction to accomplish the purposes of this section.
The General Assembly may, through the general appropriation act, provide for (i) limits on the amounts or purposes of allocations made under this section and (ii) the transfer of allocations from one eligible recipient to another.
Code 1950, § 33-35.8; 1970, c. 503, § 33.1-1; 1972, c. 490; 1973, c. 508, § 33.1-46.1; 1977, c. 578; 1980, c. 373; 1986, c. 392; 1998, cc. 905, 907; 2014, c. 805.