America’s public transit industry faces multiple challenges. The Federal Transit Administration says it suffers from $78 billion worth of deferred maintenance. The recession has forced almost every transit agency in the country to raise fares or cut back service or both. Unfunded pension obligations pose major costs to transit agencies.

In this forum, William Millar will make the case that the federal government has a role in solving many of these challenges through increased federal investment in transit. Randal O’Toole will counter that government subsidies helped cause the problems, and the best solution is privatization.