H.R. 8785 – Medium Transit Intensive Cities Authorization Act of 2026

AI-Generated Summary

Updated May 27, 2026 at 9:05 AM UTC

The Medium Transit Intensive Cities Authorization Act of 2026 amends the federal transit funding formula to set aside a portion of unallocated funds for medium‑sized urban areas with populations between 200,000 and 999,999. It creates a new calculation method that distributes this money based on how well these cities perform on certain transit metrics compared with larger cities. The changes affect the allocation of federal transit dollars to eligible urbanized areas.

Key Provisions

Adds a new provision (subsection (h)(4)) that directs 1.5% of amounts not apportioned under existing categories to eligible medium‑sized transit‑intensive cities.
Establishes a formula that divides the allocated amount among eligible areas in proportion to the number of performance categories where each city meets or exceeds the industry average of cities with populations of at least 1 million.
Defines “eligible area” as an urbanized area with 200,000‑999,999 residents that meets or exceeds the industry average in at least one performance category.
Specifies six performance categories (e.g., passenger miles per vehicle revenue mile, vehicle revenue hours per capita, etc.) used to assess eligibility.
Requires the Secretary of Transportation to calculate apportionments using data from the National Transit Database for the fiscal year.

Legislative Activity

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HouseIntro Referral Latest Action

Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

Transportation and Infrastructure Committee

May 13, 2026

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HouseIntro Referral

Introduced in House

May 13, 2026

HouseIntro Referral

Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

Transportation and Infrastructure Committee

May 13, 2026

Bill Text

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Introduced in HouseIssued May 13, 2026

I

119th CONGRESS

2d Session

H. R. 8785

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

May 13, 2026

Mr. Carbajal (for himself and Mr. Moore of Utah) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

A BILL

To amend section 5336 of title 49, United States Code, to provide for certain apportionments to medium-sized transit intensive cities, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Medium Transit Intensive Cities Authorization Act of 2026.

2.

Medium-sized transit-intensive cities formula

Section 5336 of title 49, United States Code, is amended—

(1)

in subsection (a) by striking subsection (h)(5) and inserting subsection (h)(6);

(2)

in subsection (h)—

(A)

by redesignating paragraphs (4) and (5) as paragraphs (5) and (6), respectively;

(B)

by inserting after paragraph (3) the following:

(4)

of amounts not apportioned under paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), 1.5 percent shall be apportioned to urbanized areas with populations of at least 200,000 but not more than 999,999 in accordance with subsection (k);

; and

(C)

in paragraph (6), as so redesignated, by striking and (4) and inserting (4), and (5); and

(3)

by adding at the end the following:

(k)

Medium-Sized transit-Intensive cities formula

(1)

Apportionment

(A)

Formula

The amount to be apportioned under subsection (h)(4) shall be apportioned among eligible areas in the ratio that—

(i)

the number of performance categories for which each eligible area meets or exceeds the industry average in urbanized areas with a population of at least 1,000,000; bears to

(ii)

the aggregate number of performance categories for which all eligible areas meet or exceed the industry average in urbanized areas with a population of at least 1,000,000.

(B)

Industry average

The average in urbanized areas with a population of at least 1,000,000 shall—

(i)

be calculated separately for each such urbanized area for each performance category; and

(ii)

for each performance category, be the average of each individual performance category calculated as described in clause (i).

(C)

Data used

The Secretary shall calculate apportionments under this subsection for a fiscal year using data from the national transit database used to calculate apportionments for that fiscal year under this section.

(2)

Definitions

In this subsection:

(A)

Eligible area

The term “eligible area” means an urbanized area with a population of at least 200,000 but not more than 999,999 that meets or exceeds in 1 or more performance categories the industry average for all urbanized areas with a population of at least 1,000,000, as determined by the Secretary in accordance with subsection (c)(1).

(B)

Performance category

The term “performance category” means each of the following:

(i)

Passenger miles traveled per vehicle revenue mile.

(ii)

Passenger miles traveled per vehicle revenue hour.

(iii)

Vehicle revenue miles per capita.

(iv)

Vehicle revenue hours per capita.

(v)

Passenger miles traveled per capita.

(vi)

Passengers per capita.

.