The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) today released its final update to the Government Transportation Financial Statistics (GTFS), with data through 2021. The GTFS provides a set of maps, charts, and tables with information on transportation-related revenue and expenditures for all levels of government, including federal, state, and local, and for all modes of transportation. Next year BTS will transition to a new product called Transportation Public Finance Statistics (TPFS). TPFS builds on the GTFS foundation buy increasing the granularity of the estimates and will include a preliminary release in June of 2024 (2022 estimates) as well as an annual release in December 2024.

State, local, and federal governments play an important role in the U.S. transportation system, as providers of transportation infrastructure and as administrators and regulators of the system. In 2021, government spending in the U.S. on building, rehabilitating, maintaining, operating, and administering the transportation system totaled just over $340 billion, after adjusting for inflation. GTFS captures this spending and revenue and helps users understand these considerable inflows and outflows of funds. 

In 2021, government transportation revenue increased by 3.6% in nominal dollars but decreased 3.9% when adjusted for inflation. In 2021 expenditures declined 1.3% in nominal dollars (9.4% when adjusted for inflation). Highway, transit, air, water, pipeline, and general support all saw declines in expenditures when adjusted for inflation. Rail expenditures increased by over 38%, the only mode who experienced a growth in expenditures after adjusting for inflation. 

Recent major pieces of legislation – the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2021 (CRRSA Act) and the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act – impacted transportation expenditures. The CRRSA Act funded $45.0 billion in transportation expenditures and the ARP funded $58.4 billion for transportation expenditures in 2021. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Act impact on transportation expenditures will be captured in the inaugural TPFS.