MONTGOMERY, Ala. – A report released Thursday found that a state-level investment of $25 million in public transportation could lead to $100 million in federal grants and bolster Alabama’s workforce participation rate.
This employment metric has been trending down since the turn of the century. The overall seasonally-adjusted workforce participation rate was 57.2% last month, down from 57.6% at the start of 2026. That means more than 40% of the state’s population wasn’t actively employed or looking for work in May.
The “Alternate Route” report, commissioned by nonprofit Alabama Arise and the progressive think tank Institute for Policy Studies, argues that public transit investment is a way to get more Alabamians in the workforce.
Though the state has tried to improve unemployment and participation rates through career and technical training programs, transportation is still a serious barrier for many Alabamians in the workforce.
In a 2023 survey of underemployed and unemployed Alabamians, 31% of respondents cited lack of access to reliable transportation as their primary barrier in the workforce.
“You can’t get and keep a job if you can’t afford to get to work,” Alabama Arise Executive Director Robyn Hyden said in a statement about the report. “…It’s time for our lawmakers to get off the sidelines and make this essential investment in a better future for the people of our state.”
Alabama is one of only three states that does not provide state-level funding for public transportation. The Legislature created a Public Transportation Trust Fund in 2018 and later tried to increase vehicle tag fees to create a revenue stream, but it remains empty.
The state’s heavy dependence on cars also means Alabamians spend more on gas than people in surrounding states, but a 1953 amendment to the Alabama Constitution prevents public transportation from capitalizing on this. Amendment 93 forbids the state from using gas tax revenue to fund public transportation, restricting spending to roads, bridges and highways.
Right now, counties and municipalities are tasked with funding their own transportation systems, which stifles cooperation between areas.
The joint report estimates that a theoretical $25 million investment from the Alabama Legislature would lead to $100 million of federal funding to expand public transportation. Capital improvements, like buying new vehicles, have a match rate of 80%, while operational expenses, like hiring drivers and route expansion, match at a 50% rate.
This infusion of cash would create between 3,000 and 5,000 jobs, increase the state’s gross domestic product by between $357 million and $575 million and bolster workers’ paychecks between $215 million and $370 million, according to the report’s economic impact assessment.
By not funding public transportation, the state is “leaving money on the table,” the report argues.
“Every time an Alabama resident pumps a gallon of gasoline into their own vehicle, 18.4 cents goes to Washington, D.C., to be added to the Highway Trust Fund (HTF),” the report reads.
“Out of all 50 states, Alabama receives the least money from the HTF compared to its contributions because it sends money to the Highway Account but receives virtually no money back from the Transit Account. As a result, Alabama ends up subsidizing public transportation funding for other states without reaping the benefits of federal matching dollars from the HTF.”
Expanding transport would mean new jobs in the transportation sector as well as improved access to already-existing jobs, especially in rural areas.
Well below the national average, the state’s workforce participation rate is lower in less populated areas. According to the report, seven of the state’s 67 counties provide half of the state’s workforce.
Many rural areas have minimal or nonexistent public transportation, effectively shutting people without a car out of the workforce.
Lack of access to personal vehicles also disproportionately affects Black Alabamians. Around 10% of Black households have no car or truck at all, compared to 2% of white families, and more than one-third of Black families have only one car, meaning some working family members lack access when they need to go to work, according to the report.
The report argues that these transportation barriers affecting Alabamians across the state can be improved with state investment.
“Lack of access to public transit should not be a barrier to securing a job in Alabama,” said Marc Bayard, associate fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, in a statement.
“Our report shows how vital investments in public transit in Alabama can address the workforce shortage and boost economic opportunity, meaning more Alabama workers can get to and from more jobs. It’s a win-win scenario for state lawmakers and for ordinary workers who rely on transit access in the most auto-dependent state in the nation.”
The full report can be viewed on Alabama Arise’s website.