(a) The Legislature finds, determines, and hereby declares that, in counties having a population of not less than 600,000, there are conditions present that are not present in counties with lesser populations. Those conditions include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) The excessive growth in private vehicular traffic in the counties is placing excessive burdens upon the road systems and parking facilities, especially in commercial and industrial districts and in areas of high population density, which cannot be alleviated by private vehicular traffic.
(2) The number of vehicular miles the average citizen of those counties travels per day is among the highest nationally in terms of miles and commuting times.
(3) The projected continued economic growth of the counties and the general health and welfare of the citizens of the counties require those counties to provide the enhanced availability of public transportation facilities, operations, and services for mass transportation, thus it is necessary and desirable and in the best interests of the citizens of the counties that the provisions governing the administration of the authority be amended to expand and improve the existing public transportation services.
(b) The Legislature further declares its intention, by the passage of this chapter, to provide for solutions to the problems set out above that are not provided for by the general laws of the state, to promote public mass transportation in the authorizing county, and to provide a mechanism for transportation services in counties contiguous with a county having a population of not less than 600,000, through the authorization of public corporations, as agencies of the State of Alabama, with the powers conferred by this chapter.
Last modified: May 3, 2021