The Federal Transit Administration announced the release of American Rescue Plan funds to support day-to-day public transit operations across 18 states, as reported in a March 7 U.S. Department of Transportation news release.
According to the release, $2.2 billion will be awarded to 35 recipients across California, Colorado, Washington D.C., Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Minnesota, North Carolina, North Dakota, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin.
"Essential public transit workers have been on the front lines of the pandemic for two years, keeping our economy moving and helping Americans get where they need to go," U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in the release. "This additional funding from the American Rescue Plan is helping communities across the country keep transit workers on the job and keep their trains and buses running."
The funding will be awarded to various city governments, tribes and transit authorities, with the bulk of the financing awarded to institutions in California.
The purpose of the funding is to support these agencies in daily operations as they keep tens of thousands of employees on their payroll. The American Rescue Plan Act totals roughly $30.5 billion and was intended to "support the nation’s public transportation systems as they continue to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and support the president's call to vaccinate the U.S. population."
Agencies were reportedly selected based on "a need for additional financial support to cover expenses related to day-to-day operations, cleaning and sanitization, combating the spread of pathogens on transit systems and retaining employees."
