Transit agencies in 18 states to share $3.7B

WASHINGTON — Public transit systems straining to win back riders after being crushed by the COVID-19 pandemic are getting a $3.7 billion boost to stay afloat and invest in new fleets of electric buses.

With mask restrictions fading and workers beginning to return to offices, the Biden administration said Monday that it was awarding $2.2 billion in coronavirus relief money from the American Rescue Plan to 35 financially strapped transit agencies in 18 states.

The money would be used to prop up day-to-day operations, including staffing and payroll as well as cleaning and sanitization to limit the spread of illness in public transportation.

A federal mask mandate for public transit remains in effect until at least March 18.

Another $1.5 billion in grants will be made available under President Biden’s infrastructure law — a total of $7.5 billion over five years — for transit agencies to purchase low- or no-emission buses and build bus facilities. That’s more than double the combined amount from the previous year.

Transit agencies will have until May to apply for the Transportation Department’s infrastructure grants, which will be awarded by fall.

About 5% of the money must be used for workforce training to help transit workers prepare for the technological change.

“We’re making the largest ever investment in this program for buses and bus facilities, helping to deliver better commutes and cleaner air to American communities,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said.

Buttigieg joined Vice President Kamala Harris and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan at the White House on Monday to unveil a range of actions to promote green-friendly transit and protect health.

They included proposed stronger pollution regulations for new tractor-trailer rigs that would clean up smoky diesel engines as well as $17 million in funding for school districts to buy electric zero-emission and low-emission school buses.