The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) recently announced a total of $25 billion in federal funding allocations to help the nation’s public transportation systems respond to the Coronavirus (COVID-19). Funding is provided through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, signed by President Donald J. Trump on March 27, 2020.
FTA is allocating $25 billion to recipients of urbanized area and rural area formula funds, with $22.7 billion allocated to large and small urban areas and $2.2 billion allocated to rural areas. Funding will be provided at a 100 percent federal share, with no local match required, and will be available to support operating, capital and other expenses generally eligible under those programs, and incurred beginning on January 20, 2020, to prevent, prepare for, and respond to COVID-19.
Further, operating expenses incurred for all rural and urban recipients, even those in large urban areas, are also eligible, including operating expenses to maintain transit services as well as paying for administrative leave for transit personnel due to reduced operations during an emergency. Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about this funding are available on FTA’s web site.
Links:
News Release
Fiscal Year 2020 CARES Act Supplemental Apportionments and Allocations
FTA CARES Act landing page
FTA Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) landing page