The Biden administration has announced more than $20 billion will be invested in public transit agencies this year, thanks to the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill President Joe Biden signed into law.
The funding amount represents a 58% increase over 2021 at a time when transit agencies across the country are hoping to lure riders back as businesses and events reopen.
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“This represents the largest transit funding allocation in American history,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on a call with reporters Wednesday morning.
The dollars will go to large subway systems in cities such as New York and Washington and to much smaller systems used to help seniors and those without cars to reach destinations in rural areas.
The funding will buy new buses and rail cars, address repair backlogs, and “address climate change” with new technology, according to a press release detailing the announcement. It also includes a buy-American requirement for the purchase of steel, iron, and some other materials, extending a Trump-era push to shore up U.S. manufacturing.
Transit agencies have seen dramatic ridership declines owing to virus-related moves that kept workers at home and many restaurants and entertainment venues closed. The Washington, D.C., Metro system saw ridership decline as much as 90% between 2019 and 2021, and it continues to struggle with sidelined trains and delayed projects.
During the press call, Buttigieg spoke of efforts to keep costs down and ensure efficient use of the funding. He touted transit as a way to address pollution and reduce congestion, even for drivers who would benefit from having fewer competing cars on the road.
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Mitch Landrieu, the former New Orleans mayor who is now Biden’s infrastructure czar, also touted the relative affordability of transit.
“This is an investment in making your life easier, safer, and less expensive,” he said. “These funds will allow thousands of transit agencies in every state in our nation to make the transit experience better for our communities.”
