The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) has urged Congress and the White House to sanction another massive payout to keep US public transit going.
It wants an additional $23.8 billion in emergency funding “to help public transit agencies across the country continue to provide essential services and support the economic recovery of our communities and the nation”.
The money would be on top of the $25 billion earmarked for the sector in the Cares Act.
APTA is basing the new figure on an economic impact report by research and analysis firm EBP US.
“The $25 billion that was provided by the Cares Act was a lifesaver for public transit services but we now have a more complete picture of the extraordinary and devastating impact,” said APTA president & CEO Paul P. Skoutelas.
“These additional funds are critical to continue serving essential workers and make sure that we can help get our country back to work and to other activities that are so important for our economic recovery.”
Agencies which run public transportation have seen massive drops in ridership and a drastic fall in revenue.
EBP’s report suggests that decreased investment in public transit “doesn’t just impact systems, but would also cost the country 37,000 construction jobs in 2020 and 34,000 construction jobs in 2021”, APTA insists.
The organisation is also urging politicians to keep their focus on a Surface Transportation Authorisation bill, which would put various public transit projects in place.
Read APTA’s letter to Congress here.
