USDoT rolls out $25bn coronavirus response

The US Department of Transportation (USDoT) is rolling out $25 billion in funding for public transit services, which have been hit hard by Covid-19.
By Adam Hill April 14, 2020 Read time: 1 min
USDoT hopes the cash injection will protect transit services (© Photovs | Dreamstime.com)

It is also giving $1 billion in federal emergency assistance to passenger railway service Amtrak.

The department’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is allocating the money from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (Cares) Act.

“This historic $25 billion in grant funding will ensure our nation’s public transportation systems can continue to provide services to the millions of Americans who depend on them,” said US transportation secretary Elaine L. Chao.

It will be split between urban areas ($22.7bn) and  rural ($2.2) and can be used to support programmes and expenses around the prevention, preparation and response to the pandemic.

“We know that many of our nation’s public transportation systems are facing extraordinary challenges and these funds will go a long way to assisting our transit industry partners in battling Covid-19,” said FTA acting administrator K. Jane Williams.

“These Federal funds will support operating assistance to transit agencies, including those in large urban areas as well as pay transit workers across the country not working because of the public health emergency.” 

Mass Transit & MaaS

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Travel restrictions cause ITS professionals' knowledge gap
    February 2, 2012
    Andrew Barriball once again campaigns for senior USDOT officials to see sense and lift some of the restrictions on out-of-state travel for transportation professionals. The ability to attend conferences and exhibitions is not a luxury, he says; it is a valid and cost-effective way of advancing the state of the traffic management art
    Read More
  • Australia’s infrastructure spending plans
    May 14, 2014
    In its federal budget announced on 13 May 2014, the Australian government announced plans for new infrastructure projects costing US$117.04 billion to keep the economy going after the mining boom ends. The new funding and existing projects are expected to boost infrastructure investment to US$47 billion by end of the decade. The government will invest US$11 billion to fast track infrastructure projects including US$3.4 billion for road projects, US$4.6 billion to asset-recycling fund for states and US$2.
    Read More
  • High hopes for Detroit streetcar system
    June 12, 2013
    Detroit, the historic home of the US automotive industry, is to get a new streetcar rail system to help drive the economic revival of Motor City. M-1 Rail, the organisation overseeing the US$140 million project, has been pursuing an aggressive timetable toward a late 2015 service launch. “We are now jumping out of the gate,” says Heather Carmona, M-1 Rail’s chief administrative officer. Final design could be completed by mid-August and, depending on when the necessary permits are secured, construction coul
    Read More
  • Peter Norton: ‘We can reintroduce freedom of choice in transportation’
    April 22, 2022
    Funding for transit, cycling and walkability can be politically divisive – so why not bypass politics by letting toll payers themselves choose how a fraction of their toll is spent, asks Peter Norton
    Read More

Highlighted Content