Passenger Bus, Rail and Motorcoach Industry News

Will help the four major transit agencies in New York and New Jersey that sustained the greatest damage from Hurricane Sandy. Nearly one-third of the money is set aside to help the agencies begin investing in resiliency projects to help ensure that their transit assets are better able to withstand future disasters, such as major floods.

The funds, which come from the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013 passed by Congress and signed by President Obama, bring the total funding from the FHWA to $224 million.

The decision was made despite the state accruing more than $2 billion in Superstorm Sandy-related expenses and tapping out its snow removal budget.

The seven-foot steel wall is expected to keep out the sea along a two-mile stretch of the A subway line on its way to the Rockaway peninsula in Queens.

The majority of the funds will go to the transit agencies that incurred the greatest expenses while preparing for and recovering from Hurricane Sandy — N.Y. MTA, PATH, NJ Transit and NYC DOT.

A total of $10.9 billion was appropriated for transportation emergency relief. However, this funding is now reduced by 5%, or $545 million, because of the mandatory budget cuts known as sequestration that took effect on March 1.

Giving funds to firms that already have open contracts with the agency as part of its superstorm Sandy “Disaster Recovery Program.”

Report finds 10.5 billion trips, the second highest ridership since 1957, equals 154 million more trips than the previous year.

The transportation agency paid $2.9 million less in 2012 than it did in 2011 to employees cashing out their unused sick and vacation time. It also paid $4.1 million less in overtime from the previous year.

Transit advocates and commuters questioned the agency’s claim of a 91% on-time rate for November, when Superstorm Sandy impacted the coast line for weeks, putting many trains out of operation. The system is also facing criticism over how it calculated its 96% on-time record for last year.