NJ TRANSIT, N.Y. MTA, L.A. Metro Receive Grant Awards for COVID-19 Response

U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced a $1.6 billion award of American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds to NJ TRANSIT (NJT),  $6.2 billion to the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), and $1.24 billion to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro).

“Public transportation has helped people reach their jobs at hospitals, grocery stores, ports, and more throughout this pandemic,” said Buttigieg. “This funding from President Biden’s American Rescue Plan will help keep transit service running, protect transit employees from layoffs, and ensure people can get where they need to go.” 

The $1.6 billion grant award to NJT will help maintain service and preserve the jobs of the agency’s 11,000 employees – who served approximately 270 million trips in 2019 – and of those passengers who rely on the agency’s transit services to get to work.

In 2019, NJT provided 267 million trips, which is one out of every 37 trips nationwide. NJT also provided the second highest service levels in the country, with NJT buses and trains covering 164 million miles. 

The $6.2 billion grant award to the New York MTA will help maintain service and preserve the jobs of the agency’s 66,000 employees—who served approximately 3.8 billion trips in 2019.

In 2019, MTA carried 39% of the nation’s 9.9 billion trips. This reflects more than 200 annual trips for each person in the New York urbanized area, which has a population of 15.3 million people.

As for Metro, the agency's approximately 11,000 workers provided 215 million trips.

“As our nation’s transit systems recover from COVID-19, the American Rescue Plan funds ensure that they continue to provide service to the many Americans who depend on transit to get to essential jobs, healthcare, and vaccine appointments,” said Nuria Fernandez, FTA administrator. 

This funding is part of more than $30 billion for public transportation in the American Rescue Plan Actwhich was signed into law by President Biden last March. The funding comes from the $26.6 billion allocated by statutory formulas to urban and rural areas, tribal governments, and for the enhanced mobility of seniors and individuals with disabilities. The Act also included $2.2 billion for additional transit pandemic-associated need, which will be awarded later this year. No local share is required for this funding.