American Public Transportation Association (APTA) recently urged the Trump administration to recognize the importance of public transportation and to issue more Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants to public transportation agencies.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded $487 million to 41 highway, bridge, and rail projects through the fiscal year 2017 TIGER grant program. Only two are public transit projects.
During the previous three fiscal years, more than 20 percent of funding awards were given to public transit projects.
“A strong federal investment in public transportation needs to be preserved and increased, not cut, as the president has proposed in his budget and we have seen in these TIGER announcements,” Paul Skoutelas, APTA president and CEO, said. “APTA looks forward to continuing to work with Congress and the administration to support public transportation programs in future appropriations and authorization legislation and calls on the administration to provide greater support for public transportation for future discretionary grants.”
The two transit agencies receiving TIGER funds were the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority and Chippewa Valley Regional Transit.
Metropolitan Atlanta was given $12.6 million to implement a bus rapid transit route.
Chippewa Valley was given $5 million to construct a transit transfer center and purchase four buses.