Groups, mayors urge U.S. Congress to back $10 billion in new public transit funding

Reuters

Published Aug 30, 2021 02:33PM ET

Updated Aug 30, 2021 03:00PM ET

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. groups representing transit systems and city leaders on Monday joined unions and environmental groups in calling on Congress to back at least $10 billion in additional public transit spending along with new funding for high-speed rail.

The American Public Transportation Association, U.S. Conference of Mayors, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the Sierra Club, and more than 40 other groups called for the funding in a proposed $3.5 trillion spending bill Congress plans to take up next month.

Last month, the U.S. Senate passed a $1 trillion infrastructure package that included $39 billion for public transit. A bipartisan Senate White House framework deal had included $49 billion for transit.

"They dropped $10 billion, abandoning their own deal for no reason. Now it is up to the House to restore this funding, which will be essential to getting people back to jobs and to essential services and addressing our climate goals," said Beth Osborne, director of Transportation for America in a statement.

Transit ridership has been hit hard during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since early 2020, Congress has approved $69.5 billion in emergency assistance, including $30.5 billion in March.

U.S. passenger railroad Amtrak, which received about $2 billion from Congress in the year before the coronavirus pandemic, has been awarded $3.7 billion in emergency funding since March 2020.