TriMet and King County Metro receive U.S. DOT grants for COVID-19 response
Written by David C. Lester, Editor-in-Chief
DOT awards grants to TriMet and King County Metro for COVID-19 response.
U.S. Department of Transportation
This week, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg announced grants for TriMet in Portland, Ore. and King County Metro in Seattle, Wash. to assist with the COVID-19 response.
TriMet
This week, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced it is awarding $289.1 million of American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds to the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) in Portland, Oregon. These funds are intended to help TriMet with preventive maintenance and capital expenses as the transit agency and the region recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Transit has played a crucial role throughout the pandemic, bringing essential workers to jobs and helping the American people get to vaccine appointments and increasingly travel where they need to go as our nation opens back up.
“Public transportation has been a lifeline for communities and the American people throughout this pandemic,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “This funding from President Biden’s American Rescue Plan will help protect transit employees from layoffs, keep transit service running, and ensure people can get where they need to go.”
“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 FTA Administrator Nuria Fernandez.
This funding is part of more than $30 billion for public transportation in the American Rescue Plan Act which was signed into law by President Biden on March 11 of this year. 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 next year. No local share is required for this funding.
King County Metro
This week the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced it is awarding $395.6 million of American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds to King County Metro Transit in Seattle, Washington. These funds are intended to help transit agencies maintain service and jobs as communities continue to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ed. Note: The remainder of this press release reads the same as the announcement for TriMet.
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