The Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority will receive a $17.8 million federal grant as part of a larger federal outlay to cover transit authorities’ expenses and lost revenue associated with the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced Tuesday.
TARTA curtailed service early on during the pandemic, but also suspended fare collection for its remaining service and began operating “shadow buses” to provide extra seating so that passengers could maintain separation from each other on board. The transit authority also has faced expenses to deep-clean and disinfect buses and provide protective equipment to employees.
The grant amount is based on TARTA’s most recent funding request “and may not represent the full amount the agency will receive,” the DOT statement said.
Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said that overall, $25 billion will be distributed to transit agencies across the United States.
“We know many of our nation’s public transportation systems are facing extraordinary challenges and these funds will go a long way to assisting our transit industry partners in battling COVID-19,” K. Jane Williams, the Federal Transit Administration’s acting administrator, said in the grant announcement. “These federal funds will support operating assistance to transit agencies of all sizes providing essential travel and supporting transit workers across the country who are unable to work because of the public-health emergency.”
First Published June 30, 2020, 9:46 p.m.