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A2 UP FRONT
Tuesday 8 March 2022

Continued from Front address. Among the re-
Another $1.5 billion in cipients of COVID-19 relief
grants will be made avail- funds Monday were big-
able under President Joe city transit systems that had
Biden's infrastructure law been hit hard from revenue
— a total of $7.5 billion losses due to decreased
over five years — for transit ridership. New York City's
agencies to purchase low- transit system, the nation's
or no-emission buses made largest, garnered $769 mil-
by U.S. workers and to build lion to steady its operations,
bus facilities. That's more while San Francisco's Bay
than double the combined Area Rapid Transit got $270
amount from the previous million to bolster service
year. and safety protocols.
The cash infusion comes Others receiving grants
as mask requirements and were the Washington, D.C.,
other COVID-19 restrictions metro system at $120 million
are fading in much of the as it anticipates a return of
U.S. With many workers be- federal employees to of-
ginning a return to offices, fices and Houston's public
the administration sees an transit at $137 million, which
opportunity to promote ze- Tulsa Transit General Manager Ted Rieck boards a new electric bus on Aug. 3, 2021 in Tulsa, Okla. has significantly added
ro-emission transit as fami- Tulsa Transit has 4 new electric buses in their fleet. rapid transit bus lines.
lies reestablish new com- Associated Press "These funds are crucial to
muting routes to work and avoid drastic service cuts
school. the White House. Buttigieg said public tran- of the money must also be and layoffs that would
Transit agencies as well are "We can clean our air and sit is a key component to used for workforce training damage the economy
seeking ways to boost rid- protect the health of our reducing air pollution, de- to help transit workers pre- and public health," said
ership. Many, from Wash- children," she said. "We can scribing it as win-win be- pare for the technological Nuria Fernandez, head of
ington D.C. to Boston and connect all of our commu- cause it is affordable for change. the Federal Transit Adminis-
Chicago, have slashed nities with affordable, ac- commuters and also reduc- Transit systems have al- tration, which oversees the
prices or offered free fares cessible and reliable public es congestion on the roads. ready begun moving in the grants.
to attract suburban com- transportation. We can ad- The administration has also direction of electric buses. At the start of the pandem-
muters and better serve dress the climate crisis and been pushing electric ve- California has committed ic, transit agencies cut pay-
lower-income communities grow our economy at the hicles to replace gas-pow- to all-electric bus fleets by roll and slashed services.
more dependent on public same time." ered cars. Transportation, 2040, as well as New York That came even as essen-
transportation. Others are Harris was joined by Trans- mostly from car and truck City and Boston. Washing- tial workers, who are dispro-
adjusting bus and subway portation Secretary Pete tailpipe emissions, is the ton, D.C., has set a target portionately nonwhite and
routes to offer less service Buttigieg and Environmen- biggest U.S. contributor to of 2045. lower income, continued
during traditional workday tal Protection Agency Ad- global warming. The effort comes at a chal- to rely on public transpor-
rush-hour periods in favor ministrator Michael Regan. "We're making the larg- lenging time for public tran- tation to get to work. But
of more trips at other times They also announced pro- est ever investment in this sit. three rounds totaling nearly
of the day for people seek- posed stronger pollution program for buses and bus Only about 55% of transit $70 billion in federal CO-
ing medical care or travel- regulations for new tractor- facilities, helping to de- riders nationwide have re- VID-19 emergency assis-
ing to sports and entertain- trailer rigs that would clean liver better commutes and turned compared with pre- tance, including $30.5 bil-
ment events. up smoky diesel engines as cleaner air to American pandemic times, accord- lion that Biden signed into
"Our transportation sec- well as $17 million in fund- communities," Buttigieg ing to the American Public law last year, pulled transit
tor has reached a turning ing for school districts to said. Transportation Association. agencies from the brink of
point," said Vice President buy electric zero-emission Transit agencies will have The biggest losses have financial collapse.
Kamala Harris, who has and low-emission school until May to apply for the been in commuter rail sys- Paul P. Skoutelas, president
pushed the need for elec- buses. The emissions can Transportation Depart- tems serving white-collar of the American Public
tric school buses and un- cause respiratory problems ment's grants, which will be suburbanites traveling to Transportation Association,
veiled Monday's actions at in humans. awarded by fall. About 5% downtown workplaces. praised the latest infusion
As COVID-19 cases decline, of federal funds as vital to
LIKE US ON Biden has urged Americans keeping workers connect-
to shed remote work, de-
ed to their offices. He said
scribing a return to offices the money will allow tran-
as necessary to boost eco- sit systems "to re-evaluate
nomic growth. routes and service plans,
"It's time for America to get address equity issues and
back to work and fill our place more alternative fu-
great downtowns again els vehicles on the road to
Facebook.com/arubatoday/ with people," Biden said help address our global cli-
in his State of the Union mate crisis."q