FTA makes $14 billion available in transit formula funding to support public transportation across U.S.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is making $14 billion in transit formula funding available to states and transit agencies across the United States to help improve public transportation, meeting local goals such as upgrading stations and tracks, transitioning to next-generation buses, planning and designing new transit corridors and providing specialized service for seniors and riders with disabilities.

"This funding will open more doors to Americans than ever before," said FTA Administrator Nuria Fernandez. "Transit formula funding provides a lifeline for communities, and this record level of support will help create jobs, provide mobility to more people and address the climate crisis."

The funding is supported by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and represents the largest-ever annual investment in American public transportation. Formula funding makes up more than two-thirds of the annual $21 billion transit program. Established according to formulas set by Congress based on population totals and transit ridership data, the funding provides the backbone of transit agency budgets and allows them to maintain and expand service. At least 28 million people in the U.S. are transit-dependent and rely on trains, buses and ferries to get to jobs, school, community services and to see friends and family. Others choose transit to leave their cars behind and reduce their carbon footprint.

Each year, more than 65 percent of the funding distributed by FTA to transit agencies comes from congressionally assigned formulas. This year's transit formula funding represents a 28 percent increase over previous funding levels before the IIJA was passed.