CHICAGO – U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced $500,000 in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding awarded to Metra by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) through the Route Planning Restoration Program to help the transit agency continue to respond to and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
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“Illinoisans in the Chicago area have relied on Metra’s services to get to work and visit the city. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, public transit agencies were hit especially hard which is why we worked to include this funding in the American Rescue Plan last year,” Durbin said. “Today’s announced federal support will ensure that Metra can continue to provide reliable, affordable service for people that live and work in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs.”
“Thanks to the efforts of Democrats, Metra will have more resources to improve services, protect jobs for working Illinoisans and get folks to where they’re going faster and safer,” Duckworth said. “I’m proud to see the American Rescue Plan continuing to benefit Illinois during the pandemic and beyond, and I’ll keep working to help ensure our state’s transportation systems have the support they need.”
This funding is part of more than $30 billion for public transportation in the American Rescue Plan Act signed into law by President Biden last March. 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.
