Data from the Federal Transit Administration sheds light on how the COVID-19 lockdown crippled public transportation in the U.S.
As passengers abandoned public transit during the lockdown, many systems were kept alive by the $69.5 billion the federal government gave transit agencies throughout the country in three relief packages.
The transit system that serves the Washington D.C. area was an example of a system that was able to continue service due to the federal bailout. It reported a 25 percent reduction in passenger miles delivered in 2020, but its operating expenses increased by 4 percent that year.
That’s because the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority got taxpayer money from the federal government, which increased funding for the transit’s operating expenses by more than 400 percent, or $220 million, from 2019 to 2020….