They say the pendulum swings, and the TIGER grant funding pendulum has swung away from public transit.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (US DOT) on Friday announced $500 million in discretionary grant funding for road, transit, maritime and rail projects through the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program.
The funding was awarded to 41 projects around the country, but the awards tended toward rural investments and road projects. "More than 64% of this round of TIGER funding was awarded to rural projects, a historic number that demonstrates this Administration’s commitment to supporting the country’s rural communities," according to a DOT press release announcing grants. The press release lists all 41 of the grant awardees and their funding levels.
Planetizen shared news of $12.6 million in funding for the Summerhill Bus Rapid Transit project in Atlanta, but otherwise the news for public transit was dire. Jeff Davis, senior fellow at the Eno Center for Transportation crunched the numbers of the overall spending package and produced these breakdowns of the U.S. DOT's current spending priorities under the TIGER program.
Not much for mass transit in today's TIGER grant awards from @USDOT. pic.twitter.com/utDzY6gjyR
— Jeff Davis (@JDwithTW) March 9, 2018
CORRECTION - rural America got 64 percent of today's FY17 TIGER funding, even more than I had racked up initially. High under Obama was 39 percent in FY15. pic.twitter.com/AnHhEOmnpG
— Jeff Davis (@JDwithTW) March 9, 2018
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