ADOT awarded $36.2 million in emergency funds for rural transit

PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Transportation has received a $36.2 million grant award from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration to help rural, tribal and intercity bus operators that have seen drops in ridership and revenues due to the current public health situation.

The funds, provided under the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, are available to 22 rural transit providers for operating expenses and other pressing needs.

ADOT Transit, part of the agency’s Multimodal Planning Division, assists public transportation providers in Greater Arizona by administering Section 5311 Formula Grants for Rural Areas. It will administer the grant funding.

No local matching funds are required to receive this federal funding. 

The CARES Act includes $25 billion for public transportation through the Federal Transit Administration, including $2.2 billion for programs serving rural areas. This funding will support operating and capital expenses, planning and expenses related to preparing for, preventing and responding to COVID-19. 

Emergency funding under the federal CARES Act also is directly available to public transportation agencies for which ADOT doesn’t administer transit grants: large urban areas, small urban areas and tribes receiving direct funding through the Federal Transit Administration’s Tribal Transportation Program.

For more information on ADOT’s role in administering transit funding available through the federal CARES Act, please visit azdot.gov/TransitCARES.

For information on other steps ADOT has taken to support Arizonans during the current public health situation, please visit azdot.gov/covid-19-resource-center.