SCHUMER, GILLIBRAND ANNOUNCE $5.5 MILLION IN FEDERAL EMERGENCY TRANSIT FUNDING FOR CENTRAL NEW YORK REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY FOR ONONDAGA, OSWEGO, AND CAYUGA COUNTIES
During Negotiations For Cares Act, Leader Schumer Prioritized & Secured $$$ For Upstate New York Transit; Gillibrand Shepherded Legislation To Final Passage
Central New York Will Receive $5.5M To Support Transit Operations As Counties Respond To & Recover From COVID-19 Pandemic
Schumer, Gillibrand: Federal Funding Will Keep Central New York Moving Forward
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today announced $5,500,000 in CARES Act, emergency federal funding for the Central New York Regional Transportation Authority (CENTRO). This federal funding was secured in the CARES Act, allocated by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), and will allow transit services to continue in Onondaga, Oswego, and Cayuga Counties during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic by mitigating the devastating financial impact of the crisis on local transit systems.
“As Central New York and the Mohawk Valley reopen, it’s imperative that they get all the federal tools they need to support the recovery process, including help for our vital public transportation systems in Onondaga, Oswego, and Cayuga counties,” said Senator Schumer. “This federal funding will offset the devastating financial impacts of COVID-19 on transit operations throughout the region and allow Onondaga, Oswego, and Cayuga Counties to keep the bus system clean, safe, timely and efficient for Central New York riders. I’m proud to have fought for this imperative funding to be included in the CARES Act and will continue to fight to make sure that New York has every dollar it needs to recover.”
“This additional CARES Act funding will ensure that Central New York and the Mohawk Valley can continue providing safe and sanitary public transportation services for the workers and other riders who rely on transit,” said Senator Gillibrand. “New York’s transit systems are central to our economy and this critical funding will help keep wheels moving as New York communities re-open. I will continue fighting for the resources necessary to support our public transit services and ensure all New Yorkers are able to travel safely.”
CENTRO has been serving the cities of Syracuse and Oswego since 1972, the city of Auburn since 1973, and the city of Utica since 2005 and sees approximately 11 million passengers in a normal year. In 2006, CENTRO won the American Public Transportation Association’s “Outstanding Public Transportation System Achievement Award” for transit systems serving 4 million to 30 million riders a year.
The FTA funding for the CENTRO is a 100% federal fund grant and no local match is required. The funding announced today is in addition to the $28 million the CENTRO previously received in May.
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