The pandemic brought about sudden and severe cutbacks in service last spring. Nearly all transit agencies have restored some service since then, but a TransitCenter analysis shows wide variation.

We present this preliminary analysis as a summary and guide to the geographic distribution of transit funds in the December COVID relief package.

In a new report, TransitCenter provides a roadmap for policy makers to navigate the COVID-19 crisis, safeguard transit workers and transit riders, and prepare transit to serve a critical role in the recovery.

In June, LA Metro’s Board voted to approve a package of reforms to address how the agency conducts policing, emphasizing the need for a community-based approach to security and law enforcement. 

When money is tight for transit agencies, the need to prioritize is even greater. For LA Metro, prioritizing what transit riders need would entail turning away from highway and rail projects in outlying areas, and toward investments that serve the many essential workers who continue to walk and rely on transit.

To meet the needs of people who have been most affected by the pandemic, agencies should go beyond the initial transition to weekend schedules and adapt service in response to shifting travel patterns. 

The $25 billion for transit in the CARES Act, which passed in March, bought agencies in major cities a few months. But CARES funding was not sufficient to address the scale of the transit crisis, nor was it targeted well.

While HEROES Act funding would significantly reduce anticipated shortfalls, it would still address less than a year’s worth of the expected deficit for many large and mid-sized transit agencies.