APTA Seeks Information on Unmet Public Transit Emergency Relief Needs

This fall, the U.S. Congress is expected to consider an emergency relief appropriations package to address damage from hurricanes Helene and Milton and other natural disasters. In the past, APTA has successfully advocated for separate public transit emergency relief funding, which is in addition to annual FTA appropriations. FTA’s Public Transportation Emergency Relief Program provides financial assistance to agencies and others in the aftermath of a declared emergency or major disaster.

APTA is aware that many public transit agencies have new unmet needs from natural disasters and urge them to contact both their FTA Regional Office and APTA to ensure that all public transit capital and operating costs from natural disasters are considered for any emergency relief package. This information is critical to APTA’s ability to successfully advocate for public transit emergency relief funding.

Since 2012, Congress has provided $11.4 billion to 17 states; Washington, DC; and three territories to help public transit agencies respond to and recover from natural disasters. In 2022, APTA focused its advocacy on emergency appropriations for transit agencies’ unmet needs from natural disasters from 2017 and 2020-2022 and, as a result, Congress provided $214 million to help offset the significant costs of providing emergency transportation services, rebuilding damaged infrastructure, and replacing vehicles destroyed from natural disasters.

APTA urges those public transit agencies with unmet needs from a natural disaster to reach out to their FTA Regional Office and to Katie Corr, APTA legislative representative, to make them aware of their specific public transit emergency relief needs.

To be eligible for public transit emergency relief, an agency’s state and community must be included in a presidentially declared major disaster or governor-declared emergency. FEMA maintains a list of all presidentially declared major disasters. Learn more.

View APTA’s Fact Sheet on FTA’s Public Transportation Emergency Relief Program.