Maryland Congressional Delegation Announces Over $340 Million in Infrastructure Funding to Bolster Public Transit Across the State

Today, U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin and Congressmen Steny H. Hoyer, Dutch Ruppersberger, John Sarbanes, Kweisi Mfume, Anthony G. Brown, Jamie B. Raskin, and David Trone (all D-Md.) announced $348,108,466 in federal funding for Maryland in fiscal year 2022 to strengthen public transit infrastructure across the state. The lawmakers helped secure this increased federal funding through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) – which can be used to modernize aging infrastructure, upgrade vehicles, expand accessibility of transit stations, improve safety, address equity in transportation, and more – through the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). 

“Every day, Marylanders rely on public transit to get where they need to go. Greater federal investment in public transit is essential to make transit safer and more reliable and to reduce pollution and strengthen our economy,” the lawmakers said. “That’s why we worked to increase funding for transit that will create new, good-paying jobs by building infrastructure, upgrading vehicles to newer and cleaner models, and improving service for Maryland riders. We will continue to fight for federal investments to improve our state’s transportation infrastructure.”

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is a once-in-a-generation investment in American infrastructure that will provide more than $7 billion in federal funding directly to Maryland over five years to strengthen our infrastructure from transit systems to roads and bridges to water infrastructure, broadband connectivity, and more. The law includes measures on workforce development, equity, and climate change. The lawmakers worked to secure passage of this law in Congress, which will help spur job creation, enhance U.S. competitiveness, and make our transportation systems more sustainable and equitable.

Nationally, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will provide $69.9 billion in guaranteed funding for public transit over the next five years representing the largest federal investment in public transit in history. It will repair and upgrade crumbling infrastructure, modernize bus and rail fleets, make stations accessible to all users through a new program with $1.75 billion in dedicated funding, and bring transit service to new communities with an additional $8 billion for Capital Investment Grants. The IIJA will help replace thousands of transit vehicles, including buses, with clean, zero emission vehicles through an additional $21.3 billion, 5 percent of which is dedicated to training the transit workforce to maintain and operate these vehicles. Additionally, it will benefit communities of color who have historically had more limited access to transit despite being twice as likely to take public transportation.