TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay area is among several cities across the country that will receive a piece of $21 billion in federal funding to support public transportation.
The Federal Transit Administration published the details on the funding that helps communities maintain and operate trains, buses and ferries that people in the area use each day. Florida will receive nearly $543 million for transit projects with the Tampa Bay area receiving $51,906,354, according to the data.
The funding will help upgrade stations and tracks, transition to next-generation buses, plan and design new transit corridors and provide specialized services for seniors and riders with disabilities, the FTA said in a news release.
"This funding will open more doors to Americans than ever before," FTA Administrator Nuria Fernandez said in a statement. "Transit formula funding provides a lifeline for communities, and this record level of support will help create jobs, provide mobility to more people and address the climate crisis."
The FTA said this funding is the largest-ever annual investment in American public transportation. The funding comes as at least 28 million Americans are transit-dependent and rely on trains, buses and ferries to get to their jobs, school and community services.