A shortfall in federal transportation funding is threatening bus and metro systems across the country. When ridership

dropped during the pandemic, the government spent billions of dollars to support public transit.

But that money has largely run out. And now with inflation added to the mix, local governments

are saddled with hundreds of millions of dollars in deficits. That's leading to reduce services and increased fares.

Ali Rogan explores the effect all of this is having beyond the morning commute

with Philip Plotch, the principal researcher and senior fellow at the Eno Center for Transportation.

Philip Plotch, thank you for joining us.

How did regional public transit systems find themselves at the edge of this financial cliff?

So you might remember when the pandemic first had, there was a real concern about a potential

for a real economic crisis in the United States.

That's why the federal, the federal government,

pumps so much money into the economy. They lent a lot of money to small businesses, money was

given to schools, local governments, and about 70 billion, with a B, went to keep public

transportation running across the country. The thinking was people need to get the jobs,

supermarkets, and hospitals. I remember we wanted all of our frontline workers to get to work.

The programs were, the economy kept chugging along, but now many agencies are running out of money

because ridership is down. So compared to what it was before the pandemic,

about 14% fewer people are taking the bus and about 28% fewer people are taking the train.

So the transit agencies, they're making cuts. They've been stretching out the COVID funding.

And they've just been hoping that the state and local governments are going

to help bail them out before their money runs out. That's why many of them are now staring at the

edge of a cliff without any good options. And how is this disrupting the average commuter who is

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