Sen. Claire McCaskill wants federal stimulus money to cover some of the operational costs of transit systems. A highlight from her press release:
Across the country, transit agencies are struggling to fund their transit needs as tax revenues decline. In my state of Missouri, transit agencies in Kansas City and St. Louis are having serious problems because of dwindling sales tax revenues. The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority [KCATA] recently approved a service reduction on 25 of 66 routes. Things are even worse in St. Louis, where Metro St. Louis had to cut transit service drastically beginning March 30th. Metro St. Louis eliminated 2,300 bus stops and laid-off over 550 employees who made a good wage and contribute to the community.
In addition to the immediate affect these cuts have to transit employees, local employers have expressed strong concerns about the impact service cuts have on their employees being able to get to work. Cuts to transit service reverberate throughout the economy and will slow our recovery.