Senator Collins Announces More Than $700,000 for South Portland Bus Service

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Susan Collins, the Chairman of the Senate Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee, announced that the South Portland Bus Service (SPBS) has received a total of $753,455 to help cover staffing and operating expenses during the COVID-19 pandemic.  This funding, awarded by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), was provided through a provision of the CARES Act that Senator Collins authored that directed $48.5 billion to support transportation and housing programs throughout the country.

“Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Maine faces unique challenges that make transit services both necessary and difficult to maintain,” said Senator Collins.  “This important funding will help cover staffing and operating expenses, aid in the maintenance of critical infrastructure, and increase access to employment, education, and health care for Mainers who use bus services.”

Senators Collins and Jack Reed (D-RI) recently introduced the Coronavirus Economic Relief for Transportation Services (CERTS) Act, legislation that would authorize $10 billion in emergency economic relief funding grants for America’s bus, motorcoach, and passenger ferry industries impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

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