The Federal Emergency Management Agency will be sending almost $23.4 million to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to reimburse the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) for the additional costs of operating safely during the pandemic.
The MBTA will recive a total of $23,379,695 in federal funding through FEMA’s Public Assistance grant program to reimburse some of the costs associated with keeping public transportation services operating safely between March and June 2020.
Those measures included:
• Purchasing and distributing personal protective equipment (PPE) to staff;
• Overtime costs for employees;
• Buying disinfecting supplies;
• Dissemination of essential public health and safety information as barriers, signs, safety yellow paint & barricade tape; and
• Providing testing equipment for staff and the public such as privacy screens, thermal cameras, and thermometers.
“FEMA is pleased to be able to assist the MBTA with these costs,” said FEMA Region 1 Regional Administrator Lori Ehrlich. “Keeping public transportation operating during this time period was critical to allow emergency workers, medical personnel, and others to continue getting to work.”
FEMA’s Public Assistance program is an essential source of funding for states and communities recovering from a federally declared disaster or emergency.
So far, FEMA has provided nearly $867 million in Public Assistance grants to Massachusetts to reimburse the commonwealth for pandemic-related expenses. Additional information about FEMA’s Public Assistance program is available at https://www.fema.gov/public-assistance-local-state-tribal-and-non-profit. To learn more about the COVID-19 response in Massachusetts, please visit https://www.fema.gov/disaster/4496