Amendment #1640 to H4000

Regional Transit Authorities

Ms. Blais of Deerfield moves to amend the bill in section 2E, in item 1595-6370, in line 11 by striking the figure "204,000,000” and inserting in place thereof the figure “217,000,000”

and further moves to amend the bill by striking section 71 and inserting in place the following:-

SECTION 71. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, for fiscal year 2026, $120,000,000 shall be considered operating assistance and distributed to regional transit authorities from item 1595-6370 of section 2E; provided that $76,000,000 shall be expended for additional state contract assistance for regional transit authorities to support operational enhancements and improvements, including expanded service hours, weekend services, and route expansions; provided further that $30,000,000 shall be expended for fare free regional transit services; provided further that $10,000,000 shall be expended for connectivity projects; and provided further that $4,000,000 shall be expended for the Community Transit Grant Program to expand mobility options. For fiscal year 2026, $97,000,000 of the amount transferred in item 1595-6370 shall be distributed based on fiscal year 2025 distributions in accordance with the updated fiscal year 2025 bilateral memorandum of understanding between each regional transit authority and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation; provided, however, that each regional transit authority shall receive operating assistance from said item 1595-6370 of said section 2E of not less than the amount received in fiscal year 2025; provided that $3,500,000 shall be expended for operating assistance to regional transit authorities based on the following formula: (i) 60 per cent based on total transit ridership as reported on the most recent certified national transit database report; (ii) 30 per cent based on population of its member communities from the most recent census and; (iii) 10 per cent based on service coverage area determined by the total square miles of its member communities. The department may require each regional transit authority to provide data on ridership, customer service and satisfaction, asset management and financial performance, including farebox recovery, and shall compile any such collected data into a report on the performance of regional transit authorities and detail each authority’s progress towards meeting the performance metrics established in each memorandum of understanding.

Additional co-sponsor(s) added to Amendment #1640 to H4000

Regional Transit Authorities