PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • April 28, 2022
A funding dispute between public transit agencies in Greater Portland has sidelined an $8 million federal relief package that would fund a nine-month, partial public bus fare holiday and other service improvements. Bus, train and ferry operators opposed to spending items in the package have withheld their signatures from a standard letter required to release the money. The standoff among the six agencies that need to sign the letter – only Greater Portland Metro has signed it so far – leaves no clear path forward for the regional overseers of federal transit funding. It also reveals flaws in how the region manages and coordinates transit.