DETROIT (Michigan News Source) – The Michigan Public Transit Association is sounding the alarm about public transportation funding that experts have predicted would be an issue once federal pandemic money dwindled.

The Michigan Public Transit Association is concerned funding in this year’s state budget is projected to be reduced from $241 million in 2025 to $226 million in 2026.

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Transit across America has struggled to regain ridership lost during the pandemic shutdowns in 2020. The increased popularity of remote work has also lessened demand for transit.

For example, the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority’s ridership was 6.38 million in 2019. After dropping to 1.72 million due to the pandemic in 2020. It has slowly increased to 4.92 million in 2024.

While ridership is down in Ann Arbor, expenses aren’t. The Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority’s operating expenses have increased from about $43 million in 2021 to a projected $67 million in 2025.

Nationwide, transit ridership has still not recovered from the pre-pandemic levels. For example, bus ridership in the U.S. is still at 86% of the pre-pandemic levels as of April 2025, according to the American Public Transportation Association.

Fewer riders results in a reduction of fares. And transit also is close to exhausting the huge infusion of federal pandemic relief money.

The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021 included $30.5 billion in federal funding for transit due to the pandemic.

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That same year, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act authorized $551 billion to the U.S. Department of Transportation, of which $35 billion went to the Federal Transit Administration. As of April 2025, the Department of Transportation had designated 59% of those Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act dollars.

Once that federal emergency money expires, transit will be looking for other ways to be funded.