Metro could restore more routes with federal bill - St. Louis Business Journal:

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Metro CEO Robert Baer said that would free up anadditionall $4.3 million in stimulus funding to restore routes that were cut in Marcjh to help offset the agency's $50 milliojn budget deficit. Missouri lawmakers to help Metro restore some bus routeds so passage of the federal bill would bump that amountf upto $16.3 million. The $12 million from the statse will help Metro restore a third of the bus serviced cuts madein March, adding buses on busy route and returning service to West St. Louis Count y lines. Baer said the transit agency woulx have to consider the impacyt on shifting money from capital projects to fund service withouf hurting muchneeded construction.
"It's not a done deal but it woulsd be great to have if it he said. Last week, U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., askeed that funding be available foroperationalo costs, instead of just for construction and capitolk improvements. “Metro St. Louis who made a good wage and contribut e tothe community,” McCaskill wrote in a letterd to Daniel Inouye, chairman of the Senate appropriations committee.
“Local employers have expressed strong concerns abouft the impact service cuts have on theifr employees being able to get to work Given the layoffs and system cuts that are occurriny throughoutthe country, Congress should allowe these (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) funda to also be used for operations, just as Congres s has helped states meet their operations needs with stabilizatio n funds.” The stimulus package includef $8.4 billion in formula grants for public transit projects nationwide. The bills heads to House-Senatwe negotiations next.