North-South BRT Funding

There have been a number of questions recently about whether federal funding for Metro’s proposed north-south bus rapid transit route will continue to be available.

Metro’s North-South BRT project was put together to be as flexible as possible while also maximizing opportunities for federal funds even beyond the currently planned Capital Investment Grant (CIG or Small Starts) program. 

As part of the East-West project, Metro has already purchased the necessary buses to operate the north-south route. They are now in service and operate every 15 minutes on Route B, which is planned to become the north-south BRT route.

The North-South project will add the infrastructure needed to speed up buses (stations, improved traffic control signals, etc.), but the route itself is already up and running.

In addition, about 1/3 of the North-South project is geared towards the reconstruction of Park St.

With this in mind, there are a number of ways this project can adjust and move forward based on what kind of federal funding might be available.

• With buses already purchased and in place, the project can be built in smaller pieces - such as separating the north and south portions, or even just building a few miles at a time.
• Because new buses are not needed for the project, the project's cost is less and allows it to score higher in competitive grant criteria.
• Because much of the project cost is related to street reconstruction, much of that cost may be eligible for other federal grant types, even if CIG is not available.
• The North-South BRT project contains a number of features that the new administration seems to be seeking and therefore may score even better under new scoring criteria, including the use of Tax Increment District financing where local funding is coming from the areas that stand to benefit the most.

Even with all this in mind, staff are also encouraged by the recent introduction of the Full Year Continuing Appropriations and Extension Act, 2025 which in general still provides the original funding Metro was planning to implement this project.

Updates will continue to be monitored, but Metro is confident that there is still a way for the North-South bus rapid transit to continue to move forward and continues to work on this project.