Transit advocates tell Senate Workforce Committee more state match needed to draw down $53 million in federal funds

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Representatives of the West Virginia Public Transit Association and the Mountain Transit Authority told the Senate Workforce Committee that the state is leaving roughly $53 million in federal transit funding undrawn because state match dollars are insufficient and urged lawmakers to increase annual state match support from about $2.2 million to $5 million.

"We are leaving, like, $53,000,000 of federal dollars on the table for FTA that we cannot draw down because we don't have the match money," West Virginia Public Transit Association President Paula Smith said during the committee's presentation. Smith is also executive director of Tri River Transit.

The request mattered to committee members because transit systems said the additional funding would allow them to expand service into more counties, increase limited routes that now run three days per week, and better support workforce access to jobs, training and medical care. The presenters described…