Connecticut’s commuter rail and bus services will continue running at current levels for the next year under Gov. Ned Lamont’s latest budget proposal, which otherwise warned of an impending fiscal cliff due to loss of pandemic-era federal funding for rail. Lamont’s budget proposed a increase of $19.7 million for rail and $9.4 for buses in the fiscal year beginning on July 1. That would amount to an increase of 6% and 3%, respectively, over the current year’s budget. The intention of the increase is to keep their operations flat, budget officials said. In addition, the governor proposed spending $3.5 million to provide half-priced bus fares to students and free bus fares for veterans. That money would be split between the Department of Transportation and the Department of Veterans Affairs. This year’s budget proposal does not include any increases in the cost of a bus or rail ticket, following an overall 10% fare hike for Metro-North and CT Rail that will take effect by July 1. After 2027, the budget document prepared by the Office of Policy and Management warned that roughly $45.6 million in federal pandemic relief funds being used to subsidize CT Rail services will expire and need to be replaced. Several of the state’s commuter rail services, including Metro-North’s New Haven Line, have struggled to rebound to their pre-pandemic ridership.
Lamont’s budget keeps commuter rail, bus service flat
