The US Department of Transportation is allocating $1.75 billion to improve accessibility at train stations

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) of the US Department of Transportation (DOT) has distributed $1.75 billion through the new All Station Accessibility Program (ASAP) to improve rail station accessibility.

ASAP is a new discretionary grant program created under the bipartisan Infrastructure Act to improve access to the transportation system.

Under the program, transit agencies will receive $343 million this year to rebuild subway stations for better access to rail systems.

The federal funding was announced 32 years after the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed to improve accessibility for travelers.

According to the agency, more than 900 transit legacy stations are currently not fully accessible to passengers.

Funding will allow transit agencies to repair, upgrade, modify, modernize and relocate station infrastructure or facilities for passenger use.

It will also support transit agencies’ planning activities to improve accessibility.

US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said, “Although our country has made tremendous progress in the three decades since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, too many people with disabilities still lack access to reliable public transportation.

“Using funds from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, we are modernizing some of our oldest public rail stations and ensuring more Americans rely on our transit systems to get where they need to go.”

This year in April, the US DOT’s Build America Bureau issued up to $1.76 billion in loans for the Purple Line Light Rail transit project in Maryland.