Susan Lent Quoted in Metro Magazine on Transit Priorities for 2021

Susan Lent, head of the infrastructure and transportation practice at Akin Gump, has been quoted in the Metro Magazine article “New Year, New Opportunities: The State of the Transit Industry in 2021.” The article reports that the nation’s largest transit services, after a year that saw big losses in ridership due to the pandemic, are planning to dramatically reduce service and/or cut workers in an effort to reduce costs.

In the absence of a major rescue package from Washington, the article says there could be a severe retrenchment in service across the United States.

Lent stated that with President Biden “being a proponent of transit, and Congress preparing to advance multiyear surface transportation legislation, legislators and regulators can take steps to enable transit operators to recalibrate and restore ridership and attract new riders.”

First on the agenda, Lent said, “is authorizing stable and reliable transit funding and allowing federal funds to be used for operating expenses in the short term.” The next step, she added, “is creating programs that encourage innovation so that transit can better adapt to new technologies and integrate with other transportation modes. Enabling transit operators and contractors to adapt their systems to changing demographics and commuter patterns will ensure that transit is a viable mode of transportation either on its own or in conjunction with other modes of transportation.”