Assemblyman Al Stirpe (D-Cicero) expressed extreme disappointment with recent legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives that would strip $820 million from public transportation funding for New York State, including Central New York bus provider Centro.

“Countless Central New Yorkers depend on Centro to get where they need to go, be that work, school or the doctor’s office,” said Assemblyman Stirpe. “Cutting public transit funding would serve as a devastating blow to our community and runs completely counter to our efforts to make public transportation more accessible for a host of environmental and economic reasons.”

The House of Representative added the cuts to the overall transportation bill with a voice vote during a late night session – when supporters of the funding were not on the floor to defend the public transportation programs that direct the federal funds to the most heavily populated regions of the country.

Of the $820 million in public transportation funding that would be cut, $12 million would be pulled from Centro. Funding cuts would mean reductions in service, hurting individuals across Central New York and the rest of Centro’s vast service area that depend on the bus service for approximately 12 million rides annually. These cuts would also impact other public transportation agencies across the state.

“Stripping funding from public transportation like Centro harms some of the most impoverished and vulnerable members of our community,” said Assemblyman Stirpe. “It disproportionately affects residents that don’t own cars and makes it virtually impossible for them to go to their jobs or run the most basic errands. It’s simply unacceptable and quite foolish.”