Biden proposes $500 million boost

But even as Washington goes on a spending blitz, ballooning budgets at the VTA and around the country mean taxpayers are seeing far less transit than expected from the historic 2021 infrastructure funding bill.

“There is some inflation panic and materials panic and labor panic,” said Eric Goldwyn, a New York University professor who studies transit project costs. “So we are getting less for every dollar we put out there.”