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Last week, the Federal Transit Administration granted the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (RTA) an administrative waiver that will enable the authority to use pre-Hurricane Katrina data to calculate the amount of federal transit funding the city will be eligible for in 2007.

Operator of New Orleans' streetcar and bus service, RTA should receive at least $18.8 million — the amount that was earmarked to the agency in 2006. Had the waiver not been granted, RTA would have had to use 2005 data, which could have cut the appropriation nearly in half.

RTA General Manager William DeVille requested the waiver under an “Act of God” provision in federal transit data reporting regulations, citing service interruptions and reductions, and staff limitations.