Metro officials say they expect to receive $610 million in aid from the federal stimulus package that was signed into law last month, staving off some service cuts and possible layoffs that were proposed to address a significant decrease in revenue caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Thanks to the leadership of the regional Congressional delegation and Senator Warner, we will be able to keep transit employees working, providing essential service to customers in the national capital region through June 30th,” said WMATA Board of Directors Chair Paul C. Smedberg in a statement.

Metro received $876 million in federal funds from the first stimulus package passed in March 2020, but by September transit officials warned that continuing low ridership because of the pandemic would require the agency to cut service and staffing unless a new infusion of funding was made available.

But even with the new round of federal money, Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld warned that service cuts and layoffs could still happen, though likely be less dramatic than what he originally proposed in November — which included ending weekend service, closing 19 stations, slashing bus service, and less frequent weekday rail service starting next July.

“We are far from out of the woods, without sufficient revenue to cover all of next fiscal year. While the choices may not be quite as severe, there is still enormous financial pressure on our funding jurisdictions, and ridership and revenue is likely to return very gradually, so we have tough choices still ahead,” he said in a statement.

Overall, Metro ridership — a critical source of operating revenue — has been down during the pandemic. According to weekly data from the transit agency, rail ridership has been down between 80% and 90% and bus ridership between 30% and 60%, compared to the same times a year prior. Funding from local jurisdictions could help backfill some of those revenue losses, but area government are also facing their own budget constraints from the pandemic.

“The residents who have been hardest hit by the health and economic impacts of the coronavirus are also the ones who are still taking public transit,” said Montgomery County Councilmember Evan Glass in a statement. “These funds are critical to maintain existing service levels so that hard working individuals can provide for their families.”

Metro’s board will meet next Thursday to consider revising the current fiscal year’s budget and to hear from Wiedefeld on new estimates for the next fiscal year, which starts in July.