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After months of tense negotiations, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut have struck a deal on how to divvy up billions of dollars in federal pandemic relief funds for their respective transit systems.

Under the deal announced Nov. 9, New Jersey would get $2.66 billion, while New York would get $10.85 billion and Connecticut $474 million.

Tuesday was the last day for the deal to be met, should transportation officials from the three states hope to apply for another $2.2 billion in COVID-19 federal-relief funds.

New Jersey had sought closer to $3.6 billion, according to a Nov. 1 report by NJ Advance Media, which it would use to pay for buses, trains and staffing as the statewide mass transit agency sluggishly rebounds from pandemic-driven drops in ridership.

That was the amount New Jersey would have been eligible for under the federal formula. But, New York rejected the federal formula used by most other states for determining how to disperse the funds, instead sticking to its own calculations, which would have given the Empire State an added $637 million in transit aid.

Murphy’s office stressed that the state was not giving up the $1 billion, and that those funds would still come through a combination of other federal sources.

“To be clear: New Jersey has not given up on dollar of what it is entitled to, and we are in the process of receiving all of the funding we deserve,” reads an email from Dan Bryan, a spokesperson for the New Jersey governor’s office.

“We are utilizing every pathway granted to us by Congress to achieve that goal,” he continued. “Cumulatively, this $3.5 billion will support operating revenues impacted by the pandemic and ensure New Jerseyans get the reliable, safe commuting experience they deserve.”

Figures from Murphy’s office show that the state would get an additional $75 million from New York State, $363 million from Philadelphia region grants, and $400 million in other federal grants.

New Jersey’s beleaguered transit agency has burned through the $1.4 billion it received under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, as stay-at-home mandates and shifts to telecommuting both continue to depress ridership levels.

In New York, the funds would go toward the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and in Connecticut toward the Department of Transportation.

All three states would be able to use the funds to keep workers employed, and avoid furloughs and service cuts.

NJ Transit has no consistent source of funding, and instead has typically diverted funds earmarked for capital projects to pay for operating expenses.

In the past, Gov. Phil Murphy has threatened to use what he’s called a “nuclear option” to wrestle more funding from New York, and in another instance, to block that state’s controversial congestion pricing proposal. That would entail vetoing the minutes of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which oversees the region’s airports, the George Washington Bridge, Hudson River crossings and major ports in the area.

Taking this route would keep the bi-state agency from carrying out any of its day-to-day functions and from taking any other actions – working on budgets and contracts, for example – to snarl up business for the Port Authority.

But Murphy and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul both characterized the new agreement as a major step forward for their two states, and for Connecticut.

“With this agreement, we ensure a reliable and safe commute as workers return to their offices,” Murphy said in a prepared statement.

Editor’s note: This story was updated at 4:06 p.m. EST on Nov. 9, 2021, to include remarks from the governor’s office regarding the difference between the amount of money New Jersey had sought and what was allotted.