The Vermont Agency of Transportation (AOT) has awarded 13 Mobility and Transportation Innovation (MTI) program grants as a means of incentivizing strategies bolstering mobility and access for transit-dependent residents.
The $500,000 allotment also seeks to reduce the use of single-occupancy vehicles for work trips while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
“Innovation like this is essential to meeting the transportation needs of Vermont’s rural population and reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” Public Transit Manager Ross MacDonald said. “This is another exciting step forward for the diversification of our state’s transportation system.”
The initiative, managed by AOT’s Public Transit Section, was created by the state legislators with the passage of the 2020 Transportation Bill.
Projects include extension of existing Transportation Demand Management (TDM) programs, such as Bike Share, and purchase of electric bicycles; creation of new TDM programs such as microtransit services and car-sharing; creation of TDM materials and outreach efforts to promote alternative and efficient commuting options and tools, including teleworking resources such as a telework program guide, telework program planning baseline assessment, and telework best practices resources; and develop a new network of electric vehicles within existing carsharing operations which expressly serves residents of public and affordable housing development.