On Monday, President Joe Biden and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced the agency had awarded $409.3 million in grants to 70 transit projects in 39 states.
The funding, the FTA said, will be used to modernize and electrify America’s buses, make bus systems and routes more reliable and improve safety. As the most widespread form of transit in the country, the grants will help dozens of communities to buy buses utilizing new clean technology, such as electric buses, to reduce or eliminate greenhouse gas emissions, promote cleaner air and address climate change.
“These grants will help people in communities large and small get to work, get to school, and access the services they need,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “Everyone deserves access to safe, reliable, clean public transportation – and thanks to the President’s historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we are bringing modern buses to communities across America.”
According to the DOT, the FTA received more than $2.5 billion in funding requests, five times the amount of funding available under the previous law. Under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the FTA will receive an additional $5.1 billion over the next five years in formula and competitive grant funding under the Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities Program.
“Transit agencies are replacing aging buses and facilities with newer, cleaner infrastructure that is more efficient to operate and maintain,” said FTA Administrator Nuria Fernandez. “Modern buses, especially those powered with electric batteries or fuel cells, improve air quality and help us address the climate crisis.”
Among the projects receiving grants were the Connecticut Department of Transportation, which will receive $11.4 million to buy battery-electric buses to replace aged out diesel-powered ones; the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA), which will receive $15 million for a new bus maintenance facility in Clayton County, Ga.; and Laketran, in Lake County, Ohio, which will receive nearly $14.7 million to expand a bus garage, add operations and maintenance facilities, and modernize its main headquarters.