Passenger Bus, Rail and Motorcoach Industry News

Will now provide accessible customer-based travel information and trip planning services to a 4,000 square mile rural region with a population of 300,000 people.

With FTA approval, preliminary engineering work can begin and will be conducted by Jacobs Engineering.

The operator, Gregory Clark, a 32-year Houston Metro veteran, failed an FTA-required drug and alcohol test following the accident.

The project is part of a five-line rail plan that includes the East End, North, Uptown and Southeast Lines. The East End, North, and Southeast lines are under construction, while the Uptown line is in the design phase.

The money will provide Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility upgrades, reconstruction of the ticket counter, installation of a passenger Information Display System and platform repairs.

Transit customers will have an off-street, open-air, but fully sheltered and supervised location with a dedicated platform section for each specific bus route.

While most of the backlog can be attributed to rail, more than 40 percent of the nation's buses are also in poor to marginal condition.

The project is envisioned to be a transportation hub that is functional, adaptable and flexible, according to representatives.

Six new streetcar and bus rapid transit projects will be funded with $130 million from the FTA's Urban Circulator Program, and 47 additional projects aimed at upgrading bus services and facilities are slated to receive more than $163 million from the FTA's Bus and Bus Livability Program.

The bill provides $11.307 billion for FTA programs, an increase of $574.89 million over FY 2010 funding.