Passenger Bus, Rail and Motorcoach Industry News

Includes bus storage, maintenance areas and offices for OATS Northeast, which provides demand-response and fixed-route transportation for senior citizens, people with disabilities, and the state’s rural areas.

Agency will receive $72.6 million as it works toward addressing concerns raised in an ongoing FTA audit.

The new Forden station, a 9,000-square-foot indoor transfer facility, will serve approximately 1.5 million riders a year. The FTA contributed $600,000 in Recovery Act funds to the $5.3 million project.

Received a $2.1 million contract to build a new CNG fueling station at the Montebello Bus Lines facility. ARRA funds will cover the entire cost of the station’s construction, and the first year’s preventive maintenance costs and 24-hour emergency response services.

The states that created the most jobs invested in public transportation projects and projects that maintained and repaired existing roads and bridges. The states that ranked poorly predominantly spent their funds building new roads and bridges.

As of Friday, the agency met its pledge to install 100 new bus shelters this year. The funds used to pay for the shelters came from local monies and federal grants, including the ARRA and Formula Funding Enhancement Grants.

As of December, shared curb-to-curb rides will be available through the Carroll County Transit Project, an offshoot of a new program started by a local not-for-profit that helps residents in Northern New Hampshire Counties access emergency assistance.

The project includes installation of new laminated glass windscreens at each shelter; repaving work, the construction of a public restroom and the installation of heating units and two-sided electronic message boards at multiple bus platforms.

Sustainability features of the $10.9M project include reusing and recycling the water used to wash the buses; only using new water during the final rinse phase; and operating high-efficiency lighting.

The agency obtained a $53.4M ARRA grant and $5.3 million in California Proposition 1B funding to acquire the Gillig-manufactured hybrid buses. The vehicles enable VTA to replace older buses that have exceeded their useful life span.