Passenger Bus, Rail and Motorcoach Industry News

Will use the grant funds from the FTA to establish a "Transit Virtual Career Network" with local transportation agencies to recruit students and veterans to the industry and provide information and job training.

The State of Good Repair grant, which the Tennessee Department of Transportation was able to get by collaborating with 15 transit agencies across the state, will cover about one-fifth of the vehicle replacement needed at each participating agency.

Tri-County Communication Action Program will expand its Dial-a-Ride service by three hours a day and offer free bus service for out-of-town day trips to seniors.

Said the Chicago Transit Authority collected more federal aid than it should have after inflating mileage covered by its bus routes. Ordered the agency to revise its 2011 tally of revenue-producing miles and change the way it counts mileage from now on.

Cause of Action, a Washington, D.C.-based watchdog group, claims the Chicago Transit Authority may have inflated by up to $150 million the federal funding it received since 1982 by "fraudulently over-reporting" the number of miles buses travel while in service.

Founder of a nonprofit is applying for grant funds to start a free backcountry bus service for seniors and residents with disabilities. The nonprofit used $138,000 in FTA grants to order two buses with plans to put them into service in January.

County Hall may soon cut services to Metrorail, Metrobus and Metromover if the transit agency’s financial crisis, spurred by a cutoff of FTA funding, doesn’t end soon.

Harpal Kapoor is leaving his position after failing to restore federal funds that were suspended since last November.

FTA is considering the safety and reliability of the Metro system before granting money for new transit lines including a Purple Line light-rail system in Maryland and streetcar networks in Arlington County and the District.