Passenger Bus, Rail and Motorcoach Industry News

Officials proposed to move a station planned for Escondido closer to Valley Parkway and route the trains through the city closer to the highway. This is intended to reduce the number of houses and commercial properties that would have to be demolished for the project.

MBTA would not be allowed to charge passengers if train departs 20 minutes or more after their originally scheduled departure time.

The proposal represents a unique opportunity for the city, which received $2.25 million from Stanford University last year to beef up pedestrian connections between the city and campus, as well as to encourage use of public transportation.

The deadline to submit the proposal is March 4, and the university would know this summer if the grant is accepted. The program would be named the Starkville/MSU Area Rapid Transit.

The plan calls for most of the changes to take effect May 1, 2010, and NJ Transit expects to generate more than $140 million in revenue.

Proposal addresses a $383 million gap that had developed over the past two weeks due to several significant unfavorable developments, including a $143 million state budget cut.