Passenger Bus, Rail and Motorcoach Industry News

The agency’s free shuttles to corporate parks, shopping centers and downtown at many of its stations caused the uptick. In 2010, 444,298 people boarded the shuttles. This year, 935,919 used the buses.

Charles “Steve” McClarty brings with him 39 years of railroad safety and operations experience in the rail industry. He held various positions with Amtrak in the Midwest and most recently, while at the Illinois DOT, he served as the Bureau Chief.

The new, $14.8 million automated fare system has charged some passengers twice when they try to add money to their cards. Sometimes the validators have not scanned the cards at all.

Officials say it will be the first transit station in Florida and one of the first in the nation to be completely supported by solar energy.

Projects were selected through the FTA's competitive FY 2011 Sustainability Initiative, which includes funding from: the Clean Fuels and the TIGGER III grant programs.

The bill, which also lays the groundwork to make mass transit a priority in future transportation planning and budgeting, now heads to Gov. Crist for approval.

Event-goers can purchase a roundtrip ticket for each event for only $5, which includes the cost of both the train and shuttle bus rides.

This news comes on the heels of the FTA's announcement on July 14, awarding the SFRTA/Tri-Rail $2.5 million in stimulus funds, under Urbanized Area Formula Funds, to be used for the purchase of one locomotive.

Trio of senators to tour Tri-Rail and discuss funding challenges.

The budget that was passed uses the total county contributions to maintain service. The mandated amounts include $1.567 million for operations and $2.6 million in tax contributions.