Great Lakes Wire

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow (MI) and Gary Peters (MI) announced on June 30 that the Department of Transportation (DOT) is awarding $17,411,182 to Michigan communities to purchase natural gas buses and rehabilitate outdated transit vehicles and facilities. These awards are administered through the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities and Low- and No-Emission (Low-No) Vehicle programs. This funding comes from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act which Senators Stabenow and Peters helped pass in November 2021. 

• The Interurban Transit Partnership called The Rapid in Grand Rapids, will receive $6,197,180 to purchase renewable natural gas buses to replace aging diesel-fueled buses.
• The Michigan Department of Transportation, on behalf of Ionia Dial-a-Ride, Belding Dial-A-Ride, Manistee County Transportation, and St. Joseph County Transportation Authority, will receive $514,002 to replace vans that have reached the end of their lives, upgrade bus lifts, modernize a transit facility, and purchase updated scheduling and dispatch services software.
• The Michigan Department of Transportation will receive $10,700,000 on behalf of the Interurban Transit Authority (serving Saugatuck, Douglas and Saugatuck Township) to rehabilitate and expand a maintenance and administrative facility, and People's Express (serving select townships and cities in Southeast Michigan) to build a transit maintenance and operations center.

“Reliable bus transportation is critical to get people to and from the doctor, grocery stores, and work. This investment will allow our state to make much-needed improvements to our public buses and transit facilities while improving air quality and combatting the climate crisis,” said Senator Stabenow.

“Investing in public transit is critical to ensure that Michiganders have service that is safe and that they can rely on,” said Senator Peters. “This is a significant investment through the bipartisan infrastructure law, which I helped enact, to improve access to reliable bus transportation and to make the air we breathe cleaner.” 

“We are incredibly grateful to have been awarded the Low-No grant. Our heartfelt thanks go out to Congresswoman Scholten, Senator Peters, and Senator Stabenow for their unwavering support of our mission and for helping us achieve our sustainability goals. Earlier this year, we reached a huge environmental milestone when we began receiving EPA-certified renewable natural gas (RNG) from a local biodigester through a dynamic partnership with The City of Grand Rapids and DTE Energy. RNG fuel is acknowledged as carbon-negative, producing the lowest carbon intensity fuel of any transportation fuel available today. This funding will allow us to continue with this commitment to providing greener transportation options for our community, while aligning with the Biden Administration's initiative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality. We are excited to keep working towards a cleaner and more sustainable future for our region,” said Deb Prato CEO of the Rapid. 

The Buses and Bus Facilities Program provides federal funding for transit agencies to buy and rehabilitate buses and vans and build and modernize bus facilities. 

The Low-No Program helps transit agencies buy or lease U.S.-built low- or no-emission vehicles, including buses and vans, facility and station upgrades to accommodate low- or no-emission vehicles, and supporting equipment like battery electric charging. 

Following these awards, FTA will have awarded more than $3.3 billion over the past two years, funding more than 1,700 American-built buses, thanks to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Original source can be found here