The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded the local municipal transit system $1,125,000 through the Federal Transit Administration’s Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities Program. The program makes federal dollars available to states for different public transit-related improvements such as replacing, rehabilitating and purchasing buses or constructing bus-related facilities.
“The grant will help us replace aging fare payment equipment and technology to make payment easier and more convenient, and using transit more appealing,” Bloomington Transit General Manager Lew May said in a release from the office of U.S. Rep. Trey Hollingsworth, R-Ind. “We hope to acquire state-of-the-art fare payment technology to incorporate electronic swipe cards, stored-value cards, day-passes, and online account-based passes similar to payment innovations in use in cities across the country.”
Hollingsworth, who represents Indiana’s 9th Congressional District that includes portions of Monroe County, sent a letter supporting Bloomington’s request for funding.
Bloomington Transit was among 270 applicants in 43 states and territories that submitted projects totaling approximately $1.9 billion in requests the Federal Transit Administration reviewed as part of the program. According to a news release from the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Federal Transit Administration awarded $423 million in grants. Bloomington Transit was the only operation in Indiana that received funding.
“More people travel by bus than any other form of public transportation,” FTA Acting Administrator K. Jane Williams said in a news release. “This administration is committed to rebuilding our nation’s transportation infrastructure and helping to improve bus service nationwide.”
©2019 the Herald-Times (Bloomington, Ind.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
