DOT sets $293 million for bus, rail transit

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood Thursday announced $293 million in federal funds to “coordinate transportation, housing, and commercial development investments” in numerous U.S. cities.

The funds will flow through two grant programs, the Bus and Bus Livability Grant Program and the Urban Circulator Grant Program. LaHood, along with Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff, announced the winners of the two competitive grant programs during a press conference call in Washington.

Five new streetcar projects and one Bus Rapid Transit project will be funded with $130 million from the FTA’s Urban Circulator Program. The five rail projects, awarded roughly $105 million, or 36% of the funds, are: the St. Louis Loop Trolley Project ($25 million); the Charlotte (N.C.) Streetcar Starter Project ($25 million); the Cincinnati Streetcar Project ($25 million); the Fort Worth (Tex.) Streetcar Loop ($25 million); and Dallas’ Olive/St.Paul Street Loop ($4.9 million), extending the current McKinney Trolley to connect with DART light rail at St. Paul Station.

An additional 47 projects aimed at upgrading bus services and facilities will receive more than $163 million from the FTA’s Bus and Bus Livability Program.

“Streetcars are making a comeback because cities across America are recognizing that they can restore economic development downtown—giving citizens the choice to move between home, shopping, and entertainment without ever looking for a parking space,”  said Rogoff.  “These streetcar and bus livability projects will not only create construction jobs now, they will aid our recovery by creating communities with the potential to be more prosperous and less congested.” 

DOT said 65 applications totaling more than $1 billion were submitted to the Urban Ciruclator Program, while 281 applications totaling more than $2 billion were submitted for the Bus and Bus Livability Grant Program. Projects were eligible to receive up to 80% in federal funding, although a maximum of $25 million was placed on Urban Circulator projects.

A detailed list of the projects can be found here.