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U.S. Department of Transportation Announces $40.7 Million to Repair, Upgrade Bay Area Transit Vehicles and Facilities

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July 23, 2012
The U.S. Department of Transportation today announced $40.7 million in federal funding for the San Francisco Bay Area to replace aging buses and transit vehicles that will improve service for hundreds of thousands of people who take public transit every day. The seven projects are among 255 projects in 48 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico that were selected to receive a share of $787 million.

“President Obama’s support for an America built to last is putting people back to work across the country modernizing our nation’s public transit systems,” said Secretary LaHood. “By investing in the transit infrastructure people depend on to get where they need to go each day, we will keep our economy moving forward well into the future.”

Deputy Federal Transit Administrator Therese McMillan was in San Francisco today to announce the projects, which encourage more people to take transit as an alternative to the Bay Area’s congested freeways.

“From San Jose to Oakland, these funds go a long way to put more comfortable, efficient, clean-fuel vehicles on the road to meet rising demand for service,” said Deputy Administrator McMillan. “These awards are a big win for everybody because they will reduce highway congestion, improve air quality, and help this region continue to offer balanced transportation options for millions of residents.”

Altogether, the State of California is receiving more than $126 million for 25 much-needed projects to make taking transit safe, reliable and desirable.

A map of this year’s projects, along with a searchable table, can be found here.

In total, the FTA announced funding for six projects in the Bay Area:

  • San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (MUNI): $6.3 million to upgrade local bus service to improve travel times into San Francisco’s central business district. The grant will help execute time saving strategies like transit signal priority and convenient off-board fare collection. Commuters in 10 neighborhoods, from Oceanview to Portola to North Beach, will benefit.
  • San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (MUNI): $15 million to replace diesel buses with hybrid buses to improve fuel economy, contribute to cleaner air, and provide more reliable service for thousands of daily riders.
  • San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART): $3.16 million to install real-time bus and rail departure and arrival information at key stations, thus offering riders accurate updates on service while they’re at the station.
  • Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit): $7.5 million for new equipment to collect and track fares in Oakland, which speeds the boarding process and makes paying for transit more convenient for riders.
  • San Mateo County Transit District: $4.95 million to replace aging buses with hybrid-electric diesel buses in San Mateo County that will reduce emissions, fuel and maintenance costs, while contributing to a more reliable ride.
  • Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority: $3.75 million to replace aging buses with hybrid-electric diesel buses in San Jose that will reduce maintenance costs and contribute to cleaner air by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Generally, a transit authority with a fleet of about 20 buses that upgrades from standard diesel to hybrid-electric power can expect to save roughly $200,000 in fuel costs over a year.

Reflecting the need for infrastructure investment, demand for the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) FY2012 State of Good Repair and Bus Livability funds was overwhelming. FTA received 836 project applications requesting $4 billion. In FY2010 and FY2011, FTA awarded a total of more than $1.8 billion in grants for hundreds of state of good repair projects, primarily involving buses and bus facilities.