Read more: Metro gets $4M grant to buy 12 buses | St. Louis Business Journal
St. Louis transit agency Metro said Friday it will use a $4 million federal grant to buy 12 buses.
The Federal Transit Administration notified Metro that its grant application had been approved through the FTA Clean Fuels Bus Grant program to buy buses that meet current federal emissions requirements.
Metro said it needs more buses to restore services that were cut in March 2009 amid budget constraints. St. Louis County voters approved a half-cent sales-tax increase in April 2010 to provide $80 million a year to restore service and rebuild the bus fleet. Metro began implementing service restoration in June and said Friday it has been working to speed up bus acquisition
"This grant gets us closer to the number of buses we need to fully restore service to our customers," Metro Chief Operating Officer Ray Friem said in a statement. "We've been managing our fleet to cover the higher demands of restoring service. This grant, plus Metro's contribution of $1 million in a local match, will be an important step toward rebuilding the fleet to meet our customers' needs.
"Our goal is to get back to our base business plan where we replace about one-15th of our fleet each year," Friem said. "Eventually, our target is to consistently buy 30 new buses a year. Right now, with us short on buses, we are expediting our purchase schedule and obtaining grants such as this one is very helpful in those efforts." |
