Senator Brown announces over 179 million for public transporation, 8.5 for TARTA
This was received via e-mail, in watching Fox Toledo, the local money will be going to TARTA:
SEN. BROWN ANNOUNCES MORE THAN $8.5 MILLION FOR MASS TRANSIT PROJECTS IN TOLEDO, OHIO
Brown Announces Release of More than $179 Million in Economic Recovery Funds for Public Transportation Systems in Ohio Communities
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today announced that Toledo, Ohio will receive $8,580,240 in mass transit funds with $179,808,408 for Ohio communities overall. The federal funds, which were passed as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, will be released to metropolitan areas today by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).
“These funds will create jobs, promote economic development, and improve mass transit in Toledo,” said Brown. “As fuel costs continue to put a strain on the budgets of middle class families, more Ohioans are turning to public transportation. These funds will improve the accessibility of public transportation and ensure Ohio communities can bring their transit systems to the 21st century.”
The funds will be used to support capital projects implemented by Ohio public transportation systems. These can include the construction or rehabilitation of new transit stations, the purchase of transit equipment, the rehabilitation or remanufacture of buses, the overhaul of rail systems, preventive maintenance, or other actions that improve the efficiency and accessibility of public transportation.
Studies indicate that for every $1 billion invested in infrastructure projects, anywhere from 35,000 to nearly 50,000 jobs are created. In addition to job creation, investment in mass transit attracts new businesses and yields other economic benefits including reduced delays, improved safety, reduced emissions, and lower maintenance costs.
Nineteen Ohio metropolitan areas will receive general mass transit funds. Cleveland and Dayton will also receive separate “fixed guideway” funds that will be used exclusively for their right-of-way rail systems.
A breakdown of Ohio funds by city and region follows:
Akron $8,778,597
Canton $5,145,273
Cincinnati $20,540,622
Cleveland (General Funds) $39,805,494
Cleveland (Fixed Guideway Funds) $11,182,724
Columbus $16,214,025
Dayton (General Funds) $20,709,105
Dayton (Fixed Guidway Funds) $1,590,055
Huntington, WV–KY–OH $559,059
Lima, OH $1,198,957
Lorain–Elyria, OH $3,628,995
Mansfield, OH $1,281,024
Middletown, OH $1,671,558
Newark, OH $1,243,924
Parkersburg, WV–OH $393,234
Sandusky, OH $848,579
Springfield, OH $1,619,240
Toledo $8,580,240
Weirton, WV–Steubenville, OH $675,713
Wheeling, WV–OH $490,270
Youngstown $3,814,488
Smaller Ohio communities (to be distributed by state) $29,837,234
TOTAL $179,808,410
any sense of what projects tarta has in mind – is this going to be used to expand tarps, build the new tarps garage (which would be terrible at the intended location), update/expand routes, build infrastructure such as new stops and shelters, or subsidize existing routes by keeping fares down?
March 6th, 2009 at 8:48 amFrom the linked Fox Toledo story:
March 6th, 2009 at 9:09 amthank you for that.
if memory serves, they have the intention of doing more door to door service and less emphasis on traditional routes. i’ll assume we will see a great increase in the tarp type vehicles and fewer traditional route buses. fuel type should be an interesting call.
March 6th, 2009 at 10:51 amI really wish they could invest some money to create pull-over spaces at bus stops so they wouldn’t bog traffic down when picking riders up. (similar to the space in front of UT)
-Dan
March 7th, 2009 at 9:14 amI’d like bus signs that actually indicated when a particular route was coming using GPS technology. It’d let you know on cold, windy, rainy days whether you had 5 minutes or 25 minutes to wait.
March 7th, 2009 at 10:10 am