Mayor Romero, City Manager Thomure Celebrate $11.38M FTA Grant

Tucson Mayor Regina Romero and City Manager Tim Thomure welcomed Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Region 9 Administrator Ray Tellis to announce an $11.38 million federal grant to create a more equitable and accessible transit infrastructure. The grant will be used to replace two lifts at the Northwest Sun Tran Bus Facility that will help to ensure greener, cleaner buses are operating at optimal efficiency in our transit system. Funding will also be used to install additional bus shelters along major heat corridors and creating more accessibility through braille and wayfinding signage.

"The City of Tucson is thrilled to have earned this $11.38 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration," said Tucson Mayor Regina Romero."We are grateful to our Congressional delegation and to the Biden/Harris Administration for this funding made possible through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This is an investment that we haven't seen in decades in our country. Investments like these are helping us to address the challenges of today: climate change, accessibility, equity, disinvestment. Investing in our infrastructure helps us keep moving forward," added the Mayor.

Since 2019, the City of Tucson has successfully competed for and been awarded $489 million from the FTA. This has enabled Tucson to boast the largest electric bus fleet in the Southwest, begin the process of phasing out diesel buses, and work on heat resiliency in our bus shelter infrastructure so that it is more accessible and safe.

"Through this transformative federal award, we are taking action to help adapt our Tucson transit facilities and make them more accessible," said Tucson City Manager Tim Thomure. "The current lifts, that take care of our 40-foot buses, are nearing their end of their useful life. Replacing these two lifts will decrease maintenance-related expenditures related to the aging infrastructure. This will help keep our fleet in a good state of repair and reduce the need to rely on our general fund for these types of capital investments."

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The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Transit Administration (FTA) yesterday announced approximately $1.5 billion in funding to support 117 projects that will improve public transportation in 47 states. Under the President's historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, FTA has awarded nearly $5 billion in the past three years to replace and modernize transit buses on America's roadways, building new technology with American workers. U.S. factories will produce more than 4,600 of these new buses.

Information about this announcement can be found on the FTA web page here.

Video of today's event can be found here.