Five new buses will be added to the Capital Metro fleet, thanks to a $2 million federal grant. The U.S. Department of Transportation recently obligated $2 million in State of Good Repair grant funding requested on behalf of Capital Metro by U.S. Representative John Carter.
Capital Metro will leverage approximately $400,000 in local matching funds to access the federal funding.
"Maintaining the Capital Metro fleet to a state of good repair is critical to our operation, and we're fortunate to have the support of our federal delegation in Washington," said Capital Metro President/CEO Linda S. Watson. "This funding will aid our efforts to stay on track with our bus replacement schedule."
As part of its long-range financial plan adopted in Dec. 2011, Capital Metro outlined a seven-year strategy that will replace a total of 292 vehicles (buses, vans and sedans).
Since that time, Capital Metro has put 28 new buses into service, and another 26 will be added to the fleet over the next few months.
"This grant will help ensure that Capital Metro is able to maintain a reliable and safe fleet for the thousands of Central Texans who depend on public transportation to get to work and school every day," said U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett. "I'm happy to continue working with Capital Metro to secure the federal funds necessary to keep Austin moving."
