Wheels Receives $934,292 in Grants

The Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority (LAVTA), operator of Wheels Bus system, has received a total of $934,292 from the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) for projects that met the guidelines for the Public Transportation Modernization, Improvement and Service Enhancement Account (PTMISEA) Program.

The individual grants include $572,778 to be used to pay in part for new Wheels buses to be in service in 2016, and $361,514 for upgrades and improvements to facilities and parking lots.
“These grant monies offset operating funds which would have been used to pay for the new buses and improvement projects. As a result, this frees up money to provide better service to the residents of the Tri-Valley,” says Scott Haggerty, chair of the LAVTA Board of Directors.

The Public Transportation Modernization, Improvement, and Service Enhancement Account Program (PTMISEA) was created by Proposition 1B, the Highway Safety, Traffic Reduction, Air Quality, and Port Security Bond Act of 2006. Of the $19.925 billion available to Transportation, $3.6 billion dollars was allocated to PTMISEA to be available to transit operators over a ten-year period. PTMISEA funds may be used for transit rehabilitation, safety or modernization improvements, capital service enhancements or expansions, new capital projects, bus rapid transit improvements, or rolling stock (buses and rail cars) procurement, rehabilitation or replacement.