The Department of Transportation awarded $100 million in grants to several metropolitan transit authorities with a goal of reducing emissions and creating new jobs.
The grants are part of an ongoing effort by the government to reduce the environmental impact of the public transportation sector and to boost the efficiency of large, people moving vehicles.
Several of the grants will go directly to companies and transit groups to aid them in replacing outdated diesel buses with more efficient diesel electric hybrid buses and fully electric buses. Some grants will go to transportation agencies to help them fund solar energy installation projects.
Here's a rundown of some of the funding allocations. The Montgomery Alabama Transit Agency will receive funds to replace gasoline and diesel buses with electric hybrid buses. The Massachusetts Transit Agency will receive grant funding to construct turbines to generate electricity, and the Washington state region will use funding to install several solar panels at transit facilities throughout the state.
Though some of the funding will be used to put hybrid buses on the roads, most of the funding is aimed at creating new jobs. According to Peter Rogoff, administrator at the Federal Transit Administration, "These grants will put Americans to work now while improving our environment in the future. The transit industry continues to be at the forefront of reducing pollution and creating a cleaner, safer environment for our nation."
The grants are but one of several produced by the Obama Administration that are aimed at reducing pollution, creating jobs, putting more efficient vehicles on our roadways and promoting "green" vehicles.
Source: Edmunds.com
