Central Nova News

Rep. Don Beyer on June 27 applauded news that the City of Alexandria has received a grant of nearly $24 million from the Biden-Harris Administration’s infrastructure law to put cleaner buses on the road and improve transit service. The grants, administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration, were made possible by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which Rep. Beyer strongly supported. The bipartisan infrastructure legislation was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Biden in 2021.

“The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is making our air cleaner, our region more connected, and our economy stronger,” said Beyer. “These smart investments will help reduce emissions and create new jobs in Northern Virginia, throughout the region, and across the country. When we put our constituents and communities first, we can grow the middle class and rebuild America’s crumbling infrastructure. This is the way.”

Grants announced also included $104 million for Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) to support electric bus purchases and infrastructure, a massive investment in bus upgrades and emissions reduction for WMATA’s bus fleet.

The grants were competitive. There were five times as many requests for funding than was available. In total, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced nearly $1.7 billion for transit projects in 46 states, territories, and D.C. during the round of funding. The funding also includes support for workforce training, registered apprenticeships, and project labor agreements, ensuring good-paying jobs into the future.

“Every day, over 60,000 buses in communities of all sizes take millions of Americans to work, school, and everywhere else they need to go,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “on June 27 announcement means more clean buses, less pollution, more jobs in manufacturing and maintenance, and better commutes for families across the country.”  

The projects are supported by FTA’s Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities and Low- and No-Emission (Low-No) Vehicle programs. They make funding available to help transit agencies buy or lease American-built low- or zero-emission vehicles, including buses and vans; make facility and station upgrades to accommodate low- or zero-emission vehicles; and purchase supporting equipment like chargers for battery electric vehicles. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides $5.5 billion through Fiscal Year 2026 for the Low-No Program – more than six times greater than the previous five years of funding combined.  

Original source can be found here.