Economic recovery act allocates $15M to Grand Rapids transit improvements

Substantial federal funding for a bus Rapid transit line, operations expansion and other improvements are slated for Grand Rapids’ growing public transit. In accord with The Rapid’s proven track record on sustainability plans will follow LEED design guidelines.

According to excerpts from the story:

The economic recovery act has been very good to public transit in greater Grand Rapids

“It is truly meaningful for us, and I suspect it is for anybody who has been needing money and was ready to go on projects, whether it be purchasing new buses or expanding a facility like us,” said Peter Varga, executive director of The Rapid. “I hear from a lot of my transit friends across the country that they’re very pleased to be able to move projects forward.”

The bill includes an extra $600,000 for the Silver Line bus rapid transit line under the federal government’s Capital Investments program, an amount that will cover part of the environmental work and some of the preliminary engineering for the bus rapid transit project, Varga said.

Read the complete story here.

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