The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced last week that North Carolina will receive more than $176 million in public transit funding – including more than $45 Million in funding for rural transit services – as part of the Federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
“We are so pleased with the bipartisan effort that has taken place to get us to this point,” said state Transportation Secretary Eric Boyette. “Public transit is the backbone of so many communities in North Carolina. This funding will go a long way in continuing to support them.”
The funds will increase by 25 percent the $140 million received from the FTA in the last fiscal year. The N.C. Department of Transportation’s Integrated Mobility Division will distribute over $45 million to rural and small urban transit agencies with the rest going directly to large urban transit systems. Large urban transit systems are those that serve areas with populations over 200,000.
The increase in funding will allow public transit systems to replace aging vehicles with new ones and hire additional operators. Many of the new vehicles are expected to be zero-emission vehicles, as part of the state’s plan to convert public fleets to more environmentally-friendly vehicles.
Additional funding will also allow public transit systems to adopt new technologies to improve service, such as on-demand microtransit and cashless pay systems. NCDOT has previously supported the development of microtransit services in Wilson and the Wilmington area.
Contributed.
