TxDOT APPROVES $146 MILLION FOR STATEWIDE TRANSIT IMPROVEMENTS

  

TxDOT is investing nearly $150 million to upgrade transit services across the state.

On Tuesday, the Texas Transportation Commission awarded over $68 million in federal and state funds to transit providers.  That combines with an award granted in June to bring TxDOT’s total funding distribution to $146 million, 65 percent more when compared to funds approved in the summer of 2021.  The increase is partly due to additional federal funds from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

According to a release from TxDOT, the funding will be used to make transit safer and more reliable, ensuring Texans have access to jobs, schools, healthcare and other important destinations and services.

TxDOT Transportation Commissioner Alvin New said the funding “is critical to ensuring everyone in Texas, especially in rural areas, has access to where they need to go safely and reliably.”

Transit agencies can use the funding to cover maintenance costs, buy new buses, build new facilities and expand their services to pick up more people.  One example is the Brazos Transit District, serving seven counties in the Brazos Valley, which will expand its service and add fuel vehicles on site.  Other agencies that will benefit include the Concho Valley Transit District in San Angelo, the Rural Economic Assistance League in the Coastal Bend area, and the Texoma Area Paratransit System near the Oklahoma border.

The approved state and federal funds support rural and urban transit services, which support more than a third of the state’s population.  Services include picking up customers at designated locations and taking them to and from their homes.