Now more than ever, we need more transportation options.
Here is the Press Release from the Texas Department of Transportation:
On a sweltering summer day in Texas, Linda Duran rode in air-conditioning on her way home from seeing her husband at the nursing home. She was taking a public transit service she uses every day to also get to work and the grocery store, and now TxDOT is investing nearly $150 million to help people like Duran across the state.
On July 12, the Texas Transportation Commission awarded more than $68 million in federal and state funds to transit providers across the state. Combined with an award granted in June, TxDOT is distributing more than $146 million in funding, a 65% increase compared to funds approved in the summer of 2021. This increase is partly due to additional federal funds from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
The money will help make Duran’s daily rides more comfortable and easier to access. Across the state, the funds will make transit safer and more reliable, ensuring Texans have access to jobs, schools, healthcare and other important destinations and services.
In the Atlanta District, funds include $89,400 for the Ark-Tex Council of Governments, an agency that serves Bowie, Cass, Morris and Titus Counties. The East Texas Council of Governments will receive $350,164. That agency serves Camp, Harrison, Marion, Panola and Upshur Counties.
“This funding is critical to ensuring everyone in Texas, especially in rural areas, has access to where they need to go safely and reliably,” TxDOT Transportation Commissioner Alvin New said. “Many people across the state rely on these services for basic life needs because they have no other option. We’re excited to help fund these agencies as they continue to help the people of Texas.”
Transit agencies can use this funding to cover maintenance costs, buy new buses, build new facilities and expand their services to pick up more people. Here are some specific examples:
- Concho Valley Transit District in San Angelo will build a bus storage and in-house maintenance facility.
- Rural Economic Assistance League (REAL), which serves nine counties in the Coastal Bend area of South Texas, will build a multimodal transit facility after doubling its service area over the past several years.
- Texoma Area Paratransit System, Inc. (TAPS), which serves six counties near the Oklahoma border, is bringing administration and transportation functions from leased space to a new facility.
- Brazos Transit District, which serves seven counties in the Brazos Valley, will expand its service and add fuel vehicles on site.
These state and federal funds support rural and urban transit services in over 90% of the state’s land area, serving more than a third of the state’s population.The services these agencies provide vary but can include both pick up at designated locations and taking customers to and from their homes.
More information about the Texas Department of Transportation.