An exciting day for Community Transit!
CEO Joyce Eleanor this morning testified before the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure in Washington, D.C. She discussed how Community Transit has spent the $17.5 million it received last year in federal stimulus funds through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009.
Joyce was one of two transit agency representatives on a panel that included an electrician from bus manufacturer New Flyer of America, the director of Baltimore's public works department and a construction worker from Columbus, Indiana.
She described the four Community Transit projects funded by the ARRA federal stimulus money:
Bus replacement - 23 double decker bus purchases, $10.7 million
Operations and preventative maintenance funding, $3.3 million
Bus replacement - hybrid bus cost differential, $3 million
Mountlake Terrace Transit Center parking lot redevelopment, $425,000
Joyce was introduced by U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Larsen was a member of the Community Transit Board of Directors when he was a Snohomish County Councilmember.
Joyce was asked by Committee Chair Rep. Jim Oberstar about the flexibility for transit agencies to use some federal funding for operations, not just capital. Joyce replied that flexibility is good but agencies still need capital funding to replace aging vehicles and facilities. More funding overall is needed, especially during these tough economic times.
See Joyce's testimony here. (Joyce starts about 1 hour and 15 minutes in.)
Read Joyce's testimony here.
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Will there be bus service on Thanksgiving? What about the other winter holidays? Budget cuts hurt riders.
ReplyDeleteNo service for ANY holidays.
ReplyDeleteThere are six "major" holidays on which there is no Community Transit bus service: New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanskgiving Day and Christmas Day.
ReplyDeleteThere are other days when Community Transit runs a reduced schedule, such as Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents Day, the day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. Service is not impacted on Columbus Day nor Veterans Day.