MAYOR CANTRELL CONGRATULATES RTA ON RECEIVING $7.2M FTA GRANT TO PURCHASE 19 NEW BUSES

“Maintaining and upgrading our transit infrastructure has been a priority of our transportation work, in collaboration with the RTA. Since taking office, we have helped guide the leadership transition, supported RTA’s efforts to ensure a high-functioning management structure, and met the needs of our residents by improving and increasing routes and times — as we recently did for Algiers and New Orleans East,” said Mayor Cantrell. “I’m proud to say that this is the second bus grant that has been awarded during my administration, after I personally told U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao how important a high-quality bus fleet is to New Orleans. We are laser-focused on ensuring our bus fleet is sufficient and sustainable so that we can continue to expend service and improve accessibility for all of our residents.”

The award is part of the FTA’s Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities Program, which makes federal resources available to replace, rehabilitate and purchase buses and related equipment. The program also allows for construction to bus-related facilities including technological changes or innovations to modify low or no emission vehicles or facilities.

“Providing reliable, safe transit options to our riders is a paramount priority of the New Orleans RTA,” said RTA CEO Alex Z. Wiggins. “This grant award will not only better connect our riders to the places they live, work and play, these new buses will also help us improve service in communities where increased access to transit is most needed, like East New Orleans and the West Bank, while also reducing our carbon footprint with low-emissions vehicles."

“Today, we are one step closer to the RTA Board of Commissioners delivering on our promise to deliver a world-class transportation system for our riders and those who advocate on the rider’s behalf,” said RTA Board Chair Flozell Daniels, Jr. “We are committed to continuing this work to expand and improve transit service in a manner that helps to build healthy, prosperous and equitable communities.”

This funding for 19 new buses is in addition to the eight buses that were introduced into RTA service in October 2019 and funded by a 2015 Obama Administration’s Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery VII (TIGER) grant award. And, another 15 buses, slated to enter service in 2020, which were funded by a Fiscal Year 2018 $6.4 million FTA grant award to acquire 40-foot biodiesel buses.

To learn more about RTA, visit www.RTAforward.org.

SOURCE: City of New Orleans