Transit systems in Ann Arbor and Detroit are splitting more than $55 million in federal funding to purchase hydrogen-powered and diesel-electric hybrid buses.
Federal officials announced Tuesday that the Detroit Department of Transportation is receiving $30.7 million and the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority is getting $25 million.
Veronica Vanterpool is the acting administrator of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). She says investing in American-made green transportation will help grow the use of public transit.
“We understand that there’s a big push for public transportation in this state,” said Vanterpool. “This is also a state and cities that have strong transit ridership.”
These grants are part of about $1.5 billion in federal grant dollars being announced this week to support 117 public transportation projects in 47 states.
Two other Michigan projects are receiving money from the federal program.
The Harbor Transit Multi-Modal Transportation System in Grand Haven is getting $16 million for the design and construction of a multi-modal system operations center to accommodate the transition to a zero-emission fleet, with fueling and charging equipment,
The Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi is receiving $539,000 to replace an outdated diesel-powered vehicle with a new clean diesel bus.
Under the federal Infrastructure Law, FTA has awarded nearly $5 billion in the past three years to replace and modernize transit buses on America’s roadways, building new technology with American workers. U.S. factories will produce more than 4,600 new buses.
