WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Transit Administration (FTA) today announced a $40.9 million grant award to Milwaukee County for the East West Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Project in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The project will provide faster, more reliable transit service along the region’s busiest travel corridor from downtown Milwaukee to Marquette University and the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center.

"This $40.9 million federal grant will provide Milwaukee residents increased access to jobs, healthcare, educational opportunities, and other community services," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao.

The Milwaukee County project is a 9-mile BRT line from downtown Milwaukee to the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center, of which a four-mile segment will operate in exclusive bus lanes. The total cost of the project is $55.1 million with $40.9 million in funding provided through FTA’s Capital Investment Grants (CIG) Program.

"FTA is proud to join our partners in Wisconsin to improve public transportation in Milwaukee," said FTA Deputy Administrator K. Jane Williams. "The East West BRT project will provide fast and efficient service, improving mobility and travel times in this busy corridor."

Williams added "This federal investment is an economic boost for Milwaukee County as the project will create jobs and help communities continue to recover from the COVID-19 public health emergency."

Funding for the East West BRT project is provided through FTA's Capital Investment Grants (CIG) Program, which provides funding for major transit infrastructure projects nationwide. Projects accepted into the program must go through a multi-year, multi-step process according to requirements in law to be eligible for consideration to receive program funds. 

With this announcement, FTA has advanced funding for 40 new CIG projects throughout the nation under the Trump administration since January 20, 2017, totaling approximately $10.7 billion in funding commitments.

Dec. 8—EAU CLAIRE — Instead of regular city buses on a route that gets few riders on weeknights and Saturdays, a new study says Eau Claire could instead consider starting an on-demand public vehicle service. 

Among the many recommendations contained in a 295-page Transit Development Plan presented Monday night to the Eau Claire City Council is the idea of using a smartphone app and smaller vehicles to replace a bus currently serving part of the north side.

"The user experience would be a lot like Uber or Lyft," said Joseph Kapper, who served as project manager from consultant firm SRF on the transit study.  Read more:

A new rapid bus service connecting downtown Milwaukee to the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center in Wauwatosa should be operating by October 2022.

That's according to a report provided Wednesday to the County Board's Transportation, Public Works and Transit Committee.

Construction on the new service, known as the East-West Bus Rapid Transit, is to begin in 2021, said Mike Zabel, a project manager at HNTB Corp., which is overseeing the project for the Milwaukee County Transit System.

The $55 million project is being funded mainly with a $40.9 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration. The remaining funds are coming from Milwaukee County.  Read more

Owosso, Michigan-based Indian Trails — now in its third generation of continuous family ownership — was founded in 1910 and grew over the past century to become one of the major private bus companies in the Midwest. Now with roughly 80 buses in its fleet, the firm transports close to 2 million passengers annually through its scheduled intercity service, private charters, contract shuttles, and Michigan Flyer airport shuttle.

But when the pandemic began to take hold in March, Indian Trails' 110 years of business was upended virtually overnight.  Read more

Twenty-eight community transportation projects received more than $14 million in funding through the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP). These projects are designed to strengthen the intermodal transportation system. Awarded projects expand travel choice, strengthen the local economy, improve the quality of life, and protect the environment by supporting non-traditional projects linked to the transportation system.

“Thank you to a broad coalition of representatives from across Wisconsin for helping select projects that will create safer routes to school, stronger communities and more travel options,” Craig Thompson, WisDOT Secretary-designee said. “Trails and paths not only support many uses, they grow local economies and improve the quality of life.”

A Statewide Selection Committee reviews the applications and recommends projects for the WisDOT Secretary approval.  The committee includes representatives from the Wisconsin State Senate and Assembly, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Bike Federation of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Counties Association,  and WisDOT.

TAP is a reimbursement program and are generally funded 80 percent federally, with a 20 percent local match. Federal funds are capped at the award amount listed in the table below.​​  Click here for more information.

In a private meeting today, House Democratic Leaders indicated that the House of Representatives may consider a new, approximately $2.4 trillion COVID-19 bill next week. This bill will provide $1 trillion less than the Heroes Act, which passed the House in May. (The Heroes Act included $15.75 billion of emergency transit funding.) This new legislation is an effort by House Democrats to offer a “compromise bill” and restart the COVID-19 negotiations with the White House and Senate Republicans.

We urge you to contact your Representatives today and urge them to include $32 billion of emergency transit funding in the new COVID-19 bill.

Although the $25 billion of CARES Act funding has served as a lifeline for public transit, more than 93 percent of these funds are obligated.

If Congress does not provide $32 billion of additional COVID-19 emergency transit funding, more than 6 in 10 public transit agencies will have to cut transit service or furlough staff. Eight in 10 large agencies are also considering delaying, deferring, or cancelling capital projects to close their budget gaps. Similarly, nearly one-half of transit businesses expect to be forced to lay off employees without additional emergency funding. In addition, one-third of transit businesses are concerned that they may go out of business due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Please click here to view APTA’s COVID-19 Pandemic Threatens Public Transit Jobs and Service Policy Brief.

Please click here to view APTA’s COVID-19 Pandemic Threatens Public Transit Businesses Policy Brief.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 15, 2020) – Six in 10 public transit systems will need to reduce service and furlough employees in the coming months without an additional $32 billion in emergency federal funding from Congress, according to new data released today by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). In addition, nearly one-half of public transit industry businesses (47 percent) expect to lay off employees, and nearly one-third of transit industry businesses (31 percent) are concerned that they may go out of business if additional federal funding is not provided.

APTA is urging Congressional leaders and the Administration to move swiftly and include at least $32 billion in emergency funding to keep systems running safely and to protect the jobs of more than 435,000 industry workers and several million private-sector jobs that support the industry every day.

 “Congress and the Administration are disregarding the essential lifeline that public transit plays in our communities. Our request for $32 billion is necessary to avoid catastrophic decisions that will only hurt our riders, our communities, and the nation” said APTA President and CEO Paul P. Skoutelas. “The industry continues to serve essential employees every day, but without additional emergency funding, many transit agencies will soon need to cut transit services and routes and furlough transit workers, leaving our communities without service and jobs when they need them most.”

Read more here....

Washington, DC. - Representatives Jesús “Chuy” García (IL-04), Gwen Moore (WI-04), Jerrold Nadler (NY-10), and Mark Takano (CA-41) led 106 Members of Congress in urging Congressional leadership to support public transportation agencies, including their workers, in the next relief package addressing the COVID-19 public health emergency.

“Transit agencies have kept our economy running through these most uncertain times. Without the daily sacrifice and bravery of the many frontline, essential workers operating our transit systems, many working class families would lack access to health care, jobs, and essential services. Now, transit agencies like CTA, Pace Bus, and Metra in Chicago need our support,” said Rep. García. “Congress must support the ongoing operation of transit systems and keep our economy moving. For communities of color and working class families, public transit is a literal lifeline. We cannot afford to exclude them from the next relief package."

More information..

Any local public transportation coalition is eligible, provided it has the support of the local APTA member(s) and makes a pledge to become a member in good standing of the National Alliance of Public Transportation Advocates (NAPTA) before receiving a grant. Membership in NAPTA is free. For this grant program, a coalition is defined as a collection of groups and/or individuals joined together for the common purpose of promoting transit. An APTA public transit system member may apply for the funds on behalf of a coalition or a coalition may apply directly for the funds. Grant applications will be solicited until August 21, 2020.

More here...

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) is in the process of developing its new 30-year transportation plan, called Connect 2050 and is seeking input to help shape the future of transportation in the state.

“Transportation impacts nearly every aspect of your life,” said WisDOT Secretary-designee Craig Thompson. “The time it takes you to travel to work, school or vacation, the cost of the products you buy, and your ability to get around without driving, all depend on a safe, effective transportation system. These factors affect your quality of life and we want you to be involved in planning Wisconsin’s transportation future.”

Link