Chatham Area Transit has been awarded a $1.6 million federal grant to purchase 26 paratransit vehicles.
The U. S. Department of Transportation announced the selections for Fiscal Year 2016 Bus and Bus Facilities Projects that will help provide more modern, reliable bus services for transit riders across the country. Sixty-one projects in 41 states, the Virgin Islands, and Indian Country will receive a share of nearly $211 million to replace, rehabilitate, and purchase transit buses and related equipment and to construct bus-related facilities.
The funds are from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities program (49 U.S.C. 5339). This program makes federal resources available to states and direct recipients to replace and purchase buses and related equipment.
CAT applied for the Bus and Bus Facilities Grant in May 2016 and was the only transit property in the State of Georgia to be selected through a highly competitive process to receive this grant. FTA received 284 applications totaling $1.64 billion from 236 applicants in 47 states.
The amount awarded to CAT from the FTA is $1,608,880, which will cover 80% of the total cost for CAT to replace its current fleet of aging paratransit vehicles. The local match will be $689,000.
“We are excited to be a recipient of this grant. This grant will allow CAT to replace a large portion of our paratransit fleet,” said Curtis Koleber, CAT Interim CEO. “The new vehicles will help CAT provide improved service for individuals who depend on paratransit for trips to work, school, and healthcare.”
CAT’s paratransit service is a demand-response service. The program provides shared-ride, door-to-door transportation using specialized vehicles for eligible individuals who are unable to use fixed route bus service due to a permanent or temporary physical or mental disability. CAT provided over 86,000 paratransit passenger trips in 2014 and has grown by an average of 5.8% annually for the past 7 years. The grant will be used to replace paratransit vehicles that are beyond their useful life in age and mileage.