The California Department of Transportation issued $146 million from state’s Low Carbon Transit Operations Program on July 25 to fund 180 local mass transit projects that aim to “increase the convenience, capacity, and ridership of buses and trains” across California.
[Above photo by the L. A. County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.]
Bob Franzoia, acting director of Caltrans, added in a statement that more than $142 million and 160 of those projects will specifically benefit “disadvantaged communities, low-income communities, or low-income households within a half-mile of a disadvantaged community.”
Agencies that received funding from this round of LCTOP grants include:
- Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority: $36.6 million for two projects to expand service on the Expo and Gold Lines.
- Sacramento Regional Transit District: $3.5 million for three projects to expand light-rail services for South Sacramento, Sunrise to Folsom, and expanded service to and from Downtown Sacramento’s Golden1 Center.
- City of Fresno Department of Transportation: $1.1 million for two projects that aim to expand weekday night service and increasing frequency on weekend service.
- San Diego Metropolitan Transit System: $6.2 million to help maintain funding an 11-vehicle zero emission bus pilot program, which includes nine electric buses, two hydrogen buses, and 12 depot chargers.
- Lake Transit: $127,647 to purchase and install a solar canopy to enhance transit operations and utilize renewable energy to decrease operational costs.
Created in 2014, LCTOP is one of several state programs tagged to the California Climate Investments fund, which is financed through auction proceeds from the California Air Resources Board’s Cap-and-Trade Program.