Texas To Receive $26 Million For Bus Projects

AUSTIN, TX —Texas cities and organizations will receive more than $26 million from the federal Bus & Bus Facilities Infrastructure Investment Program, the second most in the country. The two other states that will receive more money are Michigan and California with $29.3 million each, according to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).

The money is intended to rehabilitate and purchase buses and related equipment and construct bus-related facilities, including technological changes to modify low or no emission vehicles, the FTA said. The City of Wichita Falls in North Texas will receive $9.8 million to build a facility for the Wichita Falls Transit System and SHARP Lines Rural Transportation.

Check out where the rest of the $26 million is going in Texas below.

City Transit Management Company Inc. for the City of Lubbock; $2.5 million

Where the money is going: The City Transit Management Company Inc. for the City of Lubbock will receive funding for the purchase of new buses. The project will replace buses that have become unreliable, and have exceeded their useful life in terms of age and mileage.

Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council; $661,342

Where the money is going: The Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council will receive funding for the design and construction of new bus shelters. The project will provide improved shelters at high-ridership locations along a route connecting the cities of Brownsville, Harlingen, and Edinburg.

VIA Metropolitan Transit; $6 million

Where the money is going: VIA Metropolitan Transit in San Antonio will receive funding to relocate their paratransit operating and maintenance facility. The project will accommodate VIA's planned bus and van expansion.

Texas Department of Transportation; $7 million

Where the money is going: The Texas Department of Transportation (Austin) will receive funding to purchase buses for rural transit providers throughout the state. The project will replace vehicles that have exceeded their useful life.

City of Wichita Falls; $9.8 million

Where the money is going: The City of Wichita Falls will receive funding for a bus administration and maintenance facility for the Wichita Falls Transit System and SHARP Lines Rural Transportation. The project will improve maintenance and operational capacity as transit demand grows.

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Photo: The US Capitol can be seen as people sleep inside a Metro Bus parked at Union Station that is a designated a warming station for the homeless on January 22, 2014, in Washington, D.C. Mark Wilson/Getty Images