NEW ORLEANS — The New Orleans Regional Transit Authority received a $7.2 million grant from a federal agency to pay for 19 new buses to improve access to New Orleans East and the West Bank.
RTA CEO Alex Z. Wiggins announced the $7,246,315 Federal Transit Administration grant Monday in an email.
The new buses will help more people get to where they need to go, while reducing the RTA's carbon footprint with low-emissions vehicles, the CEO said.
"These new buses will also help us improve service in communities where increased access to transit is most needed, like East New Orleans and the West Bank," Wiggins said.
The 19 buses the funding was for will join 8 other buses that began working RTA routes in October. The New Orleans public transit system will get another 15 buses in 2020 from a different FTA grant awarded in 2018.
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said she's proud of her work with the RTA and FTA to upgrade the transit system.
"I personally told U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao how important a high-quality bus fleet is to New Orleans," the Mayor said. "We are laser-focused on ensuring our bus fleet is sufficient and sustainable so that we can continue to (expand) service and improve accessibility for all of our residents.”
RTA Chairman Flozell Daniels said the grant brings the New Orleans transit one step closer to delivering world-class transportation.
"We are committed to continuing this work to expand and improve transit service in a manner that helps to build healthy, prosperous and equitable communities,” Daniels said.
In addition to the $7.2 million award, the RTA committed a required $2.4 million in matching funds which are derived from a local 1-cent sales tax dedicated to public transit.
