BLOOMINGTON – Bloomington Transit (BT) will receive $1,100,000 in Bus Facilities Program funds to support ADA-Accessible Paratransit/Microtransit Vehicles and CAD/AVL (Computer-Aided Dispatch/Automatic Vehicle Location) Equipment Replacement and Upgrades.
Bloomington projects to be funded include:
- Six vehicles will be used to maintain paratransit service and enhance the agency’s on-demand offerings. Microtransit service will improve options for paratransit riders by creating accessible, curb-to-curb transportation without the current 24-hour advance reservation and adding transportation options for the wider Bloomington community.
- BT is receiving funding for the complete replacement and upgrade of its CAD/AVL hardware and equipment. BT’s current system, DoubleMap, has exceeded its useful life, and technical support for the platform from the vendor will be discontinued at the end of 2023. An upgrade of the hardware, equipment, and associated systems will provide more reliable bus-tracking and communication for riders and modernized monitoring features for agency staff.
Bloomington Transit continues to leverage the recently passed local income tax (LIT) funds to fully capitalize on the available federal funds. The transformative 2023 City of Bloomington budget’s $3,806,100 in transit investments are accelerating BT’s evolution and advancing the City’s Climate Change Preparedness and Mitigation efforts.
See below for an outline of the uses and sources of funds:
(6) Paratransit/Microtransit Vehicles <30’, ADA-Accessible: $625,000
CAD/AVL Equipment Replacement and Upgrade: $750,000
TOTAL PROJECT COST: $1,375,000
Federal Share (up to 80%): $1,100,000
Local match (City of Bloomington LIT): $275,000
“Bloomington is a growing and thriving city that benefits from Indiana’s best local public transportation system and from our embrace of climate mitigation efforts,” said Mayor John Hamilton. “Our unprecedented local investment in transit continues to leverage more federal funds to strengthen both of these building blocks for our future. I am grateful for Bloomington Transit’s strategic and successful pursuit of federal funds to keep improving our outstanding transportation system and to address the ever-present climate emergency.”
In 2022, BT was awarded $7 million in federal funds to add eight new electric buses to its fleet, advancing toward its goal of achieving a 60% Battery Electric fleet by the year 2030. Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Low or No Emission Program discretionary grant funds in the amount of $7,040,000 were secured for eight (8) zero-emission Battery Electric Buses (BEB) needed for transit service expansion.
“We will continue to pursue federal funding opportunities that align with BT’s bold vision for providing new and innovative transportation options to meet the needs of our community,” said BT General Manager John Connell.
The 2022 and 2023 funds enable BT to continue working toward the goals of the 2021 Bloomington Public Transit Corporation Alternative Fuels and Infrastructure Assessment Study, which recommends a long-range transition to alternative fuels for the BT fleet; and the goals of the City of Bloomington’s Climate Action Plan, which include reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
The Bloomington Transit System is managed by The Bloomington Public Transportation Corporation, which five board members serve. (https://bton.in/dBY-i).
Learn more about Bloomington Transit, including routes, schedules, and fares at: bloomingtontransit.com.
Read the Federal Transit Administration’s Bus and Bus Facilities Fact Sheet (Section 5339) at: https://bton.in/ocDcS.
