Colorado receives over $50 million in federal funding to improve public transportation

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Over $50 million in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) will go towards improving and modernizing bus systems across the state.

The funding includes nine grants from DOT’s Bus and Bus Facilities Grant Program and the Low or No Emission Grant Program, with funding made available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The nearly $52 million will help the state replace and rehabilitate buses and related equipment. It will also allow Colorado to construct new bus-related facilities and purchase zero-emission and low-emission transit buses.

According to U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, Bus and Bus Facilities Grant Program funding will go towards projects in six locations:

• Loveland: $3,967,007 – Construction of a transit center that will connect local bus routes and a regional bus line to improve safety and lessen construction.
• Fort Collins: $2,411,550 – Improving transit infrastructure to make it safer and more accessible.
• Telluride: $1,951,080 – Modernizing the Galloping Goose Transit Maintenance Facility to improve operations.
• Gunnison Valley: $1,516,108 – Funding the purchase of new buses to improve access and mobility for riders.
• Durango: $659,089 – Replacing aging buses and improving safety at bus stops.
• Archuleta County: $418,359 – Building a new park-and-ride facility in Aspen Springs to support a new bus route and improve public transportation access.

Funding from the Low or No Emission Grant Program will be used for the following:

• Roaring Fork Valley: $32,837,664 – Modernizing the Glenwood Springs Operations and Maintenance Facility to support a zero-emission bus fleet.
• Gypsum: $4,573,000 – Funding the purchase of hybrid-electric buses.
• Greeley: $3,508,404 – Funding the purchase of compressed natural gas buses for use on a new transit service between Greeley and Loveland.

“With funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, these investments will help Colorado communities make necessary improvements to their bus systems to cut emissions and better meet the needs of Coloradans who rely on public transit," Bennet said in a July 9 press release.