Dearborn, MI – New buses running on clean fuels are coming to Ann Arbor. Congressman John D. Dingell (D-MI15) announced today that the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority (TheRide) will receive $1,697,350 from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). The system will use the grant to supplement existing funding to enable the purchase of 10 hybrid electric buses in 2011.

“The citizens and merchants of the Ann Arbor area rely on TheRide to bring the community together, and demand for TheRide continues to increase,” Dingell said.  “TheRide, Ann Arbor's bus system, provides six million rides per year. Residents and students in the area depend on TheRide to serve as a reliable and affordable alternative to driving their own vehicles. The Ann Arbor area is committed to protecting the air we breathe and the environment we live in.  These buses will help TheRide provide improved and energy-efficient service.”

The new funding will allow TheRide to continue in its commitment to using cleaner energy vehicles instead of conventional diesel buses. The purchase of 10 hybrid electric vehicles will increase the number of hybrids in the fleet to 41 out of a total of 78 buses. In its first two years of operating with hybrid vehicles, TheRide saved more than 100,000 gallons of fuel and $270,000 in fuel costs, a 30 percent savings.
 
This grant comes from the Clean Fuels Bus and Bus Facilities Program, which assists Clean Air Act nonattainment and maintenance areas in achieving or maintaining the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for ozone and carbon monoxide, and supports emerging clean fuel and advanced propulsion technologies for transit buses and markets for those technologies.

This month, the Congressman has been pleased to announce transportation grants for:
•    $1.013 million in federal investment to go towards improvements on the Blake Transit Center in downtown Ann Arbor,
•    $13.9 million to the Ann Arbor Bridges project; this funding will allow the City of Ann Arbor to reconstruct a critical corridor connecting downtown to  the University of Michigan (UM), Washtenaw County and the State of Michigan; and,
•    $150 million to develop a high-speed rail corridor between Kalamazoo and Dearborn.

“Investing in infrastructure projects will help put people to work now and make are community more livable and vibrant for the long term,” Dingell said.  “I thank DOT for this help.”