April-May_2022 - 8

PEOPLE & PLACES
THE LASTEST INDUSTRY NEWS
purchase up to 85 zero-emission buses
from BYD in 2016 to become the first
U.S. agency to commit to a 100 percent
electric fleet; welcomed its first electric
vans and launched a microtransit pilot in
September 2020; christened its first battery-electric
commuter coach in August
2021; and decommissioned its last diesel
bus in April 2020.
MassTransitmag.com/21260726
MBTA
AN MBTA Green Line train breaks the ribbon to mark the opening of the new
branch.
MBTA's Union Square Branch of
Green Line Extension opens
Local, regional and federal officials joined other project stakeholders and
community partners to celebrate the opening of the Green Line Extension
(GLX) Union Square Branch with a ribbon-cutting event at the Union
Square Station and Lechmere Station. The new branch will extend the
northern end of the Green Line from Lechmere in East Cambridge to Union
Square in Somerville. Union Square Station will serve the Green Line's E
Branch as of opening day, but will switch to Green Line D Branch service
later this year when testing begins on the new Medford Branch. When
fully complete, Green Line trains will operate every five to six minutes in
the peak periods, providing fast and efficient service in areas that did not
previously have access to reliable public transit.
MassTransitmag.com/21261297
NJ Transit completes installation
of bus charging infrastructure
for pilot program
▶ New Jersey Transit (NJ Transit) finished
installing eight electric vehicle chargers
(EVCs) at the Newton Avenue Bus
Garage in Camden, N.J. The agency
has committed to transitioning its bus
fleet to 100 percent zero emissions by
2040 and the installation of the EVCs
is a step closer to deployment of NJ
Transit's first battery-electric buses later
in 2022. Scalfo Electric of Vineland, N.J.,
was awarded a $3.24 million contract in
September 2020 to renovate the Newton
Avenue Bus Garage with electric vehicle
charging stations and other associated
infrastructure modifications. In addition
to testing electric buses on NJ Transit's
system, the Camden project will review
the infrastructure resources and work
required to modernize the agency's bus
garages to accept new charging stations
and the significantly greater power feeds
needed to energize them.
MassTransitmag.com/21261452
AVTA
AVTA BOARD Chairman Marvin Crist
speaks at the authority's March 16
event marking its complete transition
to a zero-emissions fleet.
AVTA now operates North America's
first fully zero-emissions fleet
▶ Antelope Valley Transit Authority (AVTA)
held a celebration March 16 to mark its
complete transition to a zero-emissions
fleet. The final piece of its fleet came in
the form of its 20th electric MCI coach
for its commuter routes, which joins
AVTA's 57 BYD zero-emission buses and
10 GreenPower EV Star Microtransit vans.
AVTA credits its successful transition to
staying committed to the zero-emissions
vision outlined by its board. AVTA Board
of Directors approved a contract to
8 | Mass Transit | MassTransitmag.com | APRIL/MAY 2022
FTA awards $409.3 million to
bus and bus facility projects
▶ The Federal Transit Administration
(FTA) awarded 70 projects in 39 states
a combined $409.3 million through the
Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities Program.
The grant program supports communities
with funds to purchase buses
and related equipment to construct
bus-related facilities. FTA also opened
funding for the program's FY22 round
on March 8 through a joint $1.5 billion
Notice of Funding Opportunity with the
Low or No Emission Grant Program. The
FY22 Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities
Program has $372 million available for
grants. The administration notes that
under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law,
the Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities
Program has $5.1 billion in authorized
formula and competitive grant funding
over the next five years.
MassTransitmag.com/21260338
Continued ▶
http://www.MassTransitmag.com/21260726 http://www.MassTransitmag.com/21261452 http://www.MassTransitmag.com/21261297 http://www.MassTransitmag.com/21260338 http://www.MassTransitmag.com
April-May_2022

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