Federal funds help buy new buses
Lawrence is getting an extra $1M from the federal government to help buy new buses. Enlarge video
Lawrence’s transit system is getting another $1 million in federal stimulus funds to help replace vehicles in its aging bus fleet.
The Kansas Department of Transportation announced the grant Thursday morning. The money is part of $14 million being distributed to rural and urban transit systems in the state.
Lawrence already had received $1.93 million through the act, which is pumping a total of nearly $30 million into the state’s transit systems. The city plans to spend stimulus money to acquire vehicles that rely on biodiesel and hybrid power; some of the new buses are expected to be smaller than those now in service.
The Topeka Metropolitan Transit Authority will receive $2 million for vehicle replacement.
Leavenworth County will get $155,000, as part of a pool of 10 transit providers sharing $4.6 million. Such investments must be for capital projects — such as buying vehicles and dispatching equipment, or building vehicle stops, shelters or other buildings — and must be started within 180 days.
KDOT also said it would devote $3.5 million to upgrading 15 radio towers around the state to support local transit services, allowing providers to communicate with their vehicles over longer distances. The towers are in Cloud, Dickinson, Ellis, Ellsworth, Hamilton, Jewell, Kearny, Lane, McPherson, Mitchell, Osborne, Rooks, Russell, Scott and Washington counties.
The stimulus program — formally known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act — also requires that 15 percent of the $14 million set aside for rural transit must be used for transit between cities. To meet that standard, KDOT decided to dedicate $2 million for an intercity bus service envisioned between Wichita and Salina, and between Wichita and Pueblo, Colo.
In May, KDOT expects to seek proposals from private bus services and then select a provider. KDOT leaders say they are coordinating with officials in Colorado to develop the service.
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gccs14r (anonymous) says…
There should be a commuter rail system that links up Nortonville, Valley Falls, Winchester, and McLouth to Oskaloosa, then Oskaloosa to Billtown, where folks can catch the Topeka-Lawrence line to get to either Topeka or Lawrence.
lawrence_citizen (anonymous) says…
Maybe some routes can be added so it doesn't take over an hour to travel across town. I think if it was a little more convenient, it would get used a lot more.
SettingTheRecordStraight (anonymous) says…
Have you ever watched a teenager make one bone-headed decision after another, when all you can do is cringe at his incompetence? That's how I feel every time I read new news about the emp-T. Unfortunately, with the emp-T, we're all paying for that teenager's ineptitude.
cheeseburger (anonymous) says…
By all means, keep throwing money at this albatross without the benefit of a cost-benefit analysis! The left sayeth 'we're going to spend way more for buses than we ought to just because we can and because it feels good.' Gimme a break!
YouPeopleAreCrazy (anonymous) says…
Empty State of the Art green buses driving around on potholed and flooded roads, stopping at ancient "dumb" stoplights and gridlock'd on 23rd and 6th St.
Yeah Lawrence?
xbusguy (chris Ogle) says…
lawrence_citizen (Anonymous) says…
Maybe some routes can be added so it doesn't take over an hour to travel across town. I think if it was a little more convenient, it would get used a lot more.
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Good point, but cabs would save the taxpayers money, compared to additional routes.
just_another_bozo_on_this_bus (anonymous) says…
If you design a crappy system, you get crappy service, and a limited number of users. That's what we've had up to now. Building a good system will cost money.
And it's kinda funny how almost to a person, those who say you can't solve this problem by "throwing money at it" would never make the same argument about government spending they like, such as the Pentagon or highway systems or tax abatements.
xbusguy (chris Ogle) says…
Bozo- I agree we have limited ridership. Do you think that might have something to do with the size of the city?
My guess is that most Lawrence folks (in general) don't have the patience or the need for mass transit. Demand response system would offer better service, and cost less per rider for those who need it. Why do we keep banging our heads against the wall on this.
SettingTheRecordStraight (anonymous) says…
If government would only tax and spend on those projects that the private sector and private citizens cannot reasonably provide for themselves (national defense, infrastructure, a police force, the courts, firefighters), we wouldn't even have these discussions about how inefficient our transit system is.
BorderRat (anonymous) says…
Isn’t the definition of insanity “Doing the same thing and expecting a different outcome?”
just_another_bozo_on_this_bus (anonymous) says…
Isn’t the definition of insanity “Doing the same thing and expecting a different outcome?”
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Which explains perfectly well why the social engineering of the consumer culture and suburban sprawl has left us with so many looming disasters.
absolutelyridiculous (anonymous) says…
And why do we need to replace these already? Seems like they are in perfect condition after just cruising around empTy most of the time. If were were truly a "green" community, we would maintain and repair the existing busses. I'm getting taxed again for senseless crap. We do like to chase our tails don't we?
xbusguy (chris Ogle) says…
"We do like to chase our tails don't we?"
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Our fine city loves to chase that "free fed money" which has never, ever, been free.
jafs (anonymous) says…
bozo,
I disagree.
Changing the system to a grid system would be more efficient and make the system more usable by most people without spending a ton of money.
I have made this comment numerous times to various officials in City Hall, including Galante and his interim replacement.
It baffles me that this is not going to be done, even with the sales tax and the stimulus money.
There isn't even a bus that runs on Iowa from 9th to 31st - ridiculous.
justforfun (anonymous) says…
Where are all the people defending the MT, you know the 70% that voted for it. Or maybe they are just a tad bit embaressesd of how things are proceededing.
gl0ck0wn3r (anonymous) says…
Perhaps they can recycle the seats since they haven't seen much usage.