BATON ROUGE — The U.S. Transportation Department will provide $5.2 million to buy new buses for the East Baton Rouge Parish transit system.
The Advocate reports the money, in the form of a Federal Transit Authority grant, will supplement other system expansion funded by a property tax approved by parish voters in April.
Brian Marshall, CEO of the Capital Area Transit System, said the timing of the grant couldn’t be better, though the transit system was hoping for more dollars.
The system will buy 15 large vans and 12 buses, Marshall said. The vans hold about 20 passengers.
“It will give us an opportunity to get us the smaller vehicles that people have been asking about,” he said. The transit system had been criticized before April’s tax election for not using smaller, more efficient buses.
Marshall said the vans should be ready by the end of the year and the standard 35-foot buses will be in service by the end of 2013.
The system asked for $23 million in its grant application, Marshall said. He said he had hoped to replace all of the system’s vehicles.
However, the addition of the new vehicles will mean other older buses won’t be needed as frequently, and will last longer, he said.
With the planned purchases, the system’s fleet will grow to 84 vehicles.