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Funding sought for expanded Bikes on Buses program |
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Written by Administrator
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Thursday, 06 July 2000 |
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Ride your bike to the bus stop and hop on mass transit. And when you get where you're going, take your bike off the bus and ride on to your ultimate destination. Mass transit can work better in a low-density setting, and bicycling works even if the distances are too far to ride. Could it really happen in Houston?
METRO has asked the Houston-Galveston Area Council (HGAC) to amend the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) to include CMAQ funding for fleetwide bike racks on all of its buses. The project cost for the 1400 buses is $1.5 million, at a proposed local match cost of 20% or $300,000. Metro is diverting funds programmed for signal synchronization outside the Beltway 8 to pay for the bike racks. If you support the concept of bike access to mass transportation, you should support this project. However, if you also support efficient leveraging of Federal transportation dollars, you should know that Section 5319 funds provide for 95% Federal funding of bike racks on buses, rather than the 80% under the CMAQ program under which the TIP project is currently proposed. This would reduce METRO's cost for the racks to just $75,000, a savings of $225,000. There will be a public hearing on this and other proposed TIP amendments Thursday, July 13, 2000, 5:00 p.m. at the HGAC offices, 3555 Timmons Lane, Conference Room A, second floor. Comments can be submitted to Mr. Rick Beverlin, Sr. Transportation Planner, tel. 713.627.3200, via email to
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, or fax 713.993.4508. |
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