Press Release!
Omnitrans Bus Rapid Transit Service Recommended for Federal Funding
The Federal Transit Administration has announced its plans to recommend an additional $42.6 million in funding for Omnitrans’ planned bus rapid transit (BRT) service between northern San Bernardino and Loma Linda under President Obama’s FY-2011 budget proposal to Congress.
The amount tops the $32.37 million recommended last May for the current fiscal year and represents the balance of the maximum amount allowed under FTA’s Small Starts program for the E Street Corridor sbX BRT Project. At the time, the FY-2010 funding recommendation was the third-largest amount proposed in the history of the Small Starts program. The current-year budget proposal has yet to be voted on by Congress.
“What is significant about this action is the amount being recommended, which is unprecedented,” said CEO/General Manager Milo Victoria. “This is a clear sign of federal confidence in this project, which will create jobs, increase travel options and help revitalize downtown San Bernardino,” he said.
The 15.7-mile BRT route is the first of 10 San Bernardino Express (sbX) lines planned for the Omnitrans service area, which includes 15 cities in southern California’s San Bernardino Valley. Scheduled for construction in January 2011 and operation in 2013, the E Street Corridor Project features 16 station locations and is designed to provide a light-rail type of experience on rubber tires, with platform level boarding, landscaped stations, public art and 60-foot-long coaches.
If the sbX funding recommendations for 2010 and 2011 are approved by Congress, they will represent a significant down payment of the project’s nearly $192 million in capital costs. Omnitrans already has secured nearly $13 million in funding from a variety of sources - including Measure I, the half-cent sales tax for transportation improvements approved by San Bernardino County voters in 2006 - and will continue to pursue additional federal, state and local funds for the balance of the project.
