Maryland will receive more than $60 million in federal funding to modernize its bus system, Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks and five of the state’s representatives announced Thursday.
The lawmakers, all Democrats, said the investment will help improve transit reliability and reduce emissions for “the thousands of Marylanders” who depend on public transportation.
“We are continuing to invest in public transportation that supports our growing communities while producing fewer emissions and keeping the region’s economy moving forward,” they said in a joint Friday statement.
Reps. Kweisi Mfume, a Democrat who represents Maryland’s 7th District, and Andy Harris, a Republican who represents Maryland’s 1st District, were notably absent from the announcement.
The funds, provided through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Low or No Emission Grant Program and the Buses and Bus Facilities Program, will be split between the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) and Charles County, the site of a new transit facility.
WMATA is slated to receive a little over $50 million to replace 50 buses with 40-foot diesel-electric hybrid models, which the Friday press release said is expected to reduce the bus system’s fuel consumption by about 51,000 gallons a year.
The remaining $10 million will support the construction of a Charles County maintenance and operations facility for its VanGO transit service.
The announcement comes a few months after Van Hollen, Alsobrooks and Rep. April McClain Delaney secured more than $2.8 million in federal transportation funds for a new bus facility in Washington County.
Washington County also received transit funds through the Maryland Electric School Bus Grant Program, which provides $12 million in grants for electric buses and charging infrastructure across seven school districts statewide. Under this program, the Washington County Board of Education received a $100,000 grant for Fiscal Year 2025, according to the Maryland Energy Administration.
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