U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-08), a member of the House Ways and Means Committee who served for a decade on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, today announced New Jersey Transit will receive $76 million to purchase new hybrid and compressed natural gas (CNG) buses, which will replace buses that have exceeded their useful lives while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.  The grant is part of $787 million in federal funding announced today that will put Americans to work modernizing and replacing aging transit facilities and vehicles to meet the growing demand from millions of riders across the country.

"Investing in New Jersey's transit system is a proven way to to create jobs, which is exactly what we will do by doubling the fleet of fuel-efficient buses in New Jersey.  The Garden State’s productivity and mobility are dependent upon a robust transportation system.  Commuters who rely on mass transit every day to get to their workplaces will now experience improved travel times thanks to new hybrid and CNG-powered buses.  These new buses will decrease fuel consumption while reducing the amount of dangerous emissions into New Jersey's air, saving money for users and creating a safer and cleaner environment for future generations."

Demand for the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) FY2012 State of Good Repair and Bus Livability funds was overwhelming, reinforcing the need for infrastructure investment nationwide. FTA received 836 project applications totaling $4 billion in requests. In FY2010 and FY2011, FTA awarded a total of more than $1.8 billion in grants for hundreds of state of good repair projects, primarily involving buses and bus facilities.

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