Press release from the City of Gainesville
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The City of Gainesville’s Regional Transit System (RTS) has been awarded a $10,263,750 federal grant to support a series of transportation improvements, including $8.2 million from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), with the remaining $2 million in Toll Development Credits. The funded projects include construction of a new Westside Bus Transfer Station and Park-and-Ride facility, ADA accessibility upgrades to bus stops, and the replacement of aging paratransit vehicles.
This award comes at a pivotal moment for RTS, which on March 1 officially brought ADA paratransit transportation in-house with the launch of a new service called RTS Plus. Previously supported by an outside vendor, a recent multi-year study indicated that paratransit would be more sustainable and cost-effective for the City if operated within RTS. The department owns 21 suitable vans and, over the past several months, newly-assigned paratransit drivers have mastered daily routes and door-to-door service procedures…