Rendering of $10.5 million expansion design of Jim West Regional Transit Center in Española. Courtesy/NCRDT
NCRTD News:
The North Central Regional Transit District (NCRTD) Blue Bus this week announced it has been awarded a $7.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Grants for Bus and Bus Facilities program.
Together with a $1.8 million matching grant from the State of New Mexico, a total of $9.2 million is now available for the District to implement the second and final phase of its plan to improve its Jim West Regional Transit Center headquarters and operations facility in Española.
“These grants mark a funding key milestone in the District’s Long-Range Plan to better serve communities across north central New Mexico,” NCRTD Executive Director Anthony Mortillaro said. “It will allow us to expand and remodel our headquarters that we’ve outgrown with improved facilities for our drivers and additional office space for our administrative and support staff.”
The Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities program provides federal funding through the Federal Transit Administration for transit agencies to buy and rehabilitate buses and vans and build and modernize bus facilities. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides nearly $2 billion through 2026 for the program. For Fiscal Year 2024, approximately $390 million was available for grants under this program. The funding, provided through competitive grants, was the result of a consolidated application between the District and New Mexico Department of Transportation. The federal funding is issued to the New Mexico Department of Transportation and distributed to the District.
“This announcement comes on the heels of the FTA’s recent RAISE Grant of $9.5 million for the District, bringing a total $18.7 million for funding the two projects with no local match requirement,” Mortillaro added. “We’re thankful for the efforts of our legislative delegation, the FTA, and the New Mexico DOT for their ongoing support of the District.”
Remodeling efforts for phase one of the Jim West headquarters building are anticipated to commence by September 2024, with a remodeling of a former maintenance bay into office space including break rooms and support facilities for drivers. The total project cost inclusive of both phases is estimated to be $11.7 million.
“Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we are creating new opportunities to improve the lives of millions of Americans who rely daily on buses,” FTA Acting Administrator Veronica Vanterpool said.
The North Central Regional Transit District Blue Bus connects communities and pueblos across 10,000 square miles throughout north central New Mexico, including Española, Los Alamos, Santa Fe and Taos. The signature Blue Bus™ provides service on 28 fixed routes, MyBlue™ on-demand ridesharing in Taos and Espanola, and ADA paratransit service. The District was named the 2024 Community Transit System of the Year – Small System by the Community Transportation System of America (CTAA).
