BEAUMONT, Texas — Beaumont Municipal Transit will be using a $2.8 million grant to replace five aging buses.
A federal grant of $2,819,460 funded by President Biden's infrastructure bill will fund the majority of the cost of the new buses according to a news release from the transit system.
The City of Beaumont will be kicking in nearly $100,000 for each bus with a total contribution of $499,022 according to the release.
The grant was one of 130 projects funded by the bill to put cleaner buses in communities across the country the release said.
The new buses, powered by compressed natural gas, or CNG, will replace five older CNG buses that have "exceeded their useful life."
The transit has a fleet of 17 CNG buses.
The transit system says the new buses "will increase service efficiency, reduce maintenance expenses, provide low-emission and reliable technology, and have improved engines that reduce NOx and PM emissions by 90 percent more than the old models."
“We are extremely grateful to the Department of Transportation for seeing the value in our project and working to improve public transportation across America," Claudia San Miguel, Beaumont Municipal Transit manager, is quoted as saying in the release.
The new GILLIG CNG buses are more energy efficient and will reduce NOx and particulate matter (PM) emissions by 90% over models built 15 years ago according to the release.
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This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.