Area transit groups get $1.5 million grant award

Four Minnesota transit agencies and one city recently received more than $25.8 million in grant awards for public transit systems in Greater Minnesota, the Minnesota Department of Transportation announced Monday.

Among the entities to receive grant money is the Minnesota Department of Transportation, on behalf of Tri-Valley Opportunity Council, Inc. (Heartland Express) and Southwest Minnesota Opportunity Council (Prairieland Transit). It will receive $1.5 million to buy propane-fueled buses and supporting fueling equipment. The project will improve service and reliability and lower maintenance costs for these Greater Minnesota rural transit providers.

The Minnesota grants are part of 130 awards from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Transit Administration. The $1.7 billion in funding comes from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and includes transit projects in 46 states and territories.