AASHTO Journal - MassDOT Helps Transit Fleet Buy CNG-Powered Buses

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation recently helped the MetroWest Regional Transit Authority or MWRTA acquire three new compressed natural gas or CNG-powered buses. Built by GILLIG, those buses will be assigned to MWRTA’s Route 4N – the busiest route in the MWRTA system – to provide service between downtown Framingham and the Natick Mall.

[Above photo by MWRTA]

The three buses were purchased with a combination of federal and state funds awarded to the MWRTA, including $392,000 through the Regional Transportation Authority or RTA Capital Program, which is funded through the annual state budget and is the primary means by which MassDOT supports RTA capital improvements and investments.

Additional funding for this acquisition also came from partnership between the MWRTA, the Massachusetts State Legislature, MassDOT, and the Federal Transit Administration.

MWRTA – which plans to buy an additional 10 GILLIG buses over the next two years, including all-electric models – said its new CNG buses are 30-feet long and can hold approximately double the number of passengers compared to the units in the transit provider’s current fleet. The transit agency added that its new buses should start carrying passengers at some point over the next two months.

“As someone who relied on bus service to access a college education, I know firsthand the difference that better buses can make for commuters and those without personal vehicles,” noted Monica Tibbits-Nutt, MassDOT secretary and CEO, in a statement.

“We congratulate the MWRTA on this important addition to their fleet and commend their commitment to improving the services that so many riders depend on to support themselves and their families,” she added.

“We are pleased to help transit authorities like the MWRTA further modernize their bus fleets to better meet the needs of travelers,” said added Meredith Slesinger, MassDOT’s rail and transit administrator. “These investments are possible thanks to our ongoing collaborations with local, state and federal partners who are committed to making connectivity in Massachusetts better for the residents and communities who depend on it.”

State departments of transportation provide a wide range of support to transit providers and transit-related development in their respective regions of the country.

For example, the Maryland Department of Transportation recently created a new grant program to advance development projects near transit stations; a program that aims to spur economic activity and increase connectivity in communities statewide.

The agency said the first round of funding of the Transit-Oriented Development or TOD Capital Grant and Revolving Loan Fund includes $5 million to support local jurisdictions seeking to build “equitable and inclusive development” near transit hubs.

In January, the North Carolina Department of Transportation launched a new intercity bus route designed to coordinate with the Virginia Breeze bus service to better connect North Carolina and Virginia.

In November 2024, the Ohio Department of Transportation issued grants of more than $17.5 million to public transportation providers in rural and urban areas of the state to help improve workforce mobility.

Those grants went to transit agencies in 16 counties through its Ohio Workforce Mobility Partnership Program or OWMP; supporting 33 transit projects that increase the ease and efficiency of transporting residents to economically significant employment centers or places of employment outside of their home communities.

Also in November 2024, the Colorado Department of Transportation opened three new mobility hubs along I-25 between the cities of Longmont and Loveland. The agency said mobility hubs are places where multiple modes of transportation – cars, regional bus services, bicycles, pedestrians, and public transportation services, among others – seamlessly integrate to allow for quick “mode-to-mode” and “route-to-route” transitions, while enhancing the efficiency of first- and last-mile connections.