BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) – Mass transit in Western New York is the emphasis of green infrastructure projects pushed by local state representatives and conservation groups.
Assemblymembers Sean Ryan and Karen McMahon announced a series of priorities for this year’s state budget including more than $100 million for a new electric bus fleet, repairs for the NFTA metro rail, NFTA State Transit Operating Assistance, and money to enter into a federal Capital Investment Grant program for metro rail expansion.
“We all know that the upstate cities can’t be revitalized and brought into the future until we have a robust, state-of-the-art, transit authority,” Assemblyman Ryan told reporters on Friday.
Ryan discussed conversion of the diesel-fuel buses to electronic buses and charging stations over the next five years for $100 million.
“With that money, we can phase out diesel buses from all the upstate transit authorities over a five or six year period,” Ryan said. “We would have the largest fleet of electric buses in New York State.”
Charging stations could be placed at the bus hubs if approved in the state budget. Ryan and McMahon want $61.7 million allocated for the fleet conversion.
$6 million would go towards the expansion of the metro rail to the University at Buffalo North Campus.
“We need the state money now to get the federal money later,” McMahon said while adding that the investment would result in hundreds of millions in federal capital funding.
New York State’s budget is due April 1.