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Southern California is getting millions for new buses and public transportation facilities

Measure J hopes to extend half-cent transportation sales tax passed by Measure R last year.
The federal government is giving millions of dollars to Southern California for public transportation.
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Corey Moore/KPCC
)

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Southern California is getting millions for new buses and public transportation facilities

Southern California’s getting millions of federal transportation dollars. The new grants will help propel a retro form of transit: buses.

The money comes from the “State of Good Repair and Bus Livability” fund at the federal Department of Transportation.

The L.A. County Metropolitan Transportation Authority will get $15 million to replace about three dozen aging buses with new ones that run on natural gas. Metro operates the world’s largest fleet of natural gas buses.

The agency retired its last diesel bus about a year and a half ago. More than a million passengers board Metro buses every weekday.

Omnitrans in the Inland Empire is also getting federal bus money. More than $5 million will go to expand the San Bernardino Transit Center, adding 22 sheltered bus bays that’ll display “real time” arrival information. The new facility will also include restrooms, meeting rooms, secure bicycle parking and bike rentals.

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