Baldwin Delivers Over $15 Million For Green Bay and Appleton to Improve Public Transportation

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) announced the City of Appleton and the City of Green Bay will receive over $15 million to improve public transportation, invest in zero-emission buses, and build a new transit storage and maintenance facility. The investments, from the Federal Transit Administration’s Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities program, are funded through the Baldwin-backed Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

“High-quality public transportation helps reduce traffic and get people safely to work, school, and the grocery store,” said Senator Baldwin. “I fought hard to secure funding to upgrade our public transit, investing in zero-emission buses that reduce pollution, cut fuel costs, and keep riders across Northeast Wisconsin safe for years to come.”

“Valley Transit is excited to be awarded this highly competitive grant to finish the Whitman Facility Renovation,” said Valley Transit General Manager Ron McDonald. “I’m beyond thankful for the assistance provided by Senator Tammy Baldwin to receive this award.”

“This grant will help make our vision to deliver a safe, reliable, and ultimately more environmentally sustainable public transportation system for Appleton and the greater Fox Cities,” said Appleton Mayor Jake Woodford. “In the course of about two weeks, thanks to the advocacy and support of Senator Baldwin, we now find ourselves fully positioned to effect transformational change for the people of our communities.”

“I am extremely proud that the City’s efforts to reduce our carbon footprint are receiving recognition and support from the federal government. I am thankful to President Biden and Secretary Buttigieg for making these funds available, Senator Baldwin for her strong representation and support of our application, and Director Kiewiz for her innovative leadership of Green Bay Metro,” said Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich.

The following projects received funding:

City of Appleton – Valley Transit: $12,000,000 to support the completion of Valley Transit’s Whitman Facility Renovation Project to renew its administration, maintenance, and bus storage facility. The renovation project consists of updated maintenance bays, a new fueling and bus wash lane, and an expanded bus storage area. The renovated facility will also implement the latest in sustainability and resiliency, including a solar array, rainwater collection for bus washing, and EV charging, among other upgrades. Senator Baldwin submitted a letter of support for the project, which can be found here.

City of Green Bay Transit System: $3,112,663 to replace diesel-powered buses with battery electric buses and charging equipment, improving safety and decreasing greenhouse gas emissions. These efforts are expected to reduce maintenance costs as they bring Green Bay closer to reaching their goal of 100 percent clean energy by 2050.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration Low and No Emission and Bus & Bus Facilities Grant Programs provide federal funding to support state and local efforts to buy or modernize buses, improve bus facilities, and support workforce development. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides $5.6 billion through 2026 for the Low-No Program and nearly $2 million for the Bus & Bus Facilities Grant Program.

Last month, Senator Baldwin announced $25 million in federal funding to reconstruct the Appleton Transit Center.

An online version of this release is available here.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.