Funding reinstated for Grand Prairie public transit

by PegNews wire

Thanks to efforts by Texas State Representative Kirk England, state funding has been restored to critical local public transportation systems like Grand Prairie’s Grand Connection.

“Grand Connection serves the elderly and disabled citizens who need to get to a doctor, pharmacy, dialysis, grocery store or work,” said City Manager Tom Hart. “In Grand Prairie, our service provides almost 40,000 trips a year to our most needy residents. This is a huge win not only for Grand Prairie residents, but for citizens across Texas.”

During the past five years, state funding has decreased annually as budgets were cut, making it difficult to maintain a dependable transportation program. In 2007, Grand Prairie’s Grand Connection received $144,644 in state funding, but 2008 projected a funding loss of $50,788.

These programs are funded on a multi-level matching basis: federal, state and local. The Federal Transportation Agency matches 50 percent of the state and local funds. Therefore, a decrease in state funding would have resulted in a significant loss of federal money.

This past July, when informed of the dramatic cuts, Representative England began a campaign to restore the state funding. This week many of the local transit systems across the state were notified of the State’s decision to reinstate the dollars needed to successfully run their programs.

“Our most vulnerable residents were at risk of losing their independence and security,” said England. “I am delighted that with the help of my colleagues we were able to deliver the funds needed to have a healthy transportation program.”

Source: City of Grand Prairie