Posted on Fri, Oct. 21, 2011

San Luis Obispo Regional Transit Authority will receive two grants totaling $2 million to replace aging buses with clean diesel buses, Central Coast Rep. Lois Capps announced Wednesday.

The money will allow transit authority officials to purchase two minivans to provide services to those with disabilities and five diesel transit coaches, according to a news release from Capps’ office. The buses are expected to be ready for service in January 2013.

The new buses will lower maintenance costs by replacing some of the oldest vehicles in the fleet, RTA Co-Executive Directors Tania Arnold and Aimee Wyatt said in a statement.

The funds come from a State of Good Repair initiative as part of the Federal Transit Authority’s effort to ensure the nation’s bus and rail system can provide safe and reliable service.

It includes a $775 million discretionary fund administered by the Federal Transit Authority, as authorized by the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient, Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users, which was signed into law in 2006.