1.26.23 OUTBoard Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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NCDOT Earns Grant to Expand Access to On-Demand Transit for Thou- sands of North Carolinians A new federal grant award of $10.4 million will help expand on-demand transit services for up to 11 North Carolina communities and benefit thousands of North Carolina citizens. The award comes to the N.C. Department of Transportation's Integrated Mobility Division from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Rural Surface Transportation Grant, (Biden-Harris Administration Announces Nearly $274 Million in Funding for 12 Projects to Improve and Expand Transportation Infrastructure in Rural Areas I US Department of Transportation) which is part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The money will be distributed to expand on-demand transit services for people in Alamance, McDowell, Johnston, Randolph, and Rockingham counties, as well as Sanford, Salisbury and Wil- son. Other regional community organizations that will benefit are: Kerr Area Regional Transit, Tar River Transit and Wave Transit in Wilmington. The funding will pay for advanced transit scheduling software deployment and, in some communi- ties, third-party contracts for vehicles and drivers to support the new on-demand services. The Integrated Mobility Division applied for the funds to expand on-demand transit, in part, be- cause of the success of prior on-demand transit deployments in North Carolina, including the Wil- son RIDE service. That service has garnered national attention for its success and positive im- pacts. NC Clean Transportation Plan In January 2022, Gov. Roy Cooper signed Executive Order 245. This executive order builds upon 2018's Executive Order 80, which established a goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent and increase zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) adoption to 80,000 vehicles by 2025. As part of EO 246, the N.C. Department of Transportation is tasked with developing a Clean Transportation Plan (NCCTP) within 15 months of the order. The NCCTP will recommend actiona- ble strategies for decarbonizing the transportation sector and shall address- 1. Availability, sales and usage of zero-emission vehicles to levels beyond current market projec- tions, including a focus on medium- and heavy-duty ZEVs. 2. Reductions in vehicle miles traveled. 3. Investment in clean transportation infrastructure. 4. Equitable access to clean mobility options. 5. Increased availability of non-vehicle transportation modes. 6. A transition to zero- and low-emission fuels. 7. Other relevant topics. Three public information sessions have been help. A video of the latest session held on Decem- ber 20, 2022 can be found at https://youtu.be/viEGF5yXcvM.