Today, U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand announced that Chemung County Transit System is set to receive $500,000 in Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration funding. With these funds, Chemung County plans to purchase new revenue collection equipment for their transit system, which consists of 32 vehicles. This equipment will include fareboxes for the system’s buses, as well as the hardware and software needed to operate such fareboxes. Schumer and Gillibrand applaud DOT for their efforts to improve quality and efficiency in New York’s transit systems.
“Safe, reliable and efficient transportation is critical to the economic future of Chemung County,” Schumer said. “This grant will improve the daily commutes to and from work for hundreds of Chemung County residents, who will ride with more convenience thanks to these new fareboxes, electronic fare cards, and ticket vending machines.”
“This is an important investment for Chemung County’s local economy,” Senator Gillibrand said. “These improvements will help ease commutes for workers each day, and help keep buses moving on time.”
Schumer and Gillibrand said that the funding that will allow Chemung County to procure new revenue collection equipment for their entire transit system, consisting of 32 vehicles. Electronic, state-of-the-art fareboxes will be installed on each bus, as well as all support vehicles, and funds will also be used to purchase hardware and software necessary for operating and monitoring the revenue collection system. Chemung County Transit also plans to purchase two ticket vending machines that will be installed at transfer centers for Chemung County commuters’ convenience.
Additional features in this state-of-the-art transit system include new equipment for processing electronic plastic fare cards and the use of credit cards for fare payment options. The system will also issue change cards and excess payment receipts, return unacceptable coins, and new control units for bus drivers.
Chemung County is a recipient of the Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration Administration’s Section 5309 Bus and Bus Facilities Livability Grant Program. The Bus Livability Program makes funds available to public transportation providers to finance capital projects to replace, rehabilitate, and purchase buses and related equipment.