U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao today announced that the Federal Transit Administration will award more than $6.6 million in transit infrastructure funding to improve the safety and reliability of Iowa’s bus systems and enhance mobility for transit riders. The funding is part of nearly $464 million in federal transit grants being made nationwide from the FTA’s Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities Program. Of the amount designated for Iowa, the Iowa Department of Transportation will receive $5,541,710 to replace aging transit vehicles that have exceeded their useful life with new buses to improve the statewide public transit fleet of buses. Also, the city of Dubuque’s public transit service, the Jule, will receive $1,073,000 to purchase zero-emission transit vehicles and make other upgrades, including new pedestrian shelters along bus routes to be powered by solar energy, new ticket vending machines, and electronic information boards with real-time bus schedule and route information.