Public Transit Projects Get Boost

Caltrans has awarded $63 million in funding to more than a hundred agencies aimed at putting more public transit projects on the map.

The Valley Transportation Agency was one of the big winners, getting $10.3 million to help with the purchase of 70 hybrid buses, said spokeswoman Brandi Childress.

"They're cleaner to our environment, they are rider-friendly compared to the older, high floor buses that were purchased 11, 12 years ago," said Childress. "VTA has been acquiring low floor buses for easy boarding."

BART is getting $1.3 million for partial funding of the Warm Springs Extension Project.

And Caltrain spokeswoman Christine Dunn said they're getting almost $4 million to help electrify the system.

"The electrification and our partnership with high speed rail is the way Caltrain is going to survive in the future," Dunn said. "If we can expand our service, offer more service and attract more riders, we're going to generate more revenue, which is critical to our survival."

The positive train control system is aimed at helping prevent train to train collisions and derailments.