Provide 1 year of operating assistance 1 year of preventive maintenance and the purchase of three (3) electric expansion buses for city of santa maria to assist IT in fixed route and demand response…

The City of Santa Maria received a $11.0 million Formula Grant from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) under the Federal Transit Formula Grants program (CFDA 20.507), awarded on May 15, 2025. The award provides one year of operating assistance and preventive maintenance for the City's Santa Maria Regional Transit (SMRT) system, along with funding for the procurement of three battery-electric buses. Operating funds cover eligible expenses including driver salaries, fuel, and items with a useful life of less than one year, enabling the continuation of both fixed-route and demand-response transit operations during the 2023 fiscal year period (July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023).

The grant directly benefits SMRT riders by maintaining transit service continuity and reducing operational constraints, while supporting the City's broader infrastructure modernization strategy through the transition to zero-emission vehicles. No sub-awards were planned under this grant, with all funds retained and deployed by the City of Santa Maria to sustain critical public transportation services and advance fleet sustainability initiatives in California.

Purpose

The purpose of this award is to provide 1 year of operating assistance 1 year of preventive maintenance and the purchase of three (3) electric expansion buses for city of santa maria to assist IT in fixed route and demand response transit operations during the 2023 fiscal year period of 7/01/2022 to 6/30/2023.

Activities

Funds will be used to cover all eligible operating and maintenance expenses such as driver salaries fuel and items having a useful life of less than one year. Funds will be used for vehicle procurement of three (3) battery electric buses.

Expected outcomes

Funding will permit city of santa maria to continue providing operations perform routine maintenance of our fleet and the procurement of three (3) battery electric buses.

Intended beneficiaries

Smrt riders will benefit from the activities in this grant as operational costs to maintain the service permitting riders to go to work and other destinations.

Subrecipient activities

The city will not subaward funds