Hazleton Public Transit (HPT) held a ribbon cutting ceremony on April 18 for the new John M. Ford Bus Storage and Maintenance Facility.
The $26 million facility, which is named for the former mayor of Hazleton, Pa., who was instrumental in the creation of Hazleton Public Transit, is one of the largest projects in the city of Hazleton, Pa.’s, history. The nearly 50,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art building will house HPT's fleet of 12 fixed-route buses and three paratransit vans. It includes an automatic bus wash system, bus maintenance service area and compressed natural gas fueling station.
HPT Director Ralph Sharp noted the facility is vital to HPT's mission to continue providing public transportation for everyone in Luzerne, Carbon and Schuylkill counties.
“I'd like to thank all of the federal and state representatives for their help in obtaining the funding that made this project possible. Having everything we need for bus storage and maintenance under one roof is important for our operations. It's especially vital to have our own fueling station because, in the future, our fixed route fleet will be operated completely by compressed natural gas,” Sharp said.
“As the fastest growing city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, according to many online sources, we are proud to be making improvements not only in transportation, but also in many other areas that make Greater Hazleton a better place to live, work and play. It's an honor to dedicate this building today to the late John M. Ford because he was instrumental in establishing Hazleton Public Transit during his time as mayor,” said Hazleton Mayor Jeff Cusat.
Prior to his role as Hazleton's mayor, Ford served as chairman of the Hazleton Transit Authority (HTA) and organized the Greater Hazleton Transit System, which helped the HTA obtain financing for both the purchase and operating expenses of new buses. He also served as secretary of the Hazleton Parking Authority and was chairman of the Greater Hazleton Chamber of Commerce's Transportation Task Force. After his election as mayor in 1985, Ford's administration chose to form HPT and have the buses operate through the city rather than being a separate entity under the HTA.
“I'm honored to be here to celebrate this wonderful success for Hazleton. As the sign out front says, transit truly does make life easier. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) was proud to contribute $6 million in funding for this project. PennDOT meets the transportation needs of 13 million people every day. The success of transit comes with great facilities and now we have one here in Greater Hazleton,” said PennDOT Secretary Michael Carroll.
“It's a privilege to be here. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) was very proud to contribute $20 million to this project. It's very rewarding to see Hazleton Public Transit use FTA funds to invest in new transit projects. This modern facility means HPT will be able to better maintain its assets at a lower cost, which brings greater reliability to its operations,” said FTA Region 3 Administrator Terry Garcia Crews.
