During a visit to Charlotte on Dec. 2, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the public transportation system of North Carolina’s largest city is going to benefit from the Biden administration’s $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Charlotte is to receive $15 million from the $900 million transit allocation for North Carolina to build a transit hub to replace the downtown open-air bus terminal, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) said in a press release.
Buttigieg said Charlotte at the end of the 19th century embarked on a “transportation revolution” when it established its original horse-drawn streetcar system, musing city leaders were ahead of their time, a DOT transcript of his speech said.
“This bill is going to make the biggest investment, in fact, in public transit in history,” Buttigieg said in his speech. “It will modernize roads and bridges, passenger rail and freight rail, ports and airports. It will get more electric buses like the ones we saw today onto the road more quickly and more electric vehicles helping to reduce carbon emissions.”
Buttigieg, who joined Vice President Kamala Harris in Charlotte, praised Harris for playing a huge role during negotiations for the bill.
“The Vice President traveled this country speaking to people about what an investment in jobs and infrastructure could mean for their communities,” Buttigieg said. “She spent countless hours helping the President negotiate with Members of Congress. She worked to make sure that clean school buses, clean water and environmental justice were included - all of which are issues that she championed in the Senate as well.”
The secretary also highlighted Charlotte’s history of working with the federal government on public transit.
“This is a city that has a great track record of partnering with the federal government to invest in transit,” Buttigieg said. “Of course, my predecessor, Secretary Anthony Foxx, someone people here remember, of course, as Mayor Foxx, was a model for that approach and helped bring so many transformative projects to life.”
The new Charlotte Area Transit System transit hub will include an underground bus concourse, Gold Line streetcar, local and regional bus service, and a new bicycle and pedestrian trail, the release said.
