SECRETARY SLATER KICKS-OFF ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY TRANSIT BUS ROLL-OUT IN NATION'S CAPITAL

Topics:  Rodney E. Slater

Federal Transit Administration
April 29, 1998

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, April 29, 1998
Contact: Bruce Frame
Telephone: (202) 366-4043
FTA 10-98

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Rodney E. Slater, in a Capitol Hill ceremony today, presented a prototype Advanced Technology Transit Bus (ATTB) to Congressional leaders.

The ATTB is a lightweight vehicle that reduces road pavement damage on city streets.

Its low, flat floor design provides easier, faster boarding and exiting for all riders, especially for senior citizens and the disabled. The bus is also fueled by clean-burning compressed natural gas that is expected to reduce maintenance and extend the useful service life of the vehicle.

"President Clinton is committed to investing in transportation which will strengthen the economy, aid in cleaning up the environment and provide accessible transportation to all people," Slater said. "The development of the ATTB is a step toward providing better and more efficient service for people who use transit bus systems."

At the ceremony, Slater also said the transportation system in this country is in better shape than it has been in years. With the Clinton Administration's commitment to funding projects such as the ATTB, the Transportation Department will continue to support transit service that meets the needs of the traveling public.

The ATTB, the result of the largest federal transit research project in two decades, is in the District of Columbia to be test driven, studied, and evaluated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, one of several transit agencies nationwide that will have an opportunity to test the bus before the technology becomes available for wide use.

The federal government contributed $46 million of the $57 million required for this project.