Phoenix plans to bolster public rideshare access with grant funding

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(The Center Square) – Phoenix received $12.9 million in federal taxpayer dollars for funds meant for traffic alleviation projects.

Specifically, the funds are meant for “Project EASE,” which the city says will help flesh out “microtransit” areas throughout the city, help with it’s RAPID bus service and make those microtransit options more readily available on the Valley Metro App in order to make it easy for people to request or get information about transportation in the city – and other ways to mitigate traffic overall.

“Today marks an exciting day for Phoenix with the award of a new $12.9 million grant to our Public Transit Department for Project EASE,” Mayor Kate Gallego said in a statement.

“The project won’t just help relieve congestion, it will also enable us to advance innovative transportation solutions that will improve our commuter bus program as well as explore new strategies to keep our city moving efficiently,” she continued.

The funding sourced from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, as six other grants were doled out throughout the country nearly $133 million in funding, according to the Federal Highway Administration.

In addition, the city is spending $3.2 million on the project, which will work with technology company Via Transportation, according to a news release.