Feds give Tucson $11M to improve bus stops, upgrade transit facility

Tucson received $11.3 million in federal funding to upgrade a transit maintenance facility and dozens of bus stops, city officials announced Wednesday.

The federal funds will be used to upgrade a Sun Tran maintenance facility, Rep. Raúl Grijalva said in a news release issued earlier this week. Additionally, the money will help upgrade 80 bus stops throughout the city, Mayor Regina Romero said at a news conference Wednesday.

“(These upgrades) will make a difference in the life and health, and the comfort and accessibility of Tucsonans …. We’re not just changing and updating the bus stops, we’re adding cooling infrastructure, green infrastructure, trees, and we’re making sure that those stops are in areas not only with the highest use,” Romero said.

The city will focus on underserved communities that lack trees for shade and are especially affected by urban heat islands, Romero said.

About $640,000 will be used for upgrades at the maintenance facility, namely replacing two bus lifts that are nearing the end of their service. About $560,000 will cover training initiatives and the rest of the $11 million will be spent on upgrading the 80 bus stops, said Davita Mueller, Sun Tran’s director of transit service planning and development.

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Mueller said that upgrades to Sun Tran bus stops, sheltered stops and the maintenance facility will begin in about a year. Tentatively, she said, Sun Tran’s timeline to complete the projects goes out to August 2026.

“Everybody who rides the bus is also a pedestrian, or a bike rider. We need to make sure our bus routes are good, our system is good and that our bus stops are accessible and comfortable for someone who has to wait for a 30-minute route,” Mueller said, who is a frequenter of the Sun Express busses. “So to me, this is very personal, and I am very proud, and very thankful that we received this grant this time.”

Exactly one year ago Wednesday, Romero said, the city received $22 million in federal funding through the Federal Transit Administration to retire the remaining diesel buses in the Sun Tran fleet. Almost $49 million has been awarded to the city over the past three years through the FTA, and by 2025, “the city of Tucson and Sun Tran will be completely decarbonized,” Romero said. That is a first in the southwestern United States, she said.

“It is now making a difference in our community, decarbonizing our bus fleet, greening up our bus stops so that people can use transit more, “ said Romero, citing the importance of reducing carbon dioxide. “The frontlines are those hurt first and worst; those are seniors, low income communities, communities of color, children. Their health and safety is on the line because of CO2 emissions.”

Sun Tran operates and manages a fleet of over 330 vehicles daily, including 185 fixed routes, 137 “demand response” and eight street cars, said Liz Morales, Tucson’s assistant city manager. Sun Tran bus service alone operates over 14 million fixed routes annually, covering 9.5 million miles, she said.