Hattiesburg Green Handout from Washington
Hattiesburg council accepts $6.46 million federal transit grant
The Hattiesburg City Council voted to accept a $6,455,325 federal grant for low-emission buses at its September 22 meeting.
At the regular meeting, the council approved a resolution directing the city "to ACKNOWLEDGE receipt of a grant award from the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration (FTA) in the amount of $6,455,325 for the Low or No Emission Vehicle Grant Program-5339 (c); and AUTHORIZE the Mayor to accept the award electronically," according to the council's minutes. The action allows Mayor Hattiesburg's administration to formally accept the award from the FTA. The minutes do not specify the vote count.
The grant falls under the federal Low or No Emission Vehicle Grant Program, authorized under FTA Section 5339(c), which funds transit agencies seeking to purchase or lease low- and no-emission buses and related equipment.
The award represents a significant addition to the city's transit fleet obligations and future maintenance responsibilities. Although the money arrives as a grant rather than a direct local expenditure, it is funded through federal tax dollars, meaning the cost is ultimately borne by taxpayers beyond Hattiesburg. The size of the award illustrates the scale of federal transfers increasingly shaping local transit and infrastructure decisions in communities like Hattiesburg.