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US Rep. Richard Neal touts $1.5 trillion infrastructure plan for trains, green energy with Springfield Union Station visit

SPRINGFIELD — Speaking over the rumbling locomotive of the 12:05 Amtrak train to Hartford, U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal touted a $1.5 trillion infrastructure plan he and his fellow Democrats introduced with a Friday visit to Springfield’s Union Station.

“This is the first substantive step the Congress has taken toward east-west rail,” said Neal, chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, referencing the long-held goal of improving passenger train service from Boston west through Worcester and Springfield.

 President Donald Trump has talked about the need for big infrastructure improvements, Neal said. Neal’s own conversations with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have been positive. And the GOP-led Senate has come around earlier this year to other spending plans aimed at coronavirus crisis recovery, Neal said.

The plan, dubbed the Moving America Forward Act, if it passes the Senate and gets the president’s signature, could provide $19 billion in federal grants for rail projects across the country, including east-west rail in Massachusetts.

 The sprawling bill — one that Neal expects to pass the Democrat-led House in the next week to 10 days — also establishes a $250 million grant program to support infrastructure improvements in rural areas, including broadband internet.
Green initiatives include $1.4 billion in alternative fuel charging infrastructure and $25 billion to modernize the U.S. Postal Service, which could include an all-electric, zero-emissions fleet of delivery vehicles.
The bill would raise the cap on the number of electric vehicles eligible for a $7,500 tax credit. It would encourage electric buses and commercial vehicles and restore an employer-provided fringe benefit for bicycle commuting that was eliminated in the tax reforms of 2017.

But east-west rail was the big topic Friday at Union Station, where Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno praised Neal for his ability to bring money back to the city and district and praised the infrastructure bill.

“It means a good four-letter word,” Sarno said, deploying one of his favorite phrases. “Jobs.”

MORE: https://bit.ly/2YjpDkV

 

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Peter Pan Bus Lines Resumes Services

New CDC-approved cleaning process used to keep passengers and drivers safe.

SPRINGFIELD, MA [June 4, 2020] – Peter Pan Bus Lines buses will be back on the road serving major cities along the north-east corridor starting June 5 and the company has developed a new and unique cleaning process to keep both customers and employees safe.

“Shutting down was one of the hardest things we have ever done,” suggests Peter Picknelly, Chairman of Peter Pan Bus Lines and third generation leader of the family-owned company. “We also know that our customers have been through a lot as well. So, we are happy to back on the road, serving our customers again, but now using the best cleaning and sanitizing practices in the transportation industry.”

During the shutdown, Peter Pan Bus Lines continued to improve its contactless boarding procedures and technologies. The company also made a significant investment in its bus cleaning and disinfecting procedures. Currently, Peter Pan Bus Lines is the only bus company using CDC approved PermaSafe to continuously kill viruses, including COVID-19, bacteria, germs, and mold on contact. The nontoxic product also purifies passenger cabin air while making the interior surfaces antimicrobial and self-sanitizing. The company also uses state-of-the-art Victory electrostatic hand-held sprayers, together with the powerful BruTabS6 sealant, to sanitize and disinfect. The virus-killing sprayer is used over the bus. Peter Pan Bus Lines cleans all its coaches every day with some of them being cleaned mid-route.

“No contact boarding means that, once they have purchased their ticket online or through our app, all passengers have to do to board is to simply walk up to the bus and give the driver their name,” explained Mr. Picknelly. “In terms of safety and sanitizing, we are leading the industry with our CDC-approved approach. In fact, a hospital recently asked us to clean their staff buses.”

Routes and schedules are still changing frequently, so customers should visit peterpanbus.com for the latest information.

Additional safety provisions:

  • Passengers are required to wear a face mask at all times while boarding, traveling and exiting the coach
  • The first row of seats behind the driver will not be open for passengers
  • While on the bus fresh air will be continuously circulating
  • Our employees have been issued PPE, including face masks and hand sanitizer, to follow the CDC recommendations.

About: 
Peter Pan Bus Lines is one of the largest privately-owned motor coach companies in the USA, serving over 100 communities in the Northeast corridor of the United States. The company offers daily express service in major metro areas such as Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, DC.

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Media Contact
GCAi for Peter Pan Bus Lines
Darcy Young, 413-736-2245

dyoung@GCAionline.com

 

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Rep. Richard Neal, Mayor Domenic Sarno, PVTA welcome $36M in CARES Act coronavirus relief funding

MASSLIVE (June 2, 2020) — Dependent on state aid for about half its $58 million annual budget and on even more unreliable fare revenue and advertising proceeds for the rest, the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority on Friday welcomed $36 million in federal coronavirus response money.

U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, announced the funding at a news conference at Union Station with Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and PVTA Administrator Sandra Sheehan.

The money comes, Sheehan said, as PVTA begins to ramp up bus service as the economy reopens from the coronavirus pandemic and workers with no other means of transportation increasingly need to get where they are going.

Neal, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said he always — even when lockdown rules were at their most stringent — saw commuting essential workers waiting at PVTA bus stops.

“That shows you the level of dependency that people have on this service,” Neal said. “The ease at which we get from one place to another is a big part of efficiency and recovery.”

Neal said he expects more transit funding in the next coronavirus recovery bill, legislation still pending in Washington, but that he expects it to pass the Republican-led U.S. Senate.

MORE: https://www.masslive.com/news/2020/05/rep-richard-neal-mayor-domenic-sarno-pvta-welcome-36m-in-cares-act-coronavirus-relief-funding.html

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