By Brian Trompeter
Fairfax County supervisors on Oct. 24 were set to authorize retroactively the Department of Neighborhood and Community Services (NCS) application for, and acceptance if approved, $531,409 worth of grant funding from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments’ (COG) Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities Program to buy five wheelchair-lift-equipped vehicles.
County officials submitted the grant application in advance of the Sept. 30 filing deadline.
The sum includes a 20-percent local cash match from the county, worth $106,282, which would come from the Fairfax County Department of Motor Vehicles’ FASTRAN Replacement Reserve.
The buses, which would be purchased by COG and transferred to the county, would replace high-mileage vehicles in the county’s fleet. Fairfax County since 1994 has bought 50 replacement vehicles through the grant program.
The new buses would provide an estimated 146,087 rides annually for senior citizens and people with disabilities.
Human Services Transportation within NCS operates a fleet of 69 buses. Given the projected useful life for each bus of 10 years and 110,000 miles, the division needs to replace seven or eight buses annually.
