TARTA to get millions

TARTA is getting more than $8 million in economic stimulus money. The Federal Transit Administration made the announcement Thursday.

That money is part of $179 million in economic recovery funds earmarked for public transportation in Ohio. Toledo's cut is $8.5 million. Most of TARTA's money will be used to buy new vehicles.

TARTA officials say the public will see a new fleet out on the streets to replace buses that are 18 years old and have 600,000 miles on them. TARTA is limited in how it can use the federal dollars.

"The funds that we have can only be used for purchasing items.  They cannot be used for service, for fuel, for drivers wages and so there should be no impact on our route structure," said James Gee, TARTA general manager.

This won't affect routes in anyway. 19 other cities in Ohio are getting federal transit dollars.