Westport Gets Another Extension Allowing Transit District Buses to Transport Kids After School

An announcement from the Westport First Selectman’s Office:

First Selectman Jim Marpe has announced that the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has approved Westport’s second exemption extension request to allow the Norwalk Transit District (NTD) buses to continue providing after school program transportation to Westport students for an additional six months.

Mr. Marpe stated, “I am extremely grateful that the FTA took the time to listen to the appeal and carefully review the submission. It found that we had indeed made a good faith effort to resolve the issue and further agreed with the conclusion that it was not possible to do so in a short time frame. I am also very gratified that our parents, students and after school programs can now enjoy the holiday season without having to worry if they will have this bus service after the New Year.”

He continued, “As First Selectman, I want to acknowledge the many individuals who were involved in the effort to obtain this extension. Operations Director Dewey Loselle led the search for alternative solutions and structured the case for our successful appeal to the FTA.

“Loselle was supported in this effort by his Co-Chair, Transit Director, Jennifer Johnson and the entire Advisory Committee on After-School Transportation.”

Marpe further noted, “No matter how strong a case Westport engineered, none of this would have occurred without the support of our federal legislative delegation.

“Senator Blumenthal, Senator Murphy and Congressman Himes all worked together to provide direct support for our exemption request. Also State Representative Jonathan Steinberg played a key role in coordinating the federal response and pressing Westport’s case.”

Operations Director Dewey Loselle stated, “In addition to being able to maintain this important service for the many who need it, we were also able to preserve approximately $65,000 worth of State funding to run the program which otherwise may have been lost. I want to emphasize that this was a team effort on the part of our Committee, the Board of Education, and the Norwalk Transit District.

“It is not easy to get the federal government to change its mind once; it’s almost unheard of to have it happen twice. This is a good day for Westport and also for our federal government which can sometimes appear removed from local concerns.”

To insure that Westport’s funding for this service continues, the town is working in coordination with the Board of Education to determine if private bus companies can be found to take over this service for the next school year. Future discussions will be held on that issue.

Picture: Mosaic of buses, from a picture by Andreas Schwarzkopf on Wikimedia Commons.