Crookston’s New Flyer of America plant used to showcase impact on economy, workforce and public transit

Impact of federal transportation funding highlighted.

New Flyer and T4America (Transportation for America) on Wednesday hosted an event at Crookston’s New Flyer of America final assembly plant to showcase the economic impact public transportation has on manufacturing jobs—and specifically, at the New Flyer of America facility here.

During this event, representatives of New Flyer of America and Transportation for America detailed how federal money invested in public transportation supports and creates jobs in Minnesota and across the country.

Public transit agencies purchase parts and equipment from suppliers across the country. A recent report from Transportation for America found that there are 2,763 transit component manufacturers that support jobs in the United States and 91 percent [396 of 435] of Congressional districts have at least one manufacturer. New Flyer currently employs 1,253 people in Minnesota (411 in Crookston and 842 in St. Cloud) and its U.S. jobs have grown by 28.5 percent since September 2016. And the company’s Minnesota manufacturing operations are on the leading edge of advancing public transportation to become cleaner and greener, as all four New Flyer manufacturing facilities (including the two in Minnesota) can produce the company’s next generation zero-emission, battery-electric buses.

The federal money invested in public transportation each year leverages local and state funding and supports thousands of well-paying manufacturing jobs, in communities like Crookston and St. Cloud, and in nearly every state across the country. The federal transit Capital Investment Grant (CIG) program, Federal Transit Administration (FTA) formula funds, and the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD—formerly TIGER) grant program provides funding that is critical to building and maintaining public transit systems.

In addition to listening to various presentations, those in attendance Wednesday toured Crookston’s New Flyer plant.

View the original article here.