Over the last 20 years, Lona Edwards Hankins has been instrumental in securing federal funding to finance capital and infrastructure improvements across New Orleans.
As Director of Capital Improvements for the Recovery School District, Hankins steered the more than $2 billion School Facilities Master Plan, which rebuilt public schools damaged from Hurricane Katrina. Fast forward to the present, and the CEO of the Regional Transit Authority has helped secure approximately $170 million in federal funding since 2020 to improve infrastructure and provide high-quality public transportation, including $101.4 million from the most recent Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
The 2023 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law/Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and Inflation Reduction Act awarded $2 trillion in climate and infrastructure improvements, including a total of $10.2 billion to Louisiana to finance 780 projects within the state. The RTA received three of those awards, including a $71.4 million grant for energy-efficient buses, chargers, micro-grid, workforce training, and future maintenance; $24.8 million for a Downtown Transit Center and connecting transit corridor; and $5.2 million for an Algiers Point Ferry Terminal renovation, which will cost an estimated $9.7 million. The City of New Orleans awarded the RTA $3.5 million to also support the Algiers Point ferry terminal operations.
“New Orleans deserves high-quality infrastructure, and our residents deserve modernized and reliable public transportation. We were aggressive and able to secure critical funds that are aligned with our Strategic Mobility Plan,” said Hankins. “We are thankful to our congressional delegation as these important grants will enable the RTA to invest in and meet the needs of riders and operators across our transit centers, terminals, and hubs in our communities.”
The New Orleans RTA serves Orleans, Jefferson, and St. Bernard parishes and operates car and passenger ferries, fixed-route buses, paratransit, streetcar, and limited on-demand service.
The RTA’s Strategic Mobility Plan, borne in 2018 and updated in 2023, includes several community priorities, including improved access to destinations and reliability of existing transit service; fast, frequent service on major corridors; stronger regional connections; improved public perception of transit and better information sharing; and increased accessibility with more late-night bus, and ferry services.
Outside of the grant monies from the IIJA and IRA, in August 2023, the RTA completed the $43.5 million Canal Street Ferry Terminal, which connects the East Bank and West Bank communities with modern passenger ferry service between Canal Street and Algiers Point. The $43.5 million project was funded from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), as well as $5.9 million from the City of New Orleans, $2 million from the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, and $6.5 million from the RTA.
In September 2024, the RTA celebrated the deployment across the city of 29 new hybrid and diesel buses, taking place just days after the implementation of RTA’s fall 2024 transit schedule. The RTA is also deploying another 26 paratransit vehicles, 12 of which are on the road, and the remainder will be deployed in Q1 2025.
“Our campaign ‘How New Orleans rolls’ reflects our commitment to delivering world-class service. By modernizing our fleet, we’re enhancing service reliability and reducing environmental impact with quieter, eco-friendly buses,” said Hankins. “We’ve already seen improvements in service frequency and a significant drop in complaints about late buses.”
As the new buses are being deployed, the RTA can retire its older buses, which now only account for 13 buses that are nearing the end of their useful life. “In 2023, about 60 percent of our fleet was nearing the end of their useful lives, and so 2024 was the year of the fleet for us,” said Hankins. “People are so happy that our newest buses are out there providing reliable and efficient service, and our operators are excited to drive modern vehicles as well.”
In November 2024, the RTA announced that the Algiers Ferry Terminal renovation project entered its final round of community engagement. The RFP for the project will be advertised in Q1 2025. Work is scheduled to begin later this year and is expected to last one year.
Improvements will enhance the experience for the 500,000 passengers annually who rely on the Algiers Ferry by renovating the interior and increasing the functional square footage of the terminal, providing ferry operations with staff administrative space, installing restrooms and waiting areas, improving the boarding ramp, and making the terminal an amenity for riders, ferry staff, and the surrounding community. The project will also improve safety and connectivity for pedestrians, cyclists, and bus riders accessing the terminal. The building is over 40 years old and has several major systems that are at the end of their useful life and need to be replaced.
“The Algiers community demanded and deserves this project, and we are excited to break ground later this year,” said Hankins. “It’s time to modernize this terminal, add all the necessary ADA accessibilities, improve the inside amenities, enable riders to escape the weather elements, and when it’s all complete, this will be an incredible economic investment.”
The RTA is also working towards a new Downtown Transit Center and connecting transit corridor to be located in the neutral ground of Basin Street at Canal Street. The hub will provide safer connections for riders as well as shelters and restroom facilities. It will also serve as the key downtown hub for the Bus Rapid Transit project, which will shorten transit times for riders.
“We are finalizing internally what the conceptual design criteria will be, and we will issue an RFP for the design in Q1 2025. The design will take a year, and then we anticipate construction to take about two years before it is ready. This project will require robust community engagement with downtown residents and businesses,” said Hankins. “This will be a state-of-the-art regional hub and downtown economic investment, and we will also fund improvements at smaller transfer points and transit hubs throughout the city to improve safety and efficiency.”
Hankins added that she is proud that the RTA, since 2020, has spent approximately 57% of its federal and local funds with Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBEs) and Small Business Enterprises (SBEs). The RTA also routinely offers business development workshops, such as the most previous one that discussed “SBA 8(a) Certification: Benefits and Process.”
In other federal funding news for the RTA from 2024, the RTA was awarded a $5.5 million grant in May from the FTA All Stations Accessibility Program to enhance accessibility for passengers with disabilities on the St. Charles streetcar line. In November, the RTA was awarded a $950,000 FTA Transit-Oriented Development Grant to support equitable growth and revitalize underutilized land along the 15-mile BRT corridor. The grant was in partnership with the City of New Orleans’ Office of Resilience & Sustainability and City Planning Commission.