* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:01] OKAY. OKAY. WE'LL [Press Conference: "METRO Receives $21.6 Million Federal Grant"] GET STARTED WITH OUR BOARD CHAIR, SANJAY RAHM. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, TRACY. GOOD AFTERNOON, MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I'M SANJA, CHAIRMAN OF THE METRO BOARD OF DIRECTORS, AND I'M JOINED HERE BY MY FELLOW BOARD MEMBERS, DR. AND TROY TAYLOR, COURSE PRESIDENT AND CEI WANNA THANK AND ACKNOWLEDGING THE TREMENDOUS SUPPORT OF CHRISTIANS. MAYOR. MAYOR. SO TAYLOR, OUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS, COUNCIL JACKSON AND CONGRESSMAN GARCIA. WE'VE ALSO JOIN HERE THIS AFTERNOON BY STAFF MEMBERS FROM OFFICES OF OTHER ELECTED, UH, OFFICIALS. BUT BEFORE I GET THERE, I WANNA RECOGNIZE COUNCIL MEMBER DAVID ROBINSON FROM THE OFFICE OF SENATOR JOHN CORNIN. JAKE RO FROM THE OFFICE OF SENATOR TED CRUZ, JASON FOUR FROM CONGRESSMAN'S OFFICE, JOHN MCCARTHY. PLAN FOR THE ENVIRON 2020 MOVE OR CONTINUE THE BUSES BY THE ONLY NON-MISSION BUSES, THE 20 FLEET, 40 BUSES, BUSES, THE TECHNOLOGIES INCLUDING FUEL BUSES. IT'S IMPORTANT FOR, SO WHAT, EVERY TIME YOU TAKE PUT BASIS, SIGNIFICANT ENVIRONMENT, WE WANNA SUFFERING FROM OTHER HARMFUL, WE ALSO IMPROVE EXPERIENCE FOR, FOR OUR CUSTOMERS, OUR C BETTER, BETTER, RIGHT? [00:05:14] THE F DEMISSION TO EACH ONE OF THESE BOARD WAS DOING AN OUTSTANDING JOB. AND THEN OF COURSE WE ACKNOWLEDGE, UH, THE NUMBERS OF CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION SUPPORT AND, UH, UH, THAT WE GET FROM, FROM CONGRESS, UH, FROM BOTH THE UNITED STATES SENATE. AND SO LET ME THANK THAT ON BEHALF OF THE ENTIRE, UH, FOR THEY DOING. LEMME ALSO ACKNOWLEDGE, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER DAVID ROBINSON, WHO IS ALSO THE CHAIR OF THE POLICY COUNCIL. SO THANK YOUNG, UH, MY DIRECTOR OF THE MAYOR'S OFFICE FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES. UH, ANGELA MAY ACKNOWLEDGE YOU. THANK YOU. NEED TO BE FOLLOW. BUT THE POINT IS I WANNA MAKE IS THAT IT TAKES A COLLECTIVE METHOD. UH, THE CITY OF HOUSTON COMING LAST MEETING THIS WEEK WAS LAST TWO PRETTY GOOD WEEKS. UH, AND I THANK CONGRESS FOR MAKING THAT HAPPEN. LAST TELEPHONE CONGRESSMAN AND I WANNA THANK YOU ON THAT AND CONGRESS. AND OF COURSE, THIS ANNOUNCEMENT OF 20 MILLION AS WELL. AND TODAY'S ANNOUNCEMENT IS ALSO SIGNIFICANT FOLLOWING OF THE INFLATION ACT WEEK, WHICH MAKES A FIGHTING CLIMATE CHANGE. I CURRENTLY PARTISAN MAYOR ACROSS THE COUNTRY, EXECUTIVE DISCUSS ON A TELEPHONE CONFERENCE. TODAY WE WERE DISCUSSING THIS PARTICULAR ANNOUNCEMENT AS LEADERS LINES. THE IRA WILL BE AN INCREDIBLE BOOST. THEIR EXAMPLE, THE FUNDING OUTLINED IN THIS BILL WILL ALLOW TO CLEAN ENERGY CAPACITY. WE LOWER ENERGY COSTS AND MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES GETTING OVER MILLION FOR ELECTRIC BUSES. SOMETHING I CAN RECALL NOT TOO LONG AGO WE WERE DISCUSSING HOW CAN WE MOVE THINGS FORWARD? THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OR OFFICE RECEIVED SUSTAINABILITY ALSO BEEN WORKING ON THIS INITIATIVE. YOU NEED TO FIND WAY CLOSER. UH, WE WERE JUST TALKING ADVANCE ELECTRIC VEHICLES HELP OF CONGRESS TO ACCELERATE LETTING EARLIER THIS YEAR, MY OFFICE TO DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND SECRETARY SUPPORT REQUEST TO PURCHASE ELECTRIC VEHICLES MAY RECALL IN 2020, THE CITY OF HOUSTON, BOTH PLAN, PLAN WHICH CITY'S GOAL BE NET AS WE KNOW WELL FROM OUR IMPACT ASSESSMENT, 50% RAIN GAS EMISSIONS GOES FROM THE TRANSPORTATION SECTORS, CLIMATE COMMITMENT, CITIES [00:10:02] A IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. THIS REGION, THAT GOAL, THIS GRANT ENABLE EMISSION BUSES NOT ONLY UNITED HEALTH AND ADVANCE OUR CLEAN AND INITIATIVE BY REDUCING OUR INITIATIVE, BUT IT PUTS CLEAN AND AFFORDABILITY ROOTS OF SO MANY OF OUR COMMUNITIES CONNECTING TO JOBS, EDUCATION, HEALTHCARE, EDUCATIONS, AND CONNECTING THEM PROSPER. SUSTAINABILITY. I'M GET TRAIN AND BUSES MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION ON THE ROAD. BIG TRANSPORTATION, SIDEWALKS, BUS IN 21 APPLIED FOR THE RENT AND DID NOT RECEIVE FUNDING. THE FEEDBACK WE GOT FROM IS THAT THEY HAD NOT BEEN AWARE BECAUSE THEY FUNDING SOURCE AVAILABLE, BUT IT HAPPEN IN WHICH IS THE MACHINE GRANT AND METRO SUCCESS PLATFORM AND RECEIVE. SO THIS YEAR, METRO FOR MONEY IN THAT BUDGET GIVEN OF HOUSTON CAPITAL. SO MUCH CARS IN FRONT, ELECTRIC BUSES, THE BEST FOR CITY MAYOR HOUSTON. WE DON'T JUST FOLLOW. THANK YOU. WELL, MR. CHAIRMAN, I WOULD SAY THAT WE WOULD WANT MORE 20 ONES TO COME DAY AFTER DAY AFTER DAY AFTER DAY WITH THE WORD MILLION BEHIND. I THANK YOU FOR GIVING THE OPPORTUNITY JOIN AND LEADERSHIP OF OUR, THE CHAIR OF WE WORK IN CONGRESS. WE FIND WAYS TO BE NOT ONLY FOR DISTRICT, BUT FOR OUR COMMUNITY FOR THE CHANCE TO DO SO AND HAVE WORKED WITH THEM WITHOUT ANY SENSE OF QUALIFICATIONS. I WANT TO, UH, EQUALLY ACKNOWLEDGE OUR, BUT WE ACKNOWLEDGE YOU AND WHOLE TEAM. THANK FOR HAVING THANK YOU WORKING AISLE AND MAKING SURE THAT WE ALL THE RIGHT CONCERN [00:15:09] WE AND GET THE, THIS, THIS DOES BIG COUNCIL MEMBERS, THE COMMITTEE, UH, AND ALL WHO HAVE GATHERED HERE TODAY THAT TO THAT WE THE CAPACITY TO PAY FEDERAL DOLLARS, INFRASTRUCTURE TO SPECIAL PROGRAMS THAT NOW SAY INFLATION. I WANNA HOLD THIS UP BECAUSE I'M VERY PROUD AT THE BEGINNING YEAR. THIS, UH, A CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN. THAT'S VERY, I THINK THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST UNIQUE TRANSPORTATION BOARDS IN NATION GET, UH, TO BUSES. HOUSTON, JUST SHARE WITH YOU, UH, THE EXCITEMENT OF LOCAL BATTERY, NOT FOUR. FLEXIBILITY, CHARGING ACCESSORIES, BUSES, THE CITY DRIVE SOUTH, EXCITED RIDING BUSES. ROUTE EIGHT SHUTTLE, THE HAR COUNTY COURTHOUSE. NEW YEARS AGO WE BUSES HAD TRANSPORTATION, THOSE BUSES AND, AND BUSES. BUSES GOING THEM IN CONDITIONS. SO AGAIN, THIS OPPORTUNITY, BUSES, BUSES, BUSES STOP UNTIL YOU GET DESTINATION AND HELPING PEOPLE WITH. SO TRANSPORTATION, WORKING TOGETHER. THANK [00:20:01] YOU THIS AND, UH, HUNG, I JUST WISH OF US. WERE STILL 21. AND UH, YOU KNOW, I TO MY BIRTHDAY, WHICH IS COMING UP AFTER I WAS VISITING EARLIER ABOUT HOW PART WE HAD METRO, I STILL REMEMBER WHEN I WAS A YOUNG LEGAL LAWYER. UH, BUT IT WAS MORE THAN LAST WEEK. UH, AND, UH, WE, UH, GOT FILE A LAWSUIT AGAINST METRO BECAUSE WE WERE FIGHTING. GET THEM TO ALLOW WHS ON THE BUS AND THEY FIRST WITH METRO AND JUST LOOK AT IT. NOW WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ELECTRIC BUSES AND THEY WILL BE ACCESSIBLE AND IT'LL TRULY MAKE A METRO FOR ALL. BECAUSE AS MENTIONED, BUT THIS MAY HAVE BEEN A LAYER THAT EXTREMELY TO GET THIS WRECK. IT REALLY ALL OF US WORKING TOGETHER AND ALL THE PEOPLE CENTRAL BOARD LETTERS THAT DID IT GONE. BECAUSE NONE OF US CAN DO IT WRONG. AND THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE TO KEEP IN MIND. AND EVERYTHING THAT WE DO IN THIS BUILDING IS FOR EVERYBODY. THAT'S ONE OF OUR RESIDENT HIGHEST PRIORITIES IS SUSTAINABILITY AND TRANSITIONING TO HELP TACKLE CLIMATE CHANGE. AND THIS GRANT AND THIS 21 MILLION BUSES DO ALL THOSE THINGS. AND, AND IT'S JUST, WE DID PASS AN INFRASTRUCTURE BILL, UH, WE ANNOUNCED, UH, THE TELEPHONE PROJECT LAST WEEK, BUT THERE BE MORE. BUT AFTER THE BUILDING, WE JUST, UH, LAST WEEK, THE PRESENT IT, UH, THIS WEEK BECAUSE WE BE THERE BECAUSE WE'RE THE LEADERS, I TO, AS I TOLD THE SECRETARY OF TIME THIS BECAUSE WE'VE GOT THE KNOWHOW, THE EVICTION, THE CORPORATE SUPPORT, THE TEAM, THE STAKEHOLDERS. SO AS WE DO TRANSITION, WE HAVE TO BE READY. AND THE SOONER THAT WE GET AHEAD OF THE GAME TO MAKE THE CHANGES AND WE'LL WORKING TOGETHER WITH ALL OF THIS, I KNOW THERE'S A REPRESENTATIVE HERE, GREEN. I KNOW I, THERE'S ALL THOSE THINGS GOING ON, BUT WE ALL WASTE THAT TIME TO COME TOGETHER FOR A AND THAT'S WHAT MAKES US STRONG. SO, SO ME, IT'S 0.6 TO MAKE IT 45 NEXT TIME. AND UH, IT'S ABOUT ELECTRIC BUSES, ABOUT DOING ALL THE THINGS THAT PREVIOUSLY HAVE SAID. SO AGAIN, CONGRATULATIONS TO MAKE AND LET'S MOVE FORWARD AND LET'S KEEP GOING. NOT HUNDRED TO NOT GO THIS MOVE FORWARD, MAKE YOU UP PRETTY MUCH TO MR. PARTNERSHIP. MR. [00:25:01] THANK YOU. THAT TEAM PUBLIC WORKS, PLANNING THE CITY AND MAKE SURE WORK. SO THINGS WE'RE ABLE TO DO THAT WE DO. SO GREAT PARTNERSHIP, WE TO SURE WE DOUBLE THE AMOUNT OF ELECTRIC BUSES THAT WILL BE SERVING THIS COMMUNITY, AS YOU HEARD EARLIER, IT'S GONNA SERVE EVERY PART OF THE COMMUNITY. WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE OUR CUSTOMERS EXPERIENCE THE QUALITY OF LIFE, EXPERIENCE, THE EXPERIENCE, ALL THE THINGS THAT WE'RE GONNA SEE THAT ARE BRINGING VALUE TO THIS COMMUNITY. WE WANNA GET THEIR FEEDBACK BECAUSE LESSONS AS WE, THE SERVICE, AS WE TO MAKE SURE THE CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, THE FULLY WE, THE OPPORTUNITY WE FORWARD, BUT NOT JUST VEHICLES. YOU'VE HEARD IT'S THE INFRASTRUCTURE, THE OPPORTUNITY TO TRAIN THE WORKFORCE THAT CAN TRANSITION TO SUPPORT CHANGING TECHNOLOGY. SO IT'S ALL ABOUT INVESTING IN OUR INVEST THIS GOING FORWARD. WE VERY EXCITED ABOUT THAT. YOU WE'RE GONNA PUT CONGRESSMAN JACKSON. WE'RE THROUGHOUT THE SYSTEM BECAUSE WE WANT EVERYBODY TO EXPERIENCE PARTNERSHIPS TOGETHER SAYING LEADERSHIP OF THE CITY, LEADERSHIP OF ALL CONGRESS. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.