By Mike Kruzman / news@whmi.com

The Livingston Essential Transportation Service has received a federal grant to help with operations and, potentially, future projects.

March’s federal CARES Act provided $25-billion in stimulus money for public transportation organizations. Earlier this month, the Livingston County Board of Commissioners approved a resolution allowing LETS to apply for its maximum allowed amount of $4.98-million. That amount was determined based on population and population density. LETS Director Greg Kellogg told WHMI the Livingston County Board of Commissioners has the final decision on how the money is used, but he’s hoping that at least some it will go towards a proposed bus route between Howell and Brighton. He said he expects that people will need help in the near future getting to jobs and finding jobs, and that the business community, too, is probably going to go through a lengthy period of recovery.

The federal money could be seen as an added blessing given that Kellogg said he and other transportation organizations have been cautioned by the Michigan Department of Transportation that their state funding may decrease over the next couple years. While this fiscal year is stable, he said the state is in the same situation as other entities in not knowing what revenues are going to look like on the other side of this pandemic. Kellogg said they are going to be safe and conservative with this money, and not go on any spending sprees. He said he’s going to take the temperature and lay of the land over the coming months, and when they do resume regular service, he expects it to be a slow ramp-up, like the rest of the economy. If ridership and local funding sources are down, they may need to use some of this money to maintain regular operations.