SCHUMER TOURS NEW MICRO BIRD BUS FACTORY HE HELPED BRING TO PLATTSBURGH, PROTECTING HUNDREDS OF GOOD-PAYING LOCAL JOBS; SENATOR LEADS FIGHT TO BOOST VITAL FED PROGRAM THAT DELIVERS $$ FOR BUS & TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE TO SUPPORT MICRO BIRD’S GROWTH IN NORTH COUNTRY
Micro Bird Invested $38 Million To Purchase Former Nova Bus Facility, Which Was Slated For Closure, After Schumer Personally Called Volvo CEO Urging Company To Sell Facility To Another Transportation Manufacturer And Work With Local Leaders
Schumer Says Now With The Factory Up & Running We Must Continue To Drive Demand For These Top-Of-The-Line Buses, And Leads Fight To Boost Federal “Low Or No Emission Grant” Which Communities Use To Buy American-Made Buses And Will Help Support Micro Bird’s Growth In North Country
Schumer: Micro Bird Is Adding To North Country’s Transportation Manufacturing Leadership & We Must Invest More To Support American Manufacturing!
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, today for the first time, toured the new Micro Bird facility he helped bring to Plattsburgh, protecting hundreds of good-paying local manufacturing jobs. Last year, after Nova Bus announced it would close its North Country facility, Schumer personally called the Volvo CEO, urging the company to sell the manufacturing facility to preserve transportation-manufacturing operations in the North Country.
With the new Micro Bird facility up and running and planning to expand manufacturing to offer new propane and electric buses, Schumer promised to lead the fight to boost the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) funding that Micro Bird relies on for demand like the “Low or No Emission Vehicle Grant Program” in the upcoming transportation authorization bill to support Micro Bird’s growth in the North Country.
“The North Country has long been the heart of America’s transportation manufacturing. Today, I’m thrilled to see Micro Bird’s new Plattsburgh factory up and running in person. When Nova Bus announced it was shutting down, I immediately called Volvo’s top leadership and urged them to work with Governor Hochul, Garry Douglas, and me to find a new owner in the transportation lane to take over this plant,” said Senator Schumer. “Now, almost exactly a year later after we received the good news, we all have much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving season, with workers busy and their families supported by these good-paying jobs here in the North Country. As Congress begins to work on our next transportation funding bill, I am thinking of Micro Bird and the powerhouse workforce here in Plattsburgh and will be fighting to deliver federal dollars to support transportation upgrades across New York State. Because upgrading our transportation is important for everyone, whether you are a daily commuter on Long Island, ride a bus rapid transit route in Albany or Syracuse, or are one of the hundreds of hardworking employees here in Plattsburgh making subway cars or buses.”
Last year, after Nova Bus announced it would end production in the United States and close its Plattsburgh manufacturing facility, Schumer personally called Volvo CEO Martin Lundstedt, urging the company to sell the manufacturing facility to preserve transportation-manufacturing operations in the North Country. Micro Bird then announced it would step up by investing $38 million to bring new manufacturing to the Nova Bus site, creating 240 good-paying local manufacturing jobs, with plans for 350 jobs in the coming years. This has created new employment opportunities for nearly 200 impacted Nova Bus workers who had similar jobs.
Schumer explained that Micro Bird manufactures shorter buses and Paratransit vehicles for both schools and transit systems. Micro Bird currently makes traditional vehicles at its Plattsburgh facility, but next year plans on expanding production to include low- or no-emission vehicles as it does at its Quebec facility. Schumer announced he will lead the fight to deliver robust funding levels for the federal Low- or No- Emission Bus Grants program in next year’s surface transportation bill, so more organizations that purchase low or zero emission vehicles can tap into this fund, supporting Micro Bird’s growth in the North Country and the region’s manufacturing leadership.
“With Micro Bird starting to build new clean buses next year, I’m here to lead the fight to deliver robust funding for the programs that help drive their demand and keep our workers on the line, like the Low-or No-Emission Bus Grants program. These grants help local communities buy buses and support American manufacturers like Micro Bird’s growth in the North Country,” added Schumer.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Schumer led to passage in the Senate, included a historic $108 billion or $21.4 billion each year between Fiscal Years 2022 through 2026 for public transit, which was about a 67% increase from the previous transportation reauthorization law. USDOT’s Low-or No-Emission Bus Grants program, funded with $5.6 billion in the Infrastructure Law, awards capital investment grants for the acquisition of low-or zero-emission buses. This program finances the acquisition of buses, ancillary equipment, and the construction of bus facilities, like maintenance facilities, garages, storage areas, and bus terminals.
New York State transportation systems have received $363M+ through the Low-No program since the passage of Bipartisan Infrastructure & Jobs Act in 2021, including Schumer’s recent announcement of more than $100 million in Low- or No- Emission Bus Grants throughout the state. The Low-No program has stood to benefit not just transit systems that are able to modernize their fleet, but US innovation in transportation technology and the manufacturing jobs they support. For instance, in 2022, USDOT awarded the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) a $116 million Low-No grant to purchase electric buses, of which it purchased several made by Micro Bird’s predecessor, Nova Bus in Plattsburgh, supporting the broader New York economy and transportation future. Schumer said continuing funding for programs like this is critical to helping Micro Bird continue to grow in the North Country, and he will be fighting to deliver the priorities they need in the upcoming transportation reauthorization legislation to ensure they continue Plattsburgh’s transportation manufacturing legacy.
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