01:20 PM EST on Thursday, December 9, 2004

By Associated Press and WVEC.com

People visiting the Virginia Beach oceanfront could find themselves zipping around the resort strip on modern buses known as "bus rapid transit."

Governor Mark Warner announced Thursday $10 million in state money for the program as part of his Transportation Partnership Act of 2005.

The rest of the estimated $45 million cost would come from the city and the federal government.

The buses could be running by 2007 if the legislature approves the funding when the General Assembly convenes on January 12.

It's one of several transportation projects desired by Virginia's largest city.

The buses run on alternate fuels, such as electricity or natural gas. They can carry 120 passengers -- or about three times as many as a standard city bus can.

The Transportation Partnership Act of 2005 provides $824 million in new funding to jump-start promising public-private partnerships, promote greater use of rail and transit, encourage local oversight of road projects and eliminate deficits on completed projects in Virginia’s six-year transportation program.

"I am pleased to announce the next step in our continuing efforts to reform VDOT and strengthen transportation in Virginia,” Governor Warner said. “This plan will improve the quality of our citizens’ lives, ease traffic congestion, and help sustain Virginia’s rebounding economy.”

Warner added the package -- 80 percent of it a one-time infusion of cash -- won't end a transportation crisis billions of dollars short of its needs.

Still, he said, because some of the money is aimed at transit projects that could ease congestion in the state's most populous regions and could "jump-start" public-private projects, the package may produce more benefit quicker than a greater sum of cash devoted solely to new pavement.

The initiative that will be part of the budget he offers the General Assembly next week.

(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)