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Bus rapid transit service is already a success just outside Los Angeles. In this 2005 photo, commuters board a bus at the Winnetka Orange Line Station in the San Fernando Valley. (Los Angeles Times photo/Al Seib)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The state Assembly has included $100 million in its budget proposal for bus rapid transit programs throughout the state, including one on Staten Island.

The funding bill for the Regional Bus Rapid Transit and Transportation Alternatives Program is sponsored by Assemblyman Matthew Titone (D-North Shore) and will be divvied up across the state.

Assemblyman Michael Cusick said it's expected that about $33 million of that would come to Staten Island for a North Shore BRT.

The BRT line would connect Arlington to St. George along a five-mile bus lane.

According to a 2012 Metropolitan Transportation Authority study, the project would cost an estimated $371 million.

The MTA's five-year capital budget doesn't include funding for the BRT, leaving proponents to look to the state to include it in its budget.

"We put it on the table by putting it in the budget proposal," Cusick (D-Mid-Island) said. He described the budget proposals from both houses in the state legislature as "wish lists" to add to the governor's proposal and may not get approved as part of the budget.

"The Assembly budget is good news for believers like me in the North Shore Bus Rapid Transit project," Titone said. "Ensuring that the North Shore BRT is on the negotiation table for the final budget is a priority of mine, and the Assembly resolution does exactly that."

Titone noted that the funding is only a portion of what's needed, but was hopeful that it's a good first step.

Cusick noted with the opening of the New York Wheel and Empire Outlets in St. George in a few years, new transportation options are needed.

"This funding included in our Assembly budget to finally get the North Shore BRT on the fast track to becoming a reality was a Staten Island priority, and I applaud Speaker [Carl] Heastie for working with us and understanding our unique transportation needs," he said.

Staten Island Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Linda Baran has advocated for a BRT and applauded the Assembly for including the funding in its budget proposal.

"The Chamber has sought to bring an alternative to Staten Island's North Shore for more than a decade," she said. "Over the course of the next three to five years, the North Shore of Staten Island will experience a renaissance of development and growth."