Federal Transit Administration: Bus and Bus Facilities Discretionary Program

The purpose of the Bus Program is to improve the condition of the nation’s public transportation bus fleets, expand transportation access to employment, educational, and healthcare facilities, and to improve mobility options in rural and urban areas throughout the country. In accordance with the statutory requirement that the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) must “consider the age and condition of buses, bus fleets, related equipment, and bus-related facilities,” FTA will prioritize projects that demonstrate how they will address significant repair and maintenance needs, improve the safety of transit systems, deploy connective projects that include advanced technologies to connect bus systems with other networks, and support the creation of ladders of opportunity.

There are two types of opportunities available:

1. Bus Program: Eligible projects are capital projects to replace, rehabilitate purchase, or lease buses, vans, and related equipment (including intelligent technology and software), and capital projects to rehabilitate, purchase, construct, or lease bus-related facilities. Eligible projects under the Bus Program also include all projects otherwise eligible under the Low-No Program (below).
2. Low-No Program: Eligible projects are projects or programs of projects for purchasing or leasing low or no emission buses, acquiring low or no emission buses with a leased power source, constructing or leasing facilities and related equipment (including intelligent technology and software), for low or no emission buses, constructing new public transportation facilities to accommodate low or no emission buses, or rehabilitating or improving existing public transportation facilities to accommodate low or no emission buses. All proposed projects must be part of the intended recipient’s long-term integrated fleet management plan.

Amount: $211,000,000 is available. Under the Bus Program, the maximum Federal share for projects is generally 80% of the net project cost. The maximum Federal participation in the costs of leasing or acquiring a transit bus financed under the Low-No Program is 85% of the total transit bus cost.

Eligibility: Direct recipients of FTA grants under the Section 5307 Urbanized Area Formula program, States, and Indian Tribes. Except for projects proposed by Indian Tribes, proposals for funding eligible projects in rural (non-urbanized) areas must be submitted as part of a consolidated State proposal.

Link: https://www.fta.dot.gov/funding/applying/notices-funding/5339b-bus-and-bus-facilities-discretionary-program-bus-program-2016

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