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 Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration
 AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration (FTA), Department of Transportation (DOT).
 ACTION: Notice; announcement of project selections. Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities Program.
 SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announces the allocation of $409,274,220 to projects under the Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities Program (Buses and Bus Facilities Program) and provides administrative guidance on project implementation.
 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Successful applicants should contact the appropriate FTA Regional Office for information regarding applying for the funds or program-specific information. A list of Regional Offices can be found at 
                        *www.transit.dot.gov/​.*
                         Unsuccessful applicants may contact Tom Wilson, Office of Program Management at (202) 366-5279, email: 
                        *Thomas.Wilson@dot.gov*
                         within 30 days of this announcement to arrange a proposal debriefing. A TDD is available at 1-800-877-8339 (TDD/FIRS).


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Federal public transportation law (49 U.S.C. 5339(b)) authorizes FTA to make competitive grants for buses and bus facilities. Federal public law (49 U.S.C. 5338(a)(2)(M)) authorized $289,044,179 in FY 2021 funds for the Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities Program. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, appropriated an additional $125,000,000 for the Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities Program. After the oversight takedown of $4,455,331, FTA is announcing the availability of $409,588,848 for the Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities Program. On September 20, 2021, FTA published a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) (86 FR 52291) announcing the availability of $409,588,848 in competitive funding under the Buses and Bus Facilities Program. These funds will provide financial assistance to states and eligible public agencies to replace, rehabilitate, purchase, or lease buses, vans, and related equipment, and for capital projects to rehabilitate, purchase, construct, or lease bus-related facilities. In response to the NOFO, FTA received 303 eligible project proposals totaling approximately $2.56 billion in Federal funds. Project proposals were evaluated based on each applicant's responsiveness to the program evaluation criteria outlined in the NOFO. Based on the criteria in the NOFO, FTA is funding 70 projects, as shown in Table 1, for a total of $409,274,220. Recipients selected for competitive funding are required to work with their FTA Regional Office to submit a grant application in FTA's Transit Award Management System (TrAMS) for the projects identified in the attached table to quickly obligate funds. Grant applications must only include eligible activities applied for in the original project application. Funds must be used consistent with the competitive proposal and for the eligible capital purposes described in the NOFO. In cases where the allocation amount is less than the proposer's total requested amount, recipients are required to fund the scalable project option as described in the application. If the award amount does not correspond to the scalable option, the recipient should work with the Regional Office to reduce scope or scale the project such that a complete phase or project is accomplished. Recipients may also provide additional local funds to complete a proposed project. A discretionary project identification number has been assigned to each project for tracking purposes and must be used in the TrAMS application. Selected projects are eligible to incur costs under pre-award authority no earlier than the date projects were publicly announced. Pre-award authority does not guarantee that project expenses incurred prior to the award of a grant will be eligible for reimbursement, as eligibility for reimbursement is contingent upon other requirements, such as planning and environmental requirements, having been met. For more about FTA's policy on pre-award authority, please see the current FTA Apportionments, Allocations, and Program Information and Interim Guidance at 
                    *https://www.transit.dot.gov/​funding/​apportionments.*
                     Post-award reporting requirements include submission of Federal Financial Reports and Milestone Progress Reports in TrAMS (see FTA Circular 5010.1E). Recipients must comply with all applicable Federal statutes, regulations, executive orders, FTA circulars, and other Federal requirements in carrying out the project supported by the FTA grant. FTA emphasizes that recipients must follow all third-party procurement requirements set forth in Federal public 
                    ( print page 15490)
                    transportation law (49 U.S.C. 5325(a)) and described in the FTA Third Party Contracting Guidance Circular (FTA Circular 4220.1). Funds allocated in this announcement must be obligated in a grant by September 30, 2025. *Technical Review and Evaluation Summary:*
                     The FTA assessed all project proposals that were submitted under the FY 2021 Buses and Bus Facilities Program competition according to the following evaluation criteria. The specific metrics for each criterion were described in the September 20, 2021, NOFO: 1. Demonstration of Need 2. Demonstration of Benefits 3. Planning/Local Prioritization 4. Local Financial Commitment 5. Project Implementation Strategy 6. Technical, Legal, and Financial Capacity For each project, a technical review panel assigned a rating of Highly Recommended, Recommended, or Not Recommended for each of the six criteria. The technical review panel then assigned an overall rating of Highly Recommended, Recommended, Not Recommended, or Ineligible to the project proposal. Projects were assigned a final overall rating of Highly Recommended if they were rated Highly Recommended in at least four categories overall, with no Not Recommended ratings. Projects were assigned a final overall rating of Recommended if the projects had three or more Recommended ratings and no Not Recommended ratings. Projects were assigned a rating of Not Recommended if they received a Not Recommended rating in any criteria. A summary of the final overall ratings for all 303 eligible project proposals is shown in the table below. Overall Project Ratings
[Eligible submissions]
Highly Recommended
166Recommended
95Not Recommended
42Total
303
 As outlined in the NOFO, FTA made the final selections based on the technical ratings as well as geographic diversity, diversity in the size of transit systems receiving funding, Administration priorities including climate change, and/or receipt of other recent competitive awards. As further outlined in the NOFO, in some cases, due to funding limitations, proposers that were selected for funding received less than the amount originally requested. Nuria I. Fernandez, Administrator.
 Table 1—FY 2021 Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities Project Selections
State
Recipient
Project ID
Project description
AllocationAK
City and Borough of Juneau, Capital Transit
D2022-BUSC-001
On-route electric bus charging infrastructure
$1,446,827AL
City of Mobile
D2022-BUSC-002
Bus replacement
4,850,535AR
City of Jonesboro
D2022-BUSC-003
Bus stop technology upgrades
752,000AZ
Northern Arizona Intergovernmental Transportation Authority
D2022-BUSC-004
Electric buses and charging equipment procurement; bus storage facility construction
1,292,118CA
Eastern Contra Costa Transit Authority
D2022-BUSC-005
Zero-emission bus infrastructure
3,998,543CA
Sacramento Regional Transit District
D2022-BUSC-006
Bus replacement
5,250,000CA
City of Torrance Transit Department
D2022-BUSC-007
Transit fleet modernization
6,280,000CA
Napa Valley Transportation Authority
D2022-BUSC-008
Zero-emission bus electrification
8,455,856CA
Riverside Transit Agency
D2022-BUSC-009
Construction of hydrogen fueling stations and workforce training
8,787,846CA
San Luis Obispo Regional Transit Authority
D2022-BUSC-010
Zero-emission bus replacement
8,799,979CA
SunLine Transit Agency
D2022-BUSC-011
Zero-emission bus procurement and bus refurbishment for the Coachella Valley
8,409,070CA
City of Norwalk: Norwalk Transit System
D2022-BUSC-012
Zero-emission battery electric bus replacement
3,530,822CA
City of Santa Rosa
D2022-BUSC-013
Replacing diesel buses with battery electric and supporting infrastructure
4,288,300CA
North County Transit District (NCTD)
D2022-BUSC-014
Hydrogen electric bus replacement
4,800,000CA
City of Cerritos
D2022-BUSC-015
Electric bus procurement and fleet replacement
4,378,140CA
Foothill Transit
D2022-BUSC-016
Zero-emission double deck bus procurement
7,942,200CA
California DOT on behalf of the City of Arvin
D2022-BUSC-017
Rural battery electric bus replacement
2,922,550CA
California DOT on behalf of Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System (YARTS)
D2022-BUSC-018
Improving bus system inter-modal connectivity to Yosemite National Park
4,600,625CO
State of Colorado, Department of Transportation (CDOT)
D2022-BUSC-019
Snowmass Multimodal Transit Station
13,500,000CO
State of Colorado, Department of Transportation (CDOT)
D2022-BUSC-020
Rural regional transit center renovations and expansion
9,350,000CT
Connecticut Department of Transportation
D2022-BUSC-021
Zero-emission bus procurement
11,446,538DE
Delaware Transit Corporation
D2022-BUSC-022
Rehoboth Transit Center modernization
5,400,000FL
City of Gainesville Dept of Transportation & Mobility, Regional Transit System
D2022-BUSC-023
Bus replacement and East Gainesville transfer station construction
10,660,817FL
Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority
D2022-BUSC-024
Electric bus and charging expansion
18,399,000GA
Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA)
D2022-BUSC-025
Clayton County Multipurpose Operations and Maintenance Facility
15,000,000HI
Honolulu, City and County of
D2022-BUSC-026
Battery electric bus acquisition and service expansion
4,711,900IA
Ames Transit Agency, d/b/a CyRide
D2022-BUSC-027
Articulated electric bus procurement
3,185,374ID
Valley Regional Transit
D2022-BUSC-028
Transit vehicle replacement and electrification
1,920,000IL
Madison County Mass Transit District
D2022-BUSC-029
Bus replacement
2,700,000IN
South Bend Public Transportation Corporation
D2022-BUSC-030
Bus replacement
4,327,304IN
Indianapolis Public Transportation Corporation
D2022-BUSC-031
Enhanced bus stops
2,346,658KS
Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation
D2022-BUSC-032
Rural accessible van procurement
52,972KY
Transit Authority of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government
D2022-BUSC-033
Bus replacement
4,107,642LA
City of Shreveport
D2022-BUSC-034
City-wide bus shelter improvements
1,948,000MA
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
D2022-BUSC-035
Maintenance facility replacement and electrification
5,000,000MD
MDOT—MTA on Behalf of Harford County
D2022-BUSC-036
Bus replacement
1,498,000ME
Greater Portland Transit District
D2022-BUSC-037
Bus replacement
1,887,000( print page 15491)MI
Michigan Department of Transportation
D2022-BUSC-038
Bus replacement and fleet expansion in the State of Michigan
6,199,631MI
Michigan Department of Transportation
D2022-BUSC-039
Bus facility replacement, expansion, and rehabilitation for four rural transit systems
7,391,200MN
Minnesota Valley Transit Authority
D2022-BUSC-040
Burnsville bus garage modernization
4,960,000MN
City of Rochester
D2022-BUSC-041
Bus Stop improvement and 75th St. Park and Ride construction
4,339,344MO
Bi-State Development Agency of the Missouri-Illinois Metropolitan District
D2022-BUSC-042
Battery electric bus deployment in DeBaliviere
4,098,410MT
City of Billings, MET Transit Division
D2022-BUSC-043
Bus replacement and facility refurbishment
3,028,000NC
City of Greensboro
D2022-BUSC-044
Replacing diesel buses with zero-emission buses and infrastructure in the City of Greensboro
3,008,800NC
City of Concord
D2022-BUSC-045
Bus replacement
3,966,318NC
City of Durham
D2022-BUSC-046
Durham Station renovation
10,800,000NM
City of Albuquerque
D2022-BUSC-047
Bus wash system
1,161,100NV
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
D2022-BUSC-048
Hydrogen fuel cell bus procurement and solar lighting for bus stops
4,870,000NY
Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority
D2022-BUSC-049
Battery electric bus deployment
4,844,000NY
Metropolitan Transportation Authority
D2022-BUSC-050
Bus depot renovation
12,337,280OH
Laketran
D2022-BUSC-051 & D2022-BUSC-052
Bus facility renovation and expansion
7,233,149 & 7,448,832OH
Portage Area Regional Transportation Authority
D2022-BUSC-053
Bus replacement
1,514,888OH
Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority
D2022-BUSC-054
Bus facility renovation and safety improvements
2,307,200OH
Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA)
D2022-BUSC-055
Bus replacement with new green diesel and electric buses
10,134,960OH
Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA)
D2022-BUSC-056
Bus facility roofing improvement
4,000,000OK
Oklahoma Department of Transportation
D2022-BUSC-057
Rural bus facility rehabilitation
914,725OR
Rogue Valley Transportation District
D2022-BUSC-058
Bus facility expansion
12,552,523OR
Lane Transit District
D2022-BUSC-059
Zero-emission bus replacement
4,891,676OR
Oregon Department of Transportation, Public Transportation Division
D2022-BUSC-060
Bus fleet expansion
244,800PA
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority
D2022-BUSC-061
South Philadelphia Transportation Center
9,800,000SC
City of Rock Hill
D2022-BUSC-062
Transit fleet and facilities expansion
2,832,848TX
Galveston, City of
D2022-BUSC-063
Low-emission fleet replacement
1,060,000TX
Fort Worth Transportation Authority
D2022-BUSC-064
Bus facility improvements
6,484,320TX
Texas Department of Transportation
D2022-BUSC-065
Rural transit asset replacement & modernization
22,850,000UT
Utah Department of Transportation
D2022-BUSC-066
Rural bus transit expansion project
2,389,699VA
Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission
D2022-BUSC-067
Bus transit hub rehabilitation
916,500WA
Clark County Public Transportation Benefit Area
D2022-BUSC-068
Bus replacement
2,742,600WA
Kitsap Transit
D2022-BUSC-069
Battery-electric buses and charging infrastructure procurement
10,400,000WA
Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority
D2022-BUSC-070
Bus procurement and station construction for I-405 Bus Rapid Transit Service
12,924,801WI
City of Madison
D2022-BUSC-071
Bus maintenance and administrative facility improvements
6,400,000Total



409,274,220


[FR Doc. 2022-05734 Filed 3-17-22; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4910-57-P