25362 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 82 / Thursday, April 28, 2022 / Notices 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Transit Administration 

Notice of FTA Transit Program 

Changes, Authorized Funding Levels 

and Implementation of the 

Infrastructure Investment and Jobs 

Act; and FTA Fiscal Year 2022 

Apportionments, Allocations, Program 

Information and Interim Guidance 

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration 

(FTA), Department of Transportation 

(DOT). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces 

changes in Federal Transit 

Administration (FTA) programs in 

accordance with amendments to Federal 

public transportation law by the 

Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (enacted 

as the Infrastructure Investment and 

Jobs Act (IIJA)). The IIJA authorizes 

surface transportation programs of the 

Department of Transportation (DOT) for 

Federal fiscal years (FY) 2022 through 

2026 and provides advance 

appropriations for certain programs. 

This notice provides preliminary 

implementation instructions and 

guidance for the new and revised 

programs in FY 2022, announces the 

funding apportionment for programs 

authorized and funded with FY 2022 

contract authority and appropriations, 

and describes future plans for several 

competitive programs. The notice also 

includes locations of FY 2022 

apportionment tables and unobligated 

(or carryover) funds allocated under the 

discretionary programs from prior years. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

general information about this notice 

contact John Bodnar, Director, Office of 

Transit Programs, at (202) 366–9091. 

Please contact the appropriate FTA 

Regional Office for any specific requests 

for information or technical assistance. 

FTA Regional Office contact 

information is available at: https://

www.transit.dot.gov/about/regionaloffices/regional-offices. 

An FTA headquarters contact for each 

major program area is included in the 

discussion of that program in the text of 

this notice. FTA recommends that 

stakeholders subscribe to GovDelivery 

(https://public.govdelivery.com/ 

accounts/USDOTFTA/subscriber/new) 

to receive email notifications when new 

information is available. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents 

I. Overview 

II. FY 2022 Funding for FTA Programs 

A. Federal Transit Law as Amended by the 

IIJA Authorization and FY 2022 

Appropriations 

B. Oversight Takedown 

C. Formula Apportionment Data and 

Methodology 

1. Apportionment Tables 

2. National Transit Database and Census 

Data Used in FY 2022 Apportionments 

D. Previously Authorized Funding 

III. IIJA and FY 2022 Appropriations: 

Highlights of Changes 

A. Grant Program Modifications 

1. Modifications to Formula Programs 

2. Competitive Programs 

B. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit 

Authority Funding 

C. Definitional Changes and New 

Definitions 

D. Cross-Cutting Programmatic 

Requirements and Changes 

1. Metropolitan and Statewide Planning 

2. Innovative Bus Procurement 

3. Disposition of Rolling Stock, 

Equipment and Supplies 

4. Transfer of Property to NonGovernmental Entities 

5. Fleet Transition Plan 

6. National Transit Database 

IV. Program-Specific Information 

A. Metropolitan and Statewide 

Transportation Planning Program (49 

U.S.C. 5303 and 5305(d)) 

B. State Planning and Research Program 

(49 U.S.C. 5304 and 5305(e)) 

C. Urbanized Area Formula Program (49 

U.S.C. 5307) 

D. Fixed Guideway Capital Investment 

Grants Program (49 U.S.C. 5309) 

E. Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and 

Individuals With Disabilities Program 

(49 U.S.C 5310) 

F. Formula Grants for Rural Areas Program 

(49 U.S.C. 5311) 

G. Rural Transportation Assistance 

Program (49 U.S.C. 5311(b)(3)) 

H. Appalachian Development Public 

Transportation Assistance Program (49 

U.S.C. 5311(c)(2)) 

I. Formula Grants for Public Transportation 

on Indian Reservations Program (49 

U.S.C. 5311(j)) 

J. Public Transportation Innovation (49 

U.S.C. 5312) 

K. Technical Assistance and Workforce 

Development (49 U.S.C. 5314) 

L. Public Transportation Emergency Relief 

Program (49 U.S.C. 5324) 

M. Public Transportation Safety Program 

(49 U.S.C. 5329) 

N. State of Good Repair Program (49 U.S.C. 

5337) 

O. Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities 

Program (49 U.S.C. 5339) 

P. Growing States and High-Density States 

Formula Factors (49 U.S.C. 5340) 

Q. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit 

Authority Grants 

R. FY 2022 Transit Infrastructure Grants— 

Community Project Funding/ 

Congressionally Directed Spending 

V. FTA Policy and Procedures for FY 2022 

Grants 

A. Automatic Pre-Award Authority To 

Incur Project Costs 

B. Letter of No Prejudice (LONP) Policy 

C. FY 2022 Annual List of Certifications 

and Assurances 

D. Civil Rights Requirements 

E. Consolidated Planning Grants 

F. Grant Application Procedures 

G. Grant Management 

I. Overview 

This document contains important 

information and interim guidance about 

new FTA programs and changes to 

existing FTA program statutes (49 

U.S.C. 5301, et seq.), as amended by the 

Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which 

was enacted as the Infrastructure 

Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) (Pub. L. 

117–58), signed by President Biden on 

November 15, 2021, and effective on 

October 1, 2021. 

In addition, this document provides 

apportionments for FTA formula and 

discretionary programs for FY 2022 

based on the Consolidated 

Appropriations Act, 2022 (Pub. L. 117– 

103, March 15, 2022). It also contains 

information on how FTA plans to 

administer its transit programs in FY 

2022 and how funds appropriated and 

allocated prior to FY 2022 will be 

treated. 

This notice highlights important 

changes to FTA programs, including 

new competitive programs. It describes 

definitional changes and cross-cutting 

requirements and provides specific 

information about FTA’s statutory 

programs as amended by the IIJA. 

For each FTA program, FTA has 

provided information on the IIJAauthorized funding levels for FY 2022, 

the basis for apportionment or 

allocation of funds, requirements 

specific to the program, period of 

availability of funds, and other program 

information. A separate section provides 

information on pre-award authority and 

other requirements and guidance 

applicable to FTA programs and grant 

administration. Finally, the notice 

includes references to tables on FTA’s 

website that show amounts apportioned 

under the FY 2022 appropriations and 

approximately $2.3 billion in 

unobligated or carryover funding 

available in FY 2022 under certain 

competitive programs carried out in 

accordance with prior authorization 

acts. 

Information in this document 

includes references to the existing FTA 

program guidance and circulars. Some 

information may have been superseded 

by new provisions in the IIJA, but these 

guidance documents and circulars 

remain a resource for program 

management in most areas. FTA intends 

to revise the guidance and circulars, as 

appropriate, with an opportunity for 

public comment when necessary. 


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1All references to ‘‘section’’ herein refer to 

sections of Chapter 53 of Title 49 of the United 

States Code, unless otherwise specifically stated. 

2 It should be noted that the 2020 Census data is 

not yet available. Once published the data will be 

applied to the FY 2023 allocations. 

II. FY 2022 Funding for FTA Programs 

A. Federal Transit Law as Amended by 

the IIJA Authorization and FY 2022 

Appropriations 

The IIJA is the new five-year surface 

transportation reauthorization 

legislation that provides FTA an 

authorization level of $21.01 billion in 

FY 2022 and up to a total of $108.15 

billion from FY 2022 through FY 2026. 

The IIJA modifies certain transit 

programs; provides significant funding 

increases; creates four new competitive 

grant programs; and changes several 

cross-cutting requirements. The law 

continues and expands FTA’s authority 

to strengthen the safety of public 

transportation systems throughout the 

United States. 

Of the $108.15 billion, the IIJA 

provides for $69.9 billion to be provided 

from the Mass Transit Account, 

provides $21.25 billion in advance 

appropriations, and authorizes an 

additional $17 billion to be 

appropriated from the General Fund of 

the Treasury. 

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 

2022, appropriated $16,264,763,267 for 

FY 2022, providing the authorized 

$13.355 billion for the Mass Transit 

Account; appropriated $504,263,267 in 

Transit Infrastructure Grants, including 

an additional $175 million for the Buses 

and Bus Facilities Competitive grant 

program, an additional $75 million for 

the Low or No Emission Grants 

program, an additional $6.5 million for 

the Urbanized Area Passenger Ferry 

program; an additional $2 million for 

the Bus Testing program, an additional 

$12 million for several research 

programs, $20 million for competitive 

grants to assist areas of persistent 

poverty, $200,798,267 for Community 

Project Funding/Congressionally 

Directed Spending and an additional 

$12.965 million to the ferry service for 

rural communities program; 

appropriated $7.5 million in additional 

technical assistance and training 

funding; appropriated $2.248 billion for 

the Capital Investment Grant program 

and the Expedited Project Delivery Pilot 

Program, and appropriated 

$150,000,000 for the Washington 

Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. 

Combined with the $4.25 billion in 

advance appropriations for FY 2022, a 

total of $20,514,763,267 was 

appropriated for FY 2022. Funding 

availability for each program is 

identified in section IV of this notice 

and Table 1 located on FTA’s FY 2022 

Apportionment web page. 

B. Oversight Takedown 

The IIJA did not modify the 

percentage takedown for oversight 

provided in section 5338(c).1 The 

following oversight takedowns of FTA 

programs will be applied: 0.5 percent of 

Metropolitan and Statewide Planning 

funds, 0.75 percent of Urbanized Area 

Formula funds, 1 percent of Fixed 

Guideway Capital Investment Grants 

funds, 0.5 percent of Formula Grants for 

the Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and 

Individuals with Disabilities, 0.5 

percent of Formula Grants for Rural 

Areas, 1 percent of State of Good Repair 

Formula funds, 0.75 percent for Grants 

for Buses and Bus Facilities, and 1 

percent of Capital and Preventive 

Maintenance Projects for Washington 

Metropolitan Area Transit Authority 

funds. The funds are used to provide 

necessary oversight activities, such as 

oversight of the construction of any 

major capital project receiving Federal 

transit assistance; to conduct State 

Safety Oversight, drug and alcohol, civil 

rights, procurement systems, 

management, planning certification, and 

financial reviews and audits, as well as 

evaluations and analyses of recipientspecific problems and issues; to 

generally provide technical assistance 

and correct deficiencies identified in 

compliance reviews and audits; and to 

support FTA’s administrative expenses. 

Additionally, the IIJA provides for a 2 

percent takedown from each of the 

advance appropriations provided under 

Division J, Title VIII of IIJA, except for 

the Capital Investment Grant takedown, 

which remains at 1 percent. One-half 

percent of that two percent is to be 

provided to the U.S. DOT Office of the 

Inspector General (OIG). 

C. Formula Apportionment Data and 

Methodology 

1. Apportionment Tables 

FTA has published apportionment 

tables on its website for each program 

that reflect the full-year appropriations 

less oversight take-downs, as applicable. 

Tables displaying the funds available to 

eligible states, tribes, and urbanized 

areas have been posted to http://

www.transit.dot.gov/funding/ 

apportionments. This website contains a 

page listing the apportionment and 

allocation tables for FY 2022, as well as 

links to prior year formula 

apportionment notices and tables and 

the National Transit Database and 

Census data used to calculate the FY 

2022 apportionments. 

2. National Transit Database and Census 

Data Used in the FY 2022 

Apportionments 

Consistent with past practices, the 

calculations for sections 5307, 5311, 

including 5311(j) (Tribal Transit), 5329, 

5337, and 5339 programs rely on the 

most-recent transit service data reported 

to the National Transit Database (NTD), 

which in this case is the 2020 report 

year. Due to the ongoing impacts of the 

COVID–19 pandemic, FTA allowed all 

transit agencies to substitute their 2019 

NTD data in place of their 2020 data in 

all cases where that transit agency 

provided more vehicle revenue miles of 

service in 2019 than in 2020. In some 

cases where an apportionment is based 

on the age of the system, the age is 

calculated as of September 30, 2021, 

which was the last day before FY 2022 

began. Any recipient or beneficiary of 

either the section 5307 or section 5311 

program funds is required to report to 

the NTD. All other FTA grant recipients 

that own, operate, or manage transit 

capital assets must report their asset 

data to the NTD. Additionally, a number 

of transit operators report to the NTD on 

a voluntary basis. For the 2020 report 

year, the NTD includes data from 949 

reporters in urbanized areas, 929 of 

which reported operating transit service. 

The NTD also includes data from 1,326 

providers of rural transit service, which 

includes 133 Indian Tribes providing 

transit service. The IIJA made a number 

of changes to NTD reporting 

requirements. Before implementing 

these changes, FTA will provide notice 

and seek comment on implementation 

in a separate notice in the Federal 

Register. 

The 2010 Census data is used to 

determine population and population 

density for sections 5303, 5305, 5307 

and 5339 as well as rural population 

and rural land area for Section 5311.2

The formulas for sections 5307, 5311, 

and 5311(j) include tiers where funding 

is allocated on the basis of the number 

of persons living in poverty, and the 

Section 5310 formula program allocates 

funding on the basis of the population 

of older adults and people with 

disabilities. The Census Bureau no 

longer publishes decennial census data 

on persons living in poverty and 

persons with disabilities. As a result, 

since FY 2013, FTA has been using the 

data for these populations available via 

the Census’ American Community 

Survey (ACS). The NTD and census data 

that FTA used to calculate the 

apportionments associated with this 


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notice can be found on FTA’s website: 

Formula Apportionments Data. 

The FY 2022 apportionments use data 

on low-income persons, persons with 

disabilities, and older adults from the 

2015–2019 ACS five-year data set, 

which was published in December 2020. 

This data represents the most recent 

five-year ACS estimates that are 

available as of October 1st for the year 

being apportioned. As was the case in 

prior years, data on low-income persons 

comes from ACS Table B17024, ‘‘Age by 

Ratio of Income to Poverty in the Last 

Twelve Months,’’ and data on people 

with disabilities under 65 years old 

comes from ACS Table S1810, 

‘‘Disability Characteristics.’’ For the FY 

2022 apportionments, FTA is using data 

on older adults (over 65 years old) from 

ACS Table B01001, ‘‘Sex by Age’’ after 

determining that the ACS table used in 

prior fiscal years (ACS Table S.0103, 

‘‘People over 65 in the United States’’) 

did not include data for all urbanized 

areas. 

D. Previously Authorized Funding 

For programs that are continued 

under the IIJA with amendments, the 

provisions of the IIJA now apply to all 

unobligated funds from FY 2021 and 

prior years, as well as to FY 2022 funds. 

III. The IIJA and FY 2022 

Appropriations: Highlights of Changes 

The IIJA generally continued FTA’s 

existing programs with substantial 

increases in funding. However, it did 

modify certain FTA’s formula and 

competitive programs, created four new 

competitive grant programs, and 

modified FTA’s cross-cutting and 

regulatory requirements in several areas. 

A. Grant Program Modifications 

1. Modifications to Formula Programs 

In addition to increased funding 

levels, the IIJA modified several of the 

formula programs. Modifications to the 

amounts for particular programs or 

subprograms are described in Section 

IV. 

a. Urbanized Area Formula Program 

The IIJA requires each recipient that 

serves urbanized areas with populations 

of 200,000 or more to allocate not less 

than 0.75 percent of their Urbanized 

Area Formula Program funds to safetyrelated projects. Examples of activities 

that may satisfy this requirement are 

wide-ranging, and may include projects 

such as improving air filtration systems 

or lighting on transit property, or 

procurements that improve safety by 

replacing older vehicles in a poor state 

of good repair with newer vehicles in a 

good state of repair with modern safety 

features. Recipients in large urbanized 

areas that may use section 5307 funding 

for operating expenses by qualifying 

under the ‘‘100-bus rule’’ may identify 

operating expenses that satisfy the 

safety requirement. Note that this is 

separate from the requirement for 

urbanized areas to use 1 percent of the 

funds apportioned under section 5336 

for security under the Urbanized Area 

Formula Program. However, some safety 

expenditures identified to satisfy the 

safety requirement may also be used to 

support the 1% requirement for 

security-related projects for the UZA if 

the recipient can justify the expense as 

both a safety and a security expense. 

b. Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities 

Formula Program 

The IIJA modifies the Grants for Buses 

and Bus Facilities Formula and 

Competitive programs to include a 

requirement for applicants to use, to the 

extent possible, innovative procurement 

tools authorized under Section 3019 of 

the FAST Act (Pub. L. 114–94). If fewer 

than five buses are purchased through a 

stand-alone procurement, the recipient 

must provide a written explanation to 

FTA of why the authorized procurement 

tools were not used. (See Section IV.O.) 

2. Competitive Programs 

The IIJA continues six competitive 

programs and creates four new 

programs. FTA is in the process of 

developing program guidance for all 

discretionary programs, which will be 

published in Notices of Funding 

Opportunity (NOFO) for each program. 

These include: 

a. Transit-Oriented Development 

Planning Pilot Program (Section 

20005(b) of MAP–21) 

This competitive pilot program for 

transit-oriented development (TOD) 

planning grants continues and is 

authorized for $68.9 million over five 

years, with $13.1 million authorized for 

FY 2022. Eligible activities include sitespecific as well as comprehensive 

planning associated with new fixed 

guideway and core capacity 

improvement projects. The 

comprehensive plans should enhance 

economic development, ridership, and 

other goals established during the 

project development and engineering 

processes; facilitate multimodal 

connectivity and accessibility; increase 

access to transit hubs for pedestrian and 

bicycle traffic; enable mixed-use 

development; identify infrastructure 

needs associated with the project; and 

include private sector participation. 

Also, provisions under the IIJA now 

permit federal financing for site-specific 

as well as comprehensive planning. 

Previously only comprehensive 

planning was eligible for federal funds. 

A NOFO will be published announcing 

the amount of funding available, 

application procedures, project and 

applicant eligibility, and relevant 

selection criteria. 

For more information or questions on 

this program, please contact April 

McLean-McCoy at 202–366–7429 or 

april.mcleanmccoy@dot.gov. 

b. Passenger Ferry Grant Program (49 

U.S.C. 5307(h)) 

The competitive Passenger Ferry 

Grant Program continues without 

changes. Of the amount authorized for 

Section 5307 each year, $30 million is 

set aside for the competitive 

discretionary Passenger Ferry Grant 

Program. Eligible projects are capital 

projects in urbanized areas including 

ferries, terminals, and related 

infrastructure. A NOFO will be 

published announcing the amount of 

funding available, application 

procedures, project and applicant 

eligibility, and relevant selection 

criteria. 

For more information about this 

program, please contact Vanessa 

Williams at 202–366–4818 or Vanessa. 

Williams@dot.gov. 

c. Electric or Low-Emitting Ferry Pilot 

Program (NEW) 

The IIJA authorizes a new pilot 

program to provide grants for the 

purchase of electric or low-emitting 

ferries and the electrification of or other 

reduction of emissions from existing 

ferries. A total of $50 million for each 

fiscal year through 2026 is authorized to 

be appropriated to carry out this 

program. An additional $50 million in 

advance appropriations is provided 

each fiscal year, for a total of up to $100 

million annually. 

The term ‘‘electric or low-emitting 

ferry’’ means a ferry that reduces 

emissions by utilizing alternative fuels 

or onboard energy storage systems and 

related charging infrastructure to reduce 

emissions or produce zero onboard 

emissions under normal operation. 

A NOFO will be published 

announcing the amount of funding 

available, application procedures, 

project and applicant eligibility, and 

relevant selection criteria. 

For more information about this 

program, please contact Vanessa 

Williams at 202–366–4818 or 

Vanessa.Williams@dot.gov. 


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d. Ferry Service for Rural Communities 

(NEW) 

The IIJA authorizes a new competitive 

program to provide funds to States for 

basic essential ferry service. A total of 

$200 million per year is authorized to be 

appropriated over five years with an 

additional $200 million in advance 

appropriations provided for each of 

fiscal years 2022 through 2026 to carry 

out this program. In FY 2022, an 

additional $12.965 million was 

appropriated, for a total of $212,965,000 

to be made available. 

A NOFO will be published 

announcing the amount of funding 

available, application procedures, 

project and applicant eligibility, and 

relevant selection criteria. 

For more information about this 

program, please contact Sarah Clements 

at 202–366–3062 or sarah.clements@

dot.gov. 

e. Innovative Coordinated Access and 

Mobility Pilot Program (FAST Act 

Section 3006(b)) 

The competitive pilot program for 

innovative coordinated access and 

mobility continues without changes. A 

total of $24.1 million is authorized for 

this program over five years, with $4.6 

million authorized in FY 2022. Eligible 

applicants include state departments of 

transportation, designated recipients of 

formula grants for the Enhanced 

Mobility of Seniors and Individuals 

with Disabilities (Section 5310) 

program, local governmental entities 

that operate a public transportation 

service, or their eligible subrecipients. 

The program is designed to assist in 

financing innovative projects that 

improve the coordination of 

transportation services and nonemergency medical transportation 

(NEMT) services for people who are 

transportation disadvantaged. A NOFO 

was published on October 7, 2021, that 

announced funding, application 

procedures, project and applicant 

eligibility, and relevant selection criteria 

(86 FR 55907). A report is published 

each year on the pilot program. The 

most recent report is available at Section 

3006(b) Pilot Program for Innovative 

Coordinated Access and Mobility Fiscal 

Year 2021. 

For more information about this 

program, please contact Destiny 

Buchanan at 202–493–8018 or 

destiny.buchanan@dot.gov. 

f. Rail Vehicle Replacement Program 

(NEW) 

The IIJA authorizes a new competitive 

program funded under the State of Good 

Repair formula program at $1.5 billion 

over five years, with $300 million 

annually to assist State and local 

governmental authorities in financing 

capital projects for the replacement of 

rail rolling stock. The IIJA requires that 

not more than 3 new awards shall be 

issued to eligible projects under this 

program on a competitive basis each 

fiscal year. 

In awarding grants under this program 

consideration shall be given to— 

(A) the size of the rail system of the 

applicant, 

(B) the amount of funds available to 

the applicant under this subsection, 

(C) the age and condition of the rail 

rolling stock of the applicant that has 

exceeded or will exceed the useful 

service life of the rail rolling stock in the 

5-year period following the grant; and 

(D) whether the applicant has 

identified replacement of the rail 

vehicles as a priority in the investment 

prioritization portion of the transit asset 

management plan of the recipient 

pursuant to 49 CFR part 625 (or 

successor regulations). 

The amount of grant assistance 

provided under subsection 5337(f), as a 

share of eligible project costs, shall be 

not more than 50 percent. The total 

Federal share of the cost of an eligible 

project carried out under this program 

shall not exceed 80 percent; eligible 

recipients may supplement the section 

5337(f) share with other Federal funds, 

including FTA formula funds. Eligible 

projects selected for funding may be 

carried out through a multi-year grant 

agreement of up to 3 consecutive fiscal 

years. 

A NOFO will be published 

announcing the amount of funding 

available, application procedures, 

project and applicant eligibility, and 

relevant selection criteria. 

For more information about this 

program, please contact Mark Bathrick, 

202–366–9955 or mark.bathrick@

dot.gov. 

g. Public Transportation on Indian 

Reservations Competitive Program (49 

U.S.C. 5311(c)(1)(A)) 

The Public Transportation on Indian 

Reservations competitive program 

continues with $45.8 million authorized 

over 5 years with $8.75 million 

authorized for FY 2022. The program is 

otherwise unchanged. FTA published a 

NOFO announcing FY 2022 Tribal 

Transit competitive funding on 

February 16, 2022 (87 FR 8923). 

For more information about this 

program, please contact Elan Flippin, 

202–366–3800 or elan.flippin@dot.gov. 

h. Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities 

Competitive Program (49 U.S.C. 5339(b)) 

The competitive buses and bus 

facilities program is continued with 

several modifications. A total of $1.9 

billion over five years is authorized to 

carry out the 5339(b) Grants for Buses 

and Bus Facilities Competitive Program, 

with $372 million authorized in FY 

2022. An additional $175 million was 

appropriated in FY 2022, for a total of 

$547 million. Eligible capital projects 

include projects to replace, rehabilitate, 

lease, and purchase buses and related 

equipment and projects to purchase, 

rehabilitate, construct or lease busrelated facilities. Modifications include 

a requirement for applicants to use, to 

the extent possible, innovative 

procurement tools authorized under 

Section 3019 of the FAST Act. If fewer 

than five buses are purchased through a 

stand-alone procurement, the recipient 

must provide a written explanation to 

FTA of why the authorized procurement 

tools were not used. (See Section C.3). 

Applicants of zero-emission buses must 

also submit a fleet transition plan and 

5 percent of the requested funds in their 

application must be for workforce 

development activities, unless the 

applicant certifies that less is needed to 

carry out their zero-emission fleet 

transition plan. The law permits an 

applicant to the Grants for Buses and 

Bus Facilities Competitive Program 

competitive program that is also 

applying for the Low or No Emission 

Grant program to propose partnerships 

with other entities, which would then 

be deemed to satisfy the competitive 

procurement requirements under 49 

U.S.C. 5325. The law now requires FTA 

to issue the NOFO within 30 days of a 

full-year appropriation and announce 

selections within 75 days of the 

application due date and increases the 

minimum for rural awards from 10 to 15 

percent of the total, unless there are 

insufficient applications. FTA 

published the NOFO for the program on 

March 4, 2022 (87 FR 12528). 

For more information about the 

Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities 

Competitive Program, contact Amy 

Volz, Office of Transit Programs at (202) 

366–7484 or Amy.Volz@dot.gov. 

i. Low or No Emission Program (49 

U.S.C. 5339(c)) 

The Low or No Emissions Program 

(Low-No Program) is continued with 

several modifications. The IIJA 

authorizes $374,550,890 and provides 

an additional $5.25 billion in advance 

appropriations for a total of $5.6 billion 

over five years, with $1.1 billion 

authorized for FY 2022. An additional 


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$75 million was appropriated in FY 

2022 for a total of $1.175 billion. 

Eligible projects or programs of projects 

include the acquisition and leasing of 

low or no emission vehicles, 

constructing and leasing facilities, and 

rehabilitating or improving existing 

facilities to accommodate low or no 

emission vehicles. Modifications 

include a clarification that requirements 

of section 5311 apply to rural recipients. 

The law requires applicants for zeroemission buses to submit a fleet 

transition plan, and 5 percent of the 

funds requested in the application must 

be for workforce development activities, 

unless the applicant certifies that less is 

needed to carry out its zero-emission 

fleet transition plan. A recipient of a 

grant under this subsection may submit 

an application in partnership with other 

entities, including a transit vehicle 

manufacturer, that intends to participate 

in the implementation of an eligible 

project under this subsection. Eligible 

projects awarded with partnerships 

under this subsection shall be 

considered to satisfy the requirement for 

a competitive procurement under 

section 5325. Not less than 25 percent 

of Low or No Emissions Grants total 

funding must be used for low-emission 

vehicles and related facilities (such as 

compressed natural gas or hybrid 

vehicles). FTA published the NOFO for 

the program on March 4, 2022 (87 FR 

12528). 

For more information about the Low 

or No Emission Program, contact Amy 

Volz, Office of Transit Programs at (202) 

366–7484 or Amy.Volz@dot.gov. 

j. All Station Accessibility Program 

(NEW) 

The advance appropriations of the 

IIJA provides $1.75 billion ($350 million 

per year) for a new competitive All 

Stations Accessibility Program (ASAP) 

to provide states and local government 

authorities funding for capital projects 

to upgrade the accessibility of legacy 

rail fixed guideway public 

transportation systems for people with 

disabilities, including those who use 

wheelchairs, by increasing the number 

of existing stations or facilities for 

passenger use that meet or exceed the 

construction standards of Title II of the 

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 

(42 U.S.C. 12131 et seq.). Eligible 

entities are encouraged to consult with 

appropriate stakeholders, including 

current and potential transit customers 

with disabilities and disability advocacy 

groups, and the surrounding community 

to ensure the projects provide 

accessibility for individuals with 

disabilities, including accessibility for 

individuals with physical disabilities, 

including those who use wheelchairs; 

accessibility for individuals with 

sensory disabilities; and accessibility for 

individuals with intellectual or 

developmental disabilities. 

An eligible entity may not use a grant 

awarded under this program to upgrade 

a station or facility for passenger use 

that is accessible to and usable by 

individuals with disabilities, including 

individuals who use wheelchairs, 

consistent with current (as of the date of 

the upgrade) construction standards 

under Title II of the Americans with 

Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 

12131, et seq.). 

A grant for a project made with 

amounts made available under this 

program shall be for 80 percent of the 

net project cost. All projects shall at 

least meet the construction standards of 

Title II of the Americans with 

Disabilities Act of 1990 as implemented 

by the U.S. DOT ADA regulations at 49 

CFR parts 37 and 38. 

FTA will publish a NOFO announcing 

the amount of FY 2022 funding 

available, application procedures, 

project and applicant eligibility, and 

relevant selection criteria. 

For more information about this 

program, please contact Kevin Osborn 

at 202–366–7519 or Kevin.Osborn@

dot.gov. 

k. Public Transportation Emergency 

Relief Program (49 U.S.C. 5324). 

The IIJA modified the Emergency 

Relief Program to require an applicant, 

before receiving a grant, to (1) submit to 

FTA documentation demonstrating 

proof of insurance required under 

Federal law for all structures related to 

the grant application; and (2) certify to 

FTA that the applicant has insurance 

required under State law for all 

structures related to the grant 

application. 

For more information or questions on 

this program, please contact Tom 

Wilson at (202) 366–5279 or 

Thomas.Wilson@dot.gov. 

l. Capital Investment Grants Program 

The IIJA continues, with 

modifications, the discretionary Fixed 

Guideway Capital Investment Grants 

(CIG) program, which funds fixed 

guideway investments including new 

and expanded rapid rail, commuter rail, 

light rail, streetcars, bus rapid transit, 

and ferries, as well as corridor-based 

bus rapid transit investments that 

emulate the features of rail. There are 

three categories of eligible projects 

under the CIG program: New Starts, 

Small Starts, and Core Capacity. Each 

type of CIG project has a unique set of 

requirements in the law, although many 

similarities exist among them. To be 

eligible to receive a CIG construction 

grant, all proposed projects must go 

through a multi-year, multi-step 

development process outlined in the 

law. FTA is required to evaluate and 

rate CIG projects on statutorily defined 

project justification and local financial 

commitment criteria that differ by 

project type, and a project must receive 

at least a ‘‘Medium’’ overall rating to 

advance through the steps in the process 

and receive a construction grant award. 

The IIJA authorizes $3 billion per year 

in annual appropriations for the CIG 

Program, including funding that may be 

awarded under the Expedited Project 

Delivery Pilot Program. In addition, the 

law directly provides $1.6 billion per 

year in advance appropriations as a 

supplement to annual appropriations for 

this program. 

Additionally, the IIJA makes several 

revisions: 

• Revises the Small Starts and New 

Starts eligibility thresholds. Small Starts 

are now projects with a total estimated 

project cost of less than $400,000,000 

and that are seeking CIG funding of less 

than $150,000,000. New Starts are 

projects with a total estimated project 

cost of $400,000,000 or more or that are 

seeking CIG funding of $150,000,000 or 

more. 

• Revises Core Capacity project 

eligibility to corridors that are at 

capacity today or will be in 10 years, 

rather than the 5-year timeframe under 

the FAST Act. 

• Establishes a process for immediate 

and future bundling of CIG projects to 

allow sponsors to move multiple 

projects through the CIG pipeline 

simultaneously. The new bundling 

eligibilities replace the prior ‘‘Program 

of Interrelated Projects’’ eligibility. 

• Adds a requirement for the 

Secretary to determine that a project 

sponsor has made progress toward 

meeting the transit asset management 

performance targets required by 49 

U.S.C. 5326(c)(2). 

• Amends the ‘‘warrants’’ provisions 

for New Starts and Core Capacity 

projects to remove the requirement that 

the total estimated capital cost of the 

project must be under $100,000,000. 

• Requires the Secretary to provide 

full and fair consideration to projects 

that seek an updated rating after a 

period of inactivity following an earlier 

rating and evaluation. 

• Adds a requirement that FTA 

publish, at least monthly, a dashboard 

on its public website with information 

on each project seeking CIG funding. 

• Revises Before and After Study 

requirements (an analysis of predicted 

versus actual cost and ridership 


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outcomes after a CIG project opens for 

service). The requirement that FTA 

report on those studies to Congress 

annually was also eliminated. Instead, 

the GAO, as part of its biennial review 

of the CIG program, will report to 

Congress on the differences between the 

predicted and actual outcomes for CIG 

projects. 

• Revises the congressional 

notification timeframe required before a 

CIG construction grant can be awarded 

from 30 days to 15 days for New Starts 

and Core Capacity projects. 

On March 15, 2022 FTA published in 

the Federal Register a Notice of 

availability of initial guidance proposals 

for the Capital Investment Grants 

program (87 FR 14612). 

m. Grants To Assist Areas of Persistent 

Poverty 

This competitive pilot program for the 

Areas of Persistent Poverty Program 

(AoPP) has been appropriated in FY 

2020 ($8,500,000), 2021 ($16,220,000) 

and 2022 ($20,000,000). As required by 

law, funds will be awarded 

competitively for planning, engineering, 

or development of technical or 

financing plans for projects that assist 

areas of persistent poverty. To be 

considered eligible, proposed projects 

must be in a county with 20 percent or 

more of the population living in poverty 

over the 30 years preceding the date of 

enactment of the appropriation act, as 

measured by the 1990 and 2000 

decennial census and the most recent 

Small Area Income and Poverty 

Estimates, or from any census tract with 

a poverty rate of at least 20 percent as 

measured by the 2013–2017, 5-year data 

series available from the American 

Community Survey of the Census 

Bureau. The FTA has posted a table and 

maps of the Areas of Persistent Poverty 

that meet these criteria at 

www.transit.dot.gov. A NOFO will be 

published announcing the amount of 

funding available, application 

procedures, project and applicant 

eligibility, and relevant selection 

criteria. 

For more information or questions on 

this program, please contact Tonya 

Holland at 202–493–0283 or 

tonya.holland@dot.gov. 

B. Washington Metropolitan Area 

Transit Authority Funding 

The IIJA reauthorizes the Passenger 

Rail Investment and Improvement Act 

of 2008 (PRIIA) (Pub. L. 110–432) to 

provide supplemental funding for the 

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit 

Authority (WMATA) through fiscal year 

2030 at $150,000,000 annually. Each 

year, WMATA must set aside 

$5,000,000 for the exclusive use of the 

WMATA Inspector General. A GAO 

audit is required within three years to 

assess the independence of the 

Inspector General and the extent to 

which additional required reforms have 

been implemented and are successful. 

C. Definitional Changes and New 

Definitions 

Section 30001 of the IIJA amended 

section 5302 to provide one new 

definition and to amend existing 

definitions that clarify eligibility and 

requirements within FTA’s programs. 

Unless otherwise stated, these 

definitions apply across all FTA 

programs, and are effective with all 

funds obligated on or after October 1, 

2021, even if the funds were 

appropriated in earlier fiscal years. 

Several important definitional changes 

include: 

1. Assault on a Transit Worker 

The term ‘‘assault on a transit worker’’ 

means a circumstance in which an 

individual knowingly, without lawful 

authority or permission, and with intent 

to endanger the safety of any individual, 

or with a reckless disregard for the 

safety of human life, interferes with, 

disables, or incapacitates a transit 

worker while the transit worker is 

performing the duties of the transit 

worker. 

2. Capital Project 

The provision of technology to fuel a 

zero-emission vehicle is now an eligible 

expense as a part of a joint development 

project. Guidance will be forthcoming 

on this issue. 

D. Cross-Cutting Programmatic 

Requirements and Changes 

The following cross-cutting 

requirements apply to all FTA programs 

as of October 1, 2021, unless otherwise 

noted. 

1. Metropolitan and Statewide Planning 

The planning programs provide 

funding and procedural requirements to 

metropolitan areas and States for 

multimodal transportation planning that 

is cooperative, continuous, and 

comprehensive, resulting in long-range 

plans and short-range programs of 

projects that reflect transportation 

investment priorities. The planning 

programs are jointly administered by 

FTA and the Federal Highway 

Administration (FHWA), which 

provides additional funding. There are 

five changes noted below. The 

amendments to sections 5303, 5304, 

5305 include: 

• Adds consideration of state and 

local housing patterns in the 

metropolitan planning process and 

requires MPOs to provide affordable 

housing organizations an opportunity to 

comment on the transportation plan. 

• Requires MPOs to ensure the 

consistency of data used in the planning 

process, including information used in 

forecasting travel demand, if more than 

one MPO is designated within an 

urbanized area. 

• Permits the use of social media and 

other web-based tools to encourage 

public participation in the planning 

process. 

• Requires MPOs to consider the 

equitable and proportional 

representation of the population of the 

metropolitan planning area when 

designating officials for the first time. 

• Permits a greater than 80 percent 

federal share for transportation planning 

in certain circumstances and requires a 

federal share of not less than 90 percent 

for activities that assist lower-density or 

lower-income portions of urbanized or 

adjoining rural areas. 

In addition to changes in sections 

5303 and 5304, FTA notes the 

Metropolitan and Statewide planning 

processes continue to emphasize a 

performance-based planning process: 

MPOs and State DOTs must establish 

performance targets that address 

forthcoming U.S. DOT-issued national 

performance measures that are based on 

the goals outlined in the legislation— 

safety, infrastructure condition, 

congestion reduction, system reliability, 

economic vitality, environmental 

sustainability, reduced project delivery 

delays, transit safety, and transit asset 

management. MPOs also must 

coordinate their performance targets, to 

the maximum extent practicable, with 

performance targets set by FTA 

recipients under the new performance 

measure requirements for safety and 

state of good repair. Transportation 

Improvement Programs (TIPs) must 

include a description of the anticipated 

progress toward achieving the 

performance targets identified in the 

metropolitan transportation plan, 

linking investment priorities to those 

performance targets. 

2. Innovative Bus Procurement 

The IIJA amends the Grants for Buses 

and Bus Facilities formula and 

competitive programs and requires 

applicants to use, to the extent possible, 

innovative procurement tools 

authorized under Section 3019 of the 

FAST Act. If fewer than five buses are 

purchased through a stand-alone 

procurement, the recipient must provide 

a written explanation to FTA of why the 


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authorized procurement tools were not 

used. Innovative procurements 

authorized under Section 3019 of the 

FAST Act include: (1) State cooperative 

procurement schedules in which a state 

government enters into a cooperative 

procurement contract with one or more 

vendors in which the vendors agree to 

provide an option to purchase rolling 

stock and related equipment to the State 

government and any other participant; 

and the State government acts 

throughout the term of the contract as 

the lead procurement agency; (2) 

participation in the FTA pilot program 

for nonprofit cooperative procurements 

(Interest applicants may forward a Letter 

of Interest to: JamesHarper@dot.gov); (3) 

procurements resulting from the joint 

procurement clearinghouse found in 

TrAMS; or (4) a capital lease. Note that 

Section 3019 requires all recipients of 

capital leases (rolling stock and related 

equipment) to submit to FTA, no later 

than three years after the date on which 

the lease was entered, a report 

evaluating the overall costs and benefits 

of leasing rolling stock and comparing 

the expected short-term and long-term 

maintenance costs of leasing versus 

buying rolling stock. 

As procurement decisions may be 

made before or after grant award, the 

written explanation, if applicable, 

should be provided with the TrAMS 

grant application or if the procurement 

decision is made after grant award, to 

the appropriate FTA Regional Office. It 

is not required for an application in 

response to a NOFO for a project not yet 

selected. The written explanation may 

be provided in the form of a letter 

explaining why the provisions of 

Section 3019 were not utilized for the 

procurement. 

3. Disposition of Rolling Stock,

Equipment, and Supplies

The IIJA added a provision changing 

disposition requirements for rolling 

stock and equipment with a fair market 

value of more than $5,000 per unit and 

unused supplies with a total aggregate 

fair market value of more than $5,000 

that were purchased using Federal 

financial assistance under Chapter 53. If 

the rolling stock, equipment, or supplies 

are sold at the end of their service life, 

the recipient shall now retain an 

amount equal to: (1) The sum of $5,000, 

and (2) of the remaining proceeds, a 

percentage of the amount equal to the 

non-Federal share expended by the 

recipient in making the original 

purchase. After the recipient calculates 

and retains this amount, any remaining 

amounts must be returned to FTA. For 

example, if a bus is sold at the fair 

market value of $12,000 and funded 

with an 80 percent federal share, the 

recipient retains $5,000 plus 20 percent 

of the remaining $7,000, or $1,400, for 

a total of $6,400; they must return 80 

percent of $7,000 (or $5,600) to FTA. 

This provision is applicable to sales 

that occurred after the date of enactment 

of the IIJA on November 15, 2021. FTA 

posted frequently asked questions at: 

https://www.transit.dot.gov/funding/ 

grants/bipartisan-infrastructure-lawdisposition-requirements-frequentlyasked-questions. 

4. Transfer of Property to NonGovernmental Entities

Section 6609 of the FY 2022 National 

Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) 

(Pub. L. 117–81) amended 49 U.S.C. 

5334(h)(1), adding a disposition option 

for assets acquired with federal 

assistance but no longer needed for the 

originally authorized purpose. Under 

the new provision, the Secretary may 

authorize the transfer of the asset to a 

local governmental authority, non-profit 

organization, or other third-party entity 

if, among other factors, it will be used 

for transit-oriented development and 

includes affordable housing. When FTA 

concurs that the following five criteria 

are met, the asset may be transferred 

with no further obligation to the 

Government: 

a. The asset is a necessary component

of a proposed transit-oriented 

development project; 

b. The transit-oriented development

project will increase transit ridership; 

c. At least 40 percent of the housing

units offered in the transit-oriented 

development, including housing units 

owned by nongovernmental entities, are 

legally binding affordability restricted to 

tenants with incomes at or below 60 

percent of the area median income and 

owners with incomes at or below 60 

percent the area median income, which 

shall include at least 20 percent of such 

housing units offered restricted to 

tenants with incomes at or below 30 

percent of the area median income and 

owners with incomes at or below 30 

percent the area median income; 

d. The asset will remain in use for at

least 30 years after the date the asset is 

transferred; and 

e. With respect to a transfer to a thirdparty entity, a local government 

authority or nonprofit organization is 

unable to receive the property; the 

overall benefit of allowing the transfer is 

greater than the interest of the 

Government in liquidation and return of 

the financial interest of the Government 

in the asset, after considering fair 

market value and other factors; and the 

third party has demonstrated a 

satisfactory history of construction or 

operating an affordable housing 

development. 

As part of the process to update FTA 

program circulars to reflect the new 

authorizing legislation, additional 

guidance and information regarding 

implementation of this and other 

provisions, maybe published for notice 

and comment, as determined necessary. 

5. Fleet Transition Plan

The IIJA amended the statutory

provisions for the Grants for Buses and 

Bus Facilities Competitive Program and 

the Low or No Emission Program to 

include the requirement that any 

application for projects related to zeroemission vehicles include a ZeroEmission Transition Plan. 

A Zero-Emission Transition Plan 

must, at a minimum: 

1. Demonstrate a long-term fleet

management plan with a strategy for 

how the applicant intends to use the 

current request for resources and future 

acquisitions. 

2. Address the availability of current

and future resources to meet costs for 

the transition and implementation. 

3. Consider policy and legislation

impacting relevant technologies. 

4. Include an evaluation of existing

and future facilities and their 

relationship to the technology 

transition. 

5. Describe the partnership of the

applicant with the utility or alternative 

fuel provider. 

6. Examine the impact of the

transition on the applicant’s current 

workforce by identifying skill gaps, 

training needs, and retraining needs of 

the existing workers of the applicant to 

operate and maintain zero-emission 

vehicles and related infrastructure and 

avoid displacement of the existing 

workforce. 

6. National Transit Database (NTD)

The IIJA adds new requirements for

the NTD to collect data on geographic 

service area coverage from recipients of 

the Urbanized Area Formula and Rural 

Area Formula programs. There is also a 

new requirement for the NTD to collect 

data on fatalities that result from impact 

with a bus and on transit worker 

assaults from all recipients of FTA 

funding. FTA will provide notice of its 

plans to implement these requirements, 

and may request comment on that 

proposal as necessary, in a separate 

Federal Register notice. 

IV. Program-Specific Information

A. Metropolitan Planning Program (49

U.S.C. 5303 and 5305(d))

Section 5305(d) makes available 

Federal funding to support a 


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cooperative, continuous, and 

comprehensive planning program for 

transportation investment decisionmaking at the metropolitan area level. 

The specific requirements of 

metropolitan transportation planning 

are set forth in 49 U.S.C. 5303 and in 23 

CFR part 450, as incorporated by 

reference in 49 CFR part 613, Statewide 

and Non-metropolitan Transportation 

Planning. State Departments of 

Transportation (DOTs) are direct 

recipients of funds allocated by FTA, 

and the funds are then sub-allocated to 

Metropolitan Planning Organizations 

(MPOs) for planning activities that 

support the economic vitality of the 

metropolitan area. 

The metropolitan transportation 

planning process must establish a 

performance-based approach in which 

the MPO will develop specific 

performance targets that address 

transportation system performance 

measures (issued by U.S. DOT), where 

applicable, to use in tracking progress 

towards attaining critical outcomes. 

These performance targets will be 

established by MPOs in coordination 

with States and transit providers. MPOs 

will provide a system performance 

report that evaluates the progress of the 

MPO in meeting the performance targets 

in comparison with the system 

performance identified in prior reports. 

This funding must support work 

elements and activities resulting in 

comprehensive intermodal 

transportation planning for the 

movement of people and goods in the 

metropolitan area. Comprehensive 

transportation planning is not limited to 

transit planning or surface 

transportation planning but also 

encompasses the relationships among 

land use and all transportation modes, 

without regard to the programmatic 

source of Federal assistance. Eligible 

work elements or activities include, but 

are not limited to, studies relating to 

management, mobility management, 

planning, operations, capital 

requirements, economic feasibility, 

performance-based planning, safety, and 

transit asset management; evaluation of 

previously funded projects; peer 

reviews and exchanges of technical 

data, information, assistance, and 

related activities in support of planning 

and environmental analysis among 

MPOs and other transportation 

planners; planning for multimodal 

transportation access to transit facilities 

including pedestrian and bicycle access, 

and transit supportive land use plans; 

systems planning, scenario planning, 

and corridor-level alternative analysis; 

safety, security, and emergency 

transportation and evacuation planning; 

air quality planning; and development 

of coordinated public transit human 

services transportation plans. An 

exhaustive list of eligible work activities 

is provided in FTA Circular 8100.1D, 

Program Guidance for Metropolitan 

Planning and State Planning and 

Research Program Grants, dated 

September 10, 2018. 

For more about the Metropolitan 

Planning Program, contact Victor 

Austin, Office of Planning and 

Environment at (202) 366–2996 or 

victor.austin@dot.gov. 

1. Authorized Amounts 

The IIJA authorizes $799.4 million 

over five years to provide financial 

assistance for metropolitan planning 

needs under section 5305 as follows: 

Fiscal year 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 

Funds Authorized ................................... $152,740,2811 $155,931,187 $160,002,736 $163,308,011 $167,459,619 

The table above shows the funding 

amounts authorized for the 

Metropolitan Planning Program. 

2. FY 2022 Funding Availability 

A total of $152,740,2811 is authorized 

and appropriated for the period October 

1, 2021, through September 30, 2022, to 

the Metropolitan Planning Program 

(section 5305(d)) to support 

metropolitan transportation planning 

activities set forth in section 5303. The 

total amount apportioned for the 

Metropolitan Planning Program to States 

for use by MPOs in urbanized areas 

(UZAs) is $152,178,080, as shown in the 

table below, after the deduction for 

oversight and the addition of 

reapportioned funds. 

METROPOLITAN PLANNING PROGRAM— 

FY 2022 

Total Appropriation ........................ $152,740,2811 

Oversight Deductions .................... (763,701) 

Reapportioned Funds .................... 201,500 

Total Apportioned ...................... 152,178,080 

3. Basis for Formula Apportionment 

The IIJA did not change the funding 

formula. Of the amounts authorized in 

section 5305, 82.72 percent is made 

available to the Metropolitan Planning 

program. Eighty percent of the funds are 

apportioned on a statutory basis to the 

States based on the most recent 

decennial Census for each State’s UZA 

population. The remaining 20 percent is 

provided to the States based on an FTA 

administrative formula to address 

planning needs in larger, more complex 

UZAs. The amount published for each 

State includes the supplemental 

allocation. 

4. Requirements 

The State allocates Metropolitan 

Planning funds to MPOs in UZAs or 

portions thereof to provide funds for 

planning projects included in a one- or 

two-year program of planning work 

activities (the Unified Planning Work 

Program, or UPWP) that includes 

multimodal systems planning activities 

spanning both highway and transit 

planning topics. Each State has either 

reaffirmed or developed, in consultation 

with their MPOs, an allocation formula 

among MPOs within the State, based on 

the 2010 Census. The allocation formula 

among MPOs in each State may be 

changed annually, but any change 

requires approval by the FTA Regional 

Office before grant approval. Program 

guidance for the Metropolitan Planning 

Program is found in FTA Circular 

8100.1D, Program Guidance for 

Metropolitan Planning and State 

Planning and Research Program Grants, 

dated September 10, 2018. 

5. Period of Availability 

The Metropolitan Planning program 

funds apportioned in this notice are 

available for obligation during FY 2022 

plus three additional fiscal years. 

Accordingly, funds apportioned in FY 

2022 must be obligated in grants by 

September 30, 2025. Any FY 2022 

apportioned funds that remain 

unobligated at the close of business on 

September 30, 2025, will revert to FTA 

for reapportionment under the 

Metropolitan Planning program. 

B. State Planning and Research Program 

(49 U.S.C. 5304 and 5305(e)) 

This program provides financial 

assistance to States for statewide 

transportation planning and other 

technical assistance activities, including 

supplementing the technical assistance 

program provided through the 

Metropolitan Planning program. The 

specific requirements of Statewide 

transportation planning are set forth in 

49 U.S.C. 5304 and in 23 CFR part 450, 

as incorporated by reference in 49 CFR 


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part 613, Planning Assistance and 

Standards. State DOTs are required to 

reference performance measures and 

performance targets within the 

Statewide Planning process. This 

funding must support work elements 

and activities resulting in 

comprehensive intermodal 

transportation planning for the 

movement of people and goods and has 

the same eligibilities as MPP funds. 

Comprehensive transportation planning 

is not limited to transit planning or 

surface transportation planning but also 

encompasses the relationships among 

land use and all transportation modes, 

without regard to the programmatic 

source of Federal assistance. 

For more information, contact Victor 

Austin, Office of Planning and 

Environment at (202) 366–2996 or 

victor.austin@dot.gov. 

1. Authorized Amounts 

The IIJA authorizes $167 million over 

five years to provide financial assistance 

for statewide planning and other 

technical assistance activities under 

section 5305 as follows: 

Fiscal year 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 

Funds Authorized ................................... $31,907,061 $32,573,633 $33,424,169 $34,114,633 $34,981,893 

2. FY 2022 Funding Availability 

In FY 2022, $31,907,061 is authorized 

and appropriated for the period October 

1, 2021 through September 30, 2022 to 

the State Planning and Research 

Program (section 5305(e)). The total 

amount apportioned for the State 

Planning and Research Program (SPRP) 

is $32,019,592 as shown in the table 

below, after the deduction for oversight 

and addition of reapportioned funds. 

STATEWIDE PLANNING PROGRAM—FY 

2022 

Total Appropriation ........................ $31,907,061 

Oversight Deductions .................... (159,535) 

Reapportioned Funds .................... 272,066 

Total Apportioned ...................... 32,019,592 

States’ apportionments for this 

program are displayed in Table 2. 

3. Basis for Formula Apportionment 

The IIJA did not change the funding 

formula. Of the amount authorized in 

section 5305, 17.28 percent is allocated 

to the State Planning and Research 

program. FTA apportions funds to 

States by a statutory formula that is 

based on the most recent decennial 

Census data available, and the State’s 

UZA population as compared to the 

UZA population of all States. 

4. Requirements 

Funds are provided to States for 

Statewide transportation planning 

programs. These funds may be used for 

a variety of purposes such as planning, 

technical studies and assistance, 

demonstrations, and management 

training. In addition, a State may 

authorize a portion of these funds to be 

used to supplement Metropolitan 

Planning funds allocated by the State to 

its UZAs, as the State deems 

appropriate. Program guidance for the 

State Planning and Research program is 

found in FTA Circular 8100.1D, 

Program Guidance for Metropolitan 

Planning and State Planning and 

Research Program Grants, dated 

September 10, 2018. 

5. Period of Availability 

The State Planning and Research 

program funds apportioned in this 

notice are available for obligation during 

FY 2022 plus three additional fiscal 

years. Accordingly, funds apportioned 

in FY 2022 must be obligated in grants 

by September 30, 2025. Any FY 2022 

apportioned funds that remain 

unobligated at the close of business on 

September 30, 2025 will revert to FTA 

for reapportionment under the State 

Planning and Research program. 

C. Urbanized Area Formula Program (49 

U.S.C. 5307) 

The Urbanized Area Formula Program 

provides Federal assistance for capital, 

planning, job access and reverse 

commute projects, and, in some cases, 

operating assistance for public 

transportation in urbanized areas. An 

urbanized area (UZA) is an area with a 

population of 50,000 or more that has 

been defined and designated as such by 

the U.S. Census Bureau. Program funds 

are apportioned to urbanized areas 

through a statutory formula. In addition, 

$30 million is allocated each year under 

this program to passenger ferry projects 

through a discretionary funding 

competition. 

For more information about the 

Urbanized Area Formula Program, 

contact Bret Martin with the Office of 

Transit Programs, at (202) 366–0870 or 

bret.martin@dot.gov. 

1. Authorized Amounts 

The IIJA authorizes $33.5 billion over 

five years to provide financial assistance 

for urbanized areas under section 5307. 

Of the amounts authorized and 

appropriated for section 5307 in each 

year, $30 million is set aside for the 

competitive discretionary Passenger 

Ferry Grant Program, 0.75 percent is 

apportioned to eligible States for State 

Safety Oversight (SSO) Program grants, 

3 percent is apportioned to small transit 

intensive cities, and 0.75 percent is set 

aside for program oversight. 

Fiscal year 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 

Funds Authorized ................................... $6,408,288,249 $6,542,164,133 $6,712,987,840 $6,851,662,142 $7,025,844,743 

2. FY 2022 Funding Availability 

A total of $6,408,288,249 is 

authorized and appropriated for the 

section 5307 program for FY 2022. The 

total amount apportioned to urbanized 

areas is $6,920,874,612 which includes 

the addition of amounts apportioned to 

UZAs pursuant to the Section 5340 

Growing States and High-Density States 

Formula factors and reapportioned 

funds. This amount excludes the setaside for the Passenger Ferry 

Discretionary Program, apportionments 

under the State Safety Oversight 

Program, and oversight (authorized by 

section 5338), as shown in the table 

below: 

URBANIZED AREA FORMULA

PROGRAM—FY 2022 

Total Appropriation .................... a $6,408,288,249 

Oversight Deductions ................ (48,062,162) 

State Safety Oversight Program (48,062,162) 


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URBANIZED AREA FORMULA

PROGRAM—FY 2022—Continued 

Passenger Ferry Program ......... (30,000,000) 

5340 High Density States ......... 348,290,112 

5340 Growing States ................ 280,465,968 

Reapportioned Funds ................ 9,954,607 

Total Apportioned .................. 6,920,874,612 

a Includes 3 percent set-aside for Small 

Transit Intensive Cities Formula. 

Table 3 displays the amounts 

apportioned under the Urbanized Area 

Formula Program. 

The FY 2022 Appropriations provides 

$48,062,162 for the State Safety 

Oversight Program and with the 

addition of $6.5 million in Transit 

Infrastructure Grants, of which 

$3,250,000 must be made available for 

low or zero-emission ferries and 

infrastructure, provides a total of $36.5 

million for the Passenger Ferry Program. 

3. Basis for Formula Apportionment 

FTA apportions Urbanized Area 

Formula Program funds based on 

statutory formulas. Congress established 

four separate formulas that are used to 

apportion the available funding: The 

section 5307 Urbanized Area Formula 

Program formula, the Small Transit 

Intensive Cities (STIC) formula, the 

Growing States and High-Density States 

formulas, and a formula based on lowincome population. 

The IIJA made changes to the 

apportionment formula for FY 2022 

through 2026. The percentage of funds 

allocated on the basis of Small Transit 

Intensive Cities (STIC) factor increased 

to 3 percent. Additionally, the takedown 

for the State Safety Oversight grant 

program has increased to 0.75 percent. 

Consistent with prior apportionment 

notices, Table 3 shows a total section 

5307 apportionment for each UZA, 

which includes amounts apportioned 

under each of these formulas. Detailed 

information about the formulas is 

provided in Table 4. For technical 

assistance purposes, the UZAs that 

receive STIC funds are listed in Table 6. 

FTA will provide breakouts of the 

funding allocated to each UZA under 

these formulas upon request to the FTA 

Regional Office. 

a. Section 5307—Urbanized Area 

Formula 

For UZAs between 50,000 and 

199,999 in population, the section 5307 

formula is based on population and 

population density. For UZAs with 

populations of 200,000 and more, the 

formula is based on a combination of 

bus revenue vehicle miles, bus 

passenger miles, bus operating costs, 

fixed guideway vehicle revenue miles, 

and fixed guideway route miles, as well 

as population and population density. 

The Urbanized Area Formula is defined 

in 49 U.S.C. 5336. 

To calculate a UZA’s FY 2022 

apportionment, FTA used population 

and population density statistics from 

the 2010 Census and validated mileage 

and transit service data from transit 

provider’s 2020 National Transit 

Database (NTD) Report Year (when 

applicable). Consistent with section 

5336(b), FTA has included 27 percent of 

the fixed guideway directional route 

miles and vehicle revenue miles from 

eligible urbanized area transit systems, 

but which were attributable to rural 

areas outside of the urbanized areas 

from which the system receives funds. 

FTA has calculated dollar unit values 

for the formula factors used in the 

Urbanized Area Formula Program 

apportionment calculations. These 

values represent the amount of money 

each unit of a factor is worth in this 

year’s apportionment. The unit values 

change each year, based on all of the 

data used to calculate the 

apportionments, as well as the amount 

appropriated by Congress for the 

apportionment. The dollar unit values 

for FY 2022 are displayed in Table 5. To 

replicate the basic formula component 

of a UZA’s apportionment, multiply the 

dollar unit value by the appropriate 

formula factor (i.e., the population, 

population x population density), and 

when applicable, data from the NTD 

(i.e., route miles, vehicle revenue miles, 

passenger miles, and operating cost). 

The Census Bureau has indicated that 

it will release urbanized area boundaries 

and definitions from the 2020 Census in 

summer 2022 or later. FTA anticipates 

implementing these new boundaries 

and definitions in the FY 2023 

apportionments. FTA requested 

comments on its procedures for 

incorporating the urbanized area 

changes into NTD reporting and 

published its final determination in a 

Federal Register Notice (87 FR 20500). 

b. Small Transit Intensive Cities 

Formula 

Under the STIC formula, FTA 

apportions 3 percent of the funds made 

available for section 5307 to UZAs that 

are under 200,000 in population and 

have public transportation service that 

operates at a level equal to or above the 

industry average for UZAs with a 

population of at least 200,000, but not 

more than 999,999. STIC funds are 

apportioned on the basis of one or more 

of six performance categories: Passenger 

miles traveled per vehicle revenue mile, 

passenger miles traveled per vehicle 

revenue hour, vehicle revenue miles per 

capita, vehicle revenue hours per capita, 

passenger miles traveled per capita, and 

passengers per capita. 

The data used to determine a UZA’s 

eligibility under the STIC formula and 

to calculate the STIC apportionments 

was obtained from the NTD. Because 

performance data change with each 

year’s NTD reports, the UZAs eligible 

for STIC funds and the amount each 

receives may vary each year. UZAs that 

received funding through the STIC 

formula for FY 2022 are listed in Table 

6. 

c. Section 5340—Growing States and 

High-Density States Formula 

FTA also apportions funds to 

qualifying UZAs and States according to 

the section 5340 Growing States and 

High-Density States formula, as shown 

in Table 3. More information on this 

program and its formula is found in 

section IV.P. of this notice. 

d. Low-Income Population 

The IIJA does not change the formula 

factor for low-income population. Of the 

amount authorized and appropriated for 

the Urbanized Area Formula Program in 

each year, 3.07 percent is apportioned 

on the basis of low-income population. 

As specified in statute, FTA 

apportions 75 percent of the available 

funds to UZAs with a population of 

200,000 or more. Funds are apportioned 

based on the ratio of the number of lowincome individuals in each UZA to the 

total number of low-income individuals 

in all urbanized areas of that size. FTA 

apportions the remainder of the funds 

(25 percent) to UZAs with populations 

of less than 200,000, according to an 

equivalent formula. The low-income 

populations used for this calculation 

were based on the American 

Community Survey (ACS) data set for 

2015–2019. This information is updated 

by the Census Bureau annually. 

4. Eligible Expenses 

Eligible activities include planning, 

engineering design and evaluation of 

transit projects and other technical 

transportation-related studies; capital 

investments in bus and bus-related 

activities such as replacement of buses, 

overhaul and rebuilding of buses; crime 

prevention and security equipment; 

construction of maintenance and 

passenger facilities; and capital 

investments in new and existing fixed 

guideway systems including rolling 

stock, overhaul and rebuilding of 

vehicles, track, signals, 

communications, and computer 

hardware and software. All preventive 

maintenance and some Americans with 

Disabilities Act complementary 

paratransit service costs are considered 


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capital costs. For urbanized areas with 

populations less than 200,000, operating 

assistance is an eligible expense. In 

areas over 200,000 in population, 

operating assistance is an eligible 

expense if the special rule (100 Bus 

Rule) at 49 U.S.C. 5307(a)(2) applies. Job 

access and reverse commute activities 

remain eligible under the program. 

In addition, recipients may use up to 

one-half of one percent of their section 

5307 funds to support workforce 

development activities at an 80 percent 

Federal share; the eligible workforce 

development activities are defined in 

Section 5314; see Section IV. K. of this 

notice for more information. This 

provision is in addition to the one-half 

of one percent that recipients may use 

for training activities with the National 

Transit Institute. 

5. Requirements

Program guidance for the Urbanized

Area Formula Program is found in FTA 

Circular 9030.1E, Urbanized Area 

Formula Program: Program Guidance 

and Application Instructions, dated 

January 16, 2014, and is supplemented 

by additional information and changes 

provided in this notice and that may be 

posted to the FTA’s section 5307 web 

page. FTA is in the process of updating 

the program circular to incorporate 

changes resulting from amendments to 

49 U.S.C. 5307. 

Key program requirements and 

changes that apply to all programs are 

addressed in section III.D. of this notice, 

‘‘Cross-Cutting Programmatic 

Requirements and Changes.’’ The 

following subsections outline several 

important program requirements and 

changes that apply specifically to the 

Urbanized Area Formula Program. 

6. Period of Availability

Funds made available under Section

5307 are available for obligation during 

the year of apportionment plus five 

additional years. This is unchanged 

under the IIJA. Accordingly, funds 

apportioned in FY 2022 must be 

obligated in grants by September 30, 

2027. Any FY 2022 apportioned funds 

that remain unobligated at the close of 

business on September 30, 2027, will 

revert to FTA for reapportionment 

under the Urbanized Area Formula 

Program. 

Funds allocated under the Passenger 

Ferry discretionary program follow the 

same period of availability as section 

5307. Accordingly, funds allocated in 

FY 2022 must be obligated in grants by 

September 30, 2027. Any of the funds 

allocated in FY 2022 that remain 

unobligated at the close of business on 

September 30, 2027, will revert to FTA 

for reallocation under the Passenger 

Ferry program. 

7. What’s New and Other Program

Highlights

Recipients that serve urbanized areas 

with populations of 200,000 or more are 

required to allocate not less than 0.75 

percent of their Urbanized Area 

Formula Program funds to safety-related 

projects. It should be noted however, 

some safety expenditures identified to 

satisfy the safety requirement may also 

be used to support the 1% requirement 

for security-related projects for the UZA 

if the recipient can justify the expense 

as both a safety and a security expense. 

D. Fixed Guideway Capital Investment

Grants Program (49 U.S.C. 5309)

The Capital Investment Grants (CIG) 

Program includes three types of eligible 

projects—New Starts projects, Small 

Starts projects, and Core Capacity 

Improvement projects. Funding is 

provided for construction of: (1) New 

fixed guideway systems or extensions to 

existing fixed guideway systems such as 

rapid rail (heavy rail), commuter rail, 

light rail, trolleybus (using overhead 

catenary), cable car, passenger ferries, 

and bus rapid transit operating on an 

exclusive transit lane for the majority of 

the corridor length that also includes 

features that emulate the services 

provided by rail fixed guideway 

including defined stations, traffic signal 

priority for public transit vehicles, and 

short headway bi-directional service for 

a substantial part of weekdays and 

weekends; (2) corridor-based bus rapid 

transit service that does not operate on 

an exclusive transit lane but includes 

features that emulate the services 

provided by rail fixed guideway 

including defined stations, traffic signal 

priority for public transit vehicles, and 

short headway bi-directional services 

for a substantial part of weekdays; and 

(3) projects that expand the capacity by

at least 10 percent of an existing fixed

guideway corridor that is at capacity

today or will be in ten years.

Projects become candidates for 

funding under the Capital Investment 

Grants program by successfully 

completing steps in the multi-year 

process defined in section 5309 and 

obtaining a satisfactory rating under the 

statutorily defined criteria. For New 

Starts and Core Capacity Improvement 

projects, the steps in the process include 

project development, engineering, and 

construction. For Small Starts projects 

the steps in the process include project 

development and construction. New 

Starts and Core Capacity Improvement 

projects receive construction funds from 

the program through a full funding grant 

agreement (FFGA) that defines the scope 

of the project and specifies the total 

multi-year Federal commitment to the 

project. Small Starts projects receive 

construction funds through a single year 

grant or an expedited grant agreement 

that defines the scope of the project and 

specifies the Federal commitment to the 

project. 

Bundles of CIG projects, comprised of 

multiple New Starts, Core Capacity, 

and/or Small Starts projects being 

pursued by the same project sponsor, 

are also allowed. Bundles must enhance 

or increase the capacity of the 

transportation system and streamline 

procurements or enable time or cost 

savings for the projects. 

For more information about the 

Capital Investment Grants program 

contact Elizabeth Day, Office of Capital 

Project Development, at (202) 366–5159 

or elizabeth.day@dot.gov. 

For information about published 

allocations contact Kevin Osborn, Office 

of Transit Programs, at (202) 366–7519 

or Kevin.Osborn@dot.gov. 

1. Authorized Amounts

The IIJA authorizes $15 billion to be

appropriated over five years for the CIG 

program and the Expedited Project 

Delivery Pilot Program (EPD), with an 

additional $8 billion in advance 

appropriations. 

Fiscal year 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026

Funds Authorized to be Appropriated .... $3,000,000,000 $3,000,000,000 $3,000,000,000 $3,000,000,000 $3,000,000,000 

Advance Appropriations ......................... 1,600,000,000 1,600,000,000 1,600,000,000 1,600,000,000 1,600,000,000 

Total ................................................ 4,600,000,000 4,600,000,000 4,600,000,000 4,600,000,000 4,600,000,000 


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2. FY 2022 Funding Availability 

In addition to the advance 

appropriations of $1,600,000,000, 

$2,248,000,000 was appropriated in FY 

2022, for a total of $3,848,000,00 for the 

section 5309 CIG and EPD programs. 

After the oversight deduction, 

$3,809,520,000 is available for eligible 

projects under the program. 

CAPITAL INVESTMENT GRANT

PROGRAM—FY 2022 

Total Appropriation ........................ $3,848,000,000 

Oversight Deduction ...................... (38,480,000) 

Total Apportioned ...................... 3,809,520,000 

3. Basis for Allocation 

Funds are allocated on a discretionary 

basis and subject to program evaluation. 

4. Eligible Expenses 

See beginning of section D above. 

5. Requirements 

Project sponsors should reference the 

FTA website at www.transit.dot.gov for 

the most current Capital Investment 

Grants program policy guidance to learn 

what is required to enter and advance 

through the program. Grant-related 

guidance is found in FTA Circular 

9300.1B, Capital Investment Grant 

Program Guidance and Application 

Instructions, November 1, 2008; and 

C5200.1A, Full Funding Grant 

Agreement Guidance, December 5, 2002, 

which will be updated to incorporate 

the changes made by the IIJA. 

6. Period of Availability 

Funding is available for four years, 

which is the fiscal year in which the 

amount is made available plus three 

additional years. Therefore, funds for a 

project identified in FY 2022 must be 

obligated for the project by September 

30, 2025. Section 5309 funds that 

remain unobligated after four fiscal 

years to the projects for which they were 

originally designated may be made 

available for other section 5309 projects. 

7. What’s New and Other Program 

Highlights 

a. New Starts, Small Starts and Core 

Capacity 

The IIJA amended the Capital 

Investment Grants Program (CIG) by 

changing the eligibility parameters as 

described below and eliminating the 

Program of Interrelated Projects and 

replacing it with a process for bundling 

of projects. Under 49 U.S.C. 5309, as 

amended by the IIJA, New Starts 

projects are defined as projects with a 

total capital cost of $400 million or 

greater or that are seeking $150 million 

or more in section 5309 funding. 

Previously, these thresholds were $300 

million and $100 million respectively. 

Eligible New Starts projects are new 

fixed-guideway systems, such as rapid 

rail (heavy rail), commuter rail, light 

rail, streetcars, trolleybus (using 

overhead catenary), cable car, passenger 

ferries, and fixed guideway bus rapid 

transit, or an extension of any of these 

systems. Fixed guideway bus rapid 

transit is defined as operating on an 

exclusive transit lane for the majority of 

the corridor length and that also 

includes features that emulate the 

services provided by rail fixed guideway 

including defined stations, traffic signal 

priority for public transit vehicles, and 

short headway bi-directional service for 

a substantial part of weekdays and 

weekends. 

Small Starts projects are defined as 

projects with a total capital cost less 

than $400 million and that are seeking 

less than $150 million in section 5309 

funding. Previously, these thresholds 

were $300 million and $100 million 

respectively. Eligible Small Starts 

projects are those mentioned for the 

New Starts program, as well as corridorbased bus rapid transit projects that do 

not operate on a separated fixed 

guideway but include features that 

emulate the services provided by rail 

fixed guideway including defined 

stations, traffic signal priority for public 

transit vehicles, and short headway bidirectional services for a substantial part 

of weekdays. 

Core Capacity Improvement projects 

are defined as substantial, corridorbased investments in existing fixed 

guideway systems that are at capacity 

today or will be in ten years. Previously, 

the timeframe was five years. A Core 

Capacity Improvement project must 

increase the capacity of the existing 

fixed guideway system in the corridor 

by at least 10 percent. Core Capacity 

projects cannot include elements 

designed to maintain a state of good 

repair. This was not changed from the 

eligibility under the FAST Act. 

The number of steps in the process for 

projects has not changed. For New 

Starts and Core Capacity Improvement 

projects, the steps in the process include 

project development, engineering, and 

construction. For Small Starts projects 

the steps in the process include project 

development and construction. FTA 

must evaluate and rate projects seeking 

section 5309 funding according to 

statutorily defined criteria at various 

steps in the process. Bundles of CIG 

projects, comprised of multiple New 

Starts, Core Capacity, or Small Starts 

projects being pursued by the same 

project sponsor, are now allowed. 

Bundles must enhance or increase the 

capacity of the transportation system 

and streamline procurements or enable 

time or cost savings for the projects. 

FTA has issued and will issue 

additional guidance regarding 

implementation of the IIJA amendments 

to 49 U.S.C. 5309. 

b. Expedited Project Delivery for Capital 

Investment Grants Pilot Program 

The IIJA made several modifications 

to the pilot program. Eligible projects for 

the pilot program include New Starts, 

Small Starts, or Core Capacity 

improvement projects that have not yet 

received a full funding grant agreement. 

However, the definitions of New Starts, 

Small Starts, and Core Capacity differ 

slightly from those used in the Capital 

Investment Grants program. 

A New Starts project under the EPD 

pilot program is defined as a project 

with a total capital cost of $400 million 

or greater or that is seeking $150 million 

or more in funding from the pilot 

program. A Small Starts project under 

the pilot program is defined as a project 

with a total capital cost less than $400 

million and that is seeking less than 

$150 million in funding from the pilot 

program. A Core Capacity Improvement 

project under the pilot program is 

defined as a substantial, corridor-based 

capital investment in an existing fixed 

guideway system that increases the 

capacity of the corridor by not less than 

10 percent, and can include elements 

designed to maintain a state of good 

repair. 

Up to eight projects may be selected 

for the pilot program. Projects must be 

supported at least in part through a 

public-private partnership but must be 

operated and maintained by employees 

of an existing provider of fixed 

guideway or bus rapid transit services in 

the area. The maximum Federal funding 

provided to projects selected for the 

pilot program is 25 percent. 

The IIJA also requires that FTA 

determine a proposed pilot project is 

justified based on its mobility 

improvements, environmental benefits, 

congestion relief, economic 

development effects, and estimated 

ridership and that it is supported by an 

acceptable degree of local financial 

commitment. FTA published a Notice of 

Funding Opportunity in the Federal 

Register that described the process for 

project sponsors to apply to FTA for 

consideration as a pilot project. For 

further information, see 85 FR 45460. 


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E. Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and 

Individuals With Disabilities Program 

(49 U.S.C. 5310) 

The Enhanced Mobility of Seniors 

and Individuals with Disabilities 

Program provides formula funding 

apportioned to direct recipients: States 

for rural (under 50,000) and small urban 

areas (50,000–200,000); and designated 

recipients chosen by the Governor of the 

State for large urban areas (populations 

of 200,000 or more); or a State or local 

governmental entity that operates a 

public transportation service. The 

Section 5310 program provides capital 

and operating assistance for improving 

the mobility for seniors and individuals 

with disabilities by removing barriers to 

transportation service and expanding 

transportation mobility options. This 

program supports transportation 

services planned, designed, and carried 

out to meet the special transportation 

needs of seniors and individuals with 

disabilities in all areas. 

This program provides funds to: (1) 

Serve the special needs of transitdependent populations beyond 

traditional public transportation service, 

where public transportation is 

insufficient, inappropriate, or 

unavailable; (2) projects that exceed the 

requirements of the Americans with 

Disabilities Act (ADA); (3) projects that 

improve access to fixed-route service 

and decrease reliance on 

complementary paratransit; and (4) 

projects that are alternatives to public 

transportation. 

For more information about the 

Section 5310 program, contact Destiny 

Buchanan, Office of Transit Programs, 

at (202) 493–8018 or 

Destiny.Buchanan@dot.gov. 

1. Authorized Amounts 

The IIJA authorizes $1,943,105,343 to 

be appropriated over five years for the 

Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and 

Individuals with Disabilities formula 

program, with an additional $250 

million provided in advance 

appropriations. This amount does not 

include funding for the Innovative 

Coordinated Access and Mobility Pilot 

Program. 

Fiscal year FY 2022 FY 2023 FY 2024 FY 2025 FY 2026 

5310 Formula Grants ............................. $421,247,094 $429,002,836 $438,899,052 $446,932,778 $457,023,583 

2. FY 2022 Funding Availability 

In FY 2022, $421,247,094 is 

appropriated for the program. A total of 

$422,037,792 is available for allocation 

after the oversight and administrative 

deduction, transfer to the US DOT 

Office of Inspector General, and 

addition of reapportioned funds as 

shown in the table below. 

SECTION 5310 FORMULA PROGRAM— 

FY 2022 

Total Appropriation ........................ $421,247,094 

Oversight and Administrative ........ (2,851,235) 

Transfer to OIG ............................. (5,000) 

Reapportioned Funds .................... 3,646,933 

Total Apportioned ...................... 422,037,792 

3. Basis for Formula Apportionment 

Sixty percent of the funds are 

apportioned among designated 

recipients for urbanized areas with a 

population of 200,000 or more 

individuals. Twenty percent of the 

funds are apportioned among the States 

for their urbanized areas with a 

population of at least 50,000 but less 

than 200,000. Twenty percent of the 

funds are apportioned among the States 

for rural areas with a population of less 

than 50,000. Census Data on Older 

Adults and People with Disabilities is 

used for the Section 5310 Enhanced 

Mobility of Older Adults and People 

with Disabilities Apportionments. To 

view the Section 5310 table which 

displays the amounts apportioned under 

the Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and 

Individuals with Disabilities Program 

click here: https://www.transit.dot.gov/ 

funding/apportionments. 

Under the Section 5310 formula, 

funds are allocated using Census data 

on seniors (i.e., persons 65 and older) 

and people with disabilities. However, 

beginning in 2010, the Census Bureau 

stopped collecting this demographic 

information as part of its decennial 

census. Data on seniors and people with 

disabilities is now only available from 

the American Community Survey 

(ACS), which is conducted and 

published on a rolling basis. FTA’s FY 

2022 Section 5310 apportionments 

incorporate ACS data published in 

December 2020. Data on seniors comes 

from the ACS 2015–2019 five-year data 

set, Table B01001, ‘‘Sex by Age.’’ Data 

on persons with disabilities comes from 

the ACS 2015–2019 five-year data set, 

Table S.1810, ‘‘Disability 

Characteristics.’’ 

4. Eligible Expenses 

Section 5310 funds are available for 

capital and operating expenses to 

support the provision of transportation 

services to meet the specific needs of 

seniors and individuals with 

disabilities. Of the amounts apportioned 

to states and designated recipients, not 

less than 55 percent of funds must be 

used for ‘‘traditional’’ Section 5310 

projects—those public transportation 

capital projects planned, designed, and 

carried out to meet the specific needs of 

seniors and individuals with disabilities 

when public transportation is 

insufficient, unavailable, or 

inappropriate. This includes capital 

equipment such as buses and vans; 

wheelchair lifts, ramps, and securement 

devices; transit-related information 

technology systems including 

scheduling/routing/one-call systems; 

and mobility management programs. 

The acquisition of transportation 

services under a contract, lease, or other 

arrangement is also eligible. Both capital 

and operating costs associated with 

contracted service are eligible capital 

expenses. The capital eligibility of 

acquisition of services is limited to the 

Section 5310 program. 

5. Requirements 

Up to 45 percent of an area’s 

apportionment may be used for 

additional public transportation projects 

that: Exceed the Americans with 

Disabilities Act minimum requirements; 

improve access to fixed-route service 

and decrease reliance by individuals 

with disabilities on ADAcomplementary paratransit service; or 

provide alternatives to public 

transportation that assist seniors and 

individuals with disabilities with 

transportation. This includes projects 

eligible under the former New Freedom 

program. 

a. Eligible Recipients 

Eligible direct recipients include 

States for rural and small urban areas 

and designated recipients chosen by the 

Governor of the State for large urban 

areas. Federally recognized Indian tribes 

and State or local governmental entities 

that operate a public transportation 

service are also eligible direct 

recipients. For urbanized areas less than 

200,000 in population and in the rural 

areas, the State is the designated 

recipient for section 5310. Section 5310 

designated recipients remain in effect 

until changed by the Governor of a State 

by officially notifying the appropriate 


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FTA regional administrator of redesignation. 

In urbanized areas over 200,000 in 

population, the recipient charged with 

administering the Section 5310 Program 

must be officially designated in 

accordance with the planning process, 

by the Governor of a State, responsible 

local officials, and publicly owned 

operators of public transportation prior 

to grant award (See definition of 

designated recipient, 49 U.S.C. 5302(5)). 

Designated recipients are responsible for 

administering the program. 

Responsibilities include: Notifying 

eligible local entities of funding 

availability; developing project selection 

processes; determining project 

eligibility; developing the program of 

projects; and ensuring that all 

subrecipients comply with Federal 

requirements. 

Although FTA will only award grants 

to the eligible recipients for the 

program, there are other entities eligible 

to receive funding as subrecipients. 

These include private nonprofit 

organizations, and state or local 

governmental authorities approved by a 

state to coordinate services for seniors 

and people with disabilities, or state or 

local governmental authorities which 

certify to the Governor that no nonprofit 

organizations or associations are readily 

available in an area to provide the 

service. 

b. Local Match 

The matching requirements for this 

program remain the same; capital 

assistance is provided on an 80 percent 

Federal share, 20 percent local share. 

Operating assistance requires a 50 

percent local share. Funds provided 

under other Federal programs (other 

than those of the U.S. DOT, with the 

exception of the Federal Lands 

Transportation Program and Tribal 

Transportation Program established by 

sections 202 and 203 of title 23, U.S.C.) 

may be used for local match for funds 

provided under Section 5310, and 

revenue from service contracts may be 

used as local match. 

c. Planning and Consultation 

The coordinated planning provision 

requires that all projects be included in 

the local coordinated human servicepublic transportation plan. 

FTA requires the following elements, 

at a minimum, be included in the plans: 

i. An assessment of available services 

that identifies current transportation 

providers (public, private, and 

nonprofit); 

ii. An assessment of transportation 

needs for individuals with disabilities 

and seniors; 

iii. Strategies, activities, and/or 

projects to address the identified gaps 

between current services and needs, as 

well as opportunities to achieve 

efficiencies in service delivery; and, 

iv. Priorities for implementation 

based on resources (from multiple 

program sources), time, and feasibility 

for implementing specific strategies 

and/or activities identified. 

Additionally, the plan must be 

developed and adopted with 

representation from seniors, individuals 

with disabilities, representatives of 

public, private, nonprofit transportation 

and human services providers, and 

other members of the public. Recipients 

must certify that projects were selected 

from this process and must make 

reference to the plan in the program of 

projects, which is described below. 

d. State and Project Management Plans 

FTA will continue to require States, 

designated recipients, and State or local 

governmental entities that operate a 

public transportation service who are 

responsible for implementing the 

Section 5310 program to document their 

approach to managing the program. The 

primary purposes of State or Program 

Management Plans are to serve as the 

basis for FTA management reviews of 

the program, and to provide public 

information on the administration of the 

programs. 

e. Program of Projects (POP) 

Designated recipients are required to 

develop a Program of Projects (POP) 

with the grant application and submit it 

to the FTA Regional Office. The POP 

should be developed with respect to the 

coordinated plan, long range plan, and 

the transportation improvement plan. 

For additional guidance in developing 

the required POP, recipients can use 

Chapter IV of the FTA Circular 9070.1G, 

Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and 

Individuals with Disabilities Program 

Guidance and Application Instructions, 

dated July 7, 2014. 

6. Period of Availability 

For Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and 

Individuals with Disabilities Program 

funds apportioned under this notice, 

FTA has administratively set the period 

of availability to the year of 

apportionment plus two years. 

Accordingly, funds apportioned in FY 

2022 must be obligated in grants by 

September 30, 2024. Any FY 2022 

apportioned funds that remain 

unobligated at the close of business on 

September 30, 2024, will revert to FTA 

for reapportionment among the States 

and urbanized areas. 

7. What’s New and Other Program 

Highlights 

The IIJA continues the Section 5310 

program without change. Recipients 

may continue to use a competitive 

selection process to select projects, but 

it is not required. A State may transfer 

apportioned funds between small 

urbanized areas and rural areas if it can 

certify that the needs are being met in 

the area to which the funds were 

originally apportioned. The State can 

transfer the funds (rural and small 

urbanized area) to any area within the 

state if a statewide program for Section 

5310 is established. There are no 

administrative or statutory provisions to 

permit transferring Section 5310 funds 

to other FTA programs nor is there a 

provision for large urbanized areas to 

transfer their funds to the State. 

Section 5310 program recipients may 

continue to partner with meal delivery 

programs such as the OAA-funded meal 

programs (to find local programs, visit: 

www.Eldercare.gov) and the USDA 

Summer Food Service Program http://

www.fns.usda.gov/sfsp/summer-foodservice-program-sfsp. Transit service 

providers receiving Section 5310 funds 

may coordinate and assist in providing 

meal delivery services on a regular basis 

as long as this does not conflict with the 

provision of transit services. 

Program Guidance is found in FTA 

Circular 9070.1G, Enhanced Mobility of 

Seniors and Individuals with 

Disabilities Program Guidance and 

Application Instructions, dated July 7, 

2014. 

The Innovative Coordinated Access 

and Mobility Pilot program created 

through Section 3006(b) of the Fixing 

America’s Surface Transportation 

(FAST) Act, is continued through IIJA. 

F. Formula Grants for Rural Areas 

Program (49 U.S.C. 5311) 

The Rural Areas program provides 

formula funding to States and Indian 

tribes for the purpose of supporting 

public transportation in areas with a 

population of less than 50,000. Funding 

may be used for capital, operating, 

planning, job access and reverse 

commute projects, and State 

administration expenses. Eligible 

subrecipients include State and local 

governmental authorities, Indian Tribes, 

private non-profit organizations, and 

private operators of public 

transportation services, including 

intercity bus companies. Indian Tribes 

are also eligible direct recipients under 

Section 5311, both for funds 

apportioned to the States and for 

projects apportioned or selected to be 


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funded with funds set aside for a 

separate Tribal Transit Program. 

For more information about the 

Formula Grants for Rural Areas 

program, contact Elan Flippin, Office of 

Transit Programs, at (202) 366–3800 or 

elan.flippin@dot.gov. 

1. Authorized Amounts 

The IIJA authorizes $4.1 billion over 

five years to provide financial assistance 

for rural areas under section 5311(c)(3). 

The Section 5311 program includes 

three other programs: The Rural Transit 

Assistance Program (RTAP); the 

Appalachian Development Public 

Transportation Assistance Program; and 

the Tribal Transit Program. These 

separate programs are described in the 

sections that follow. 

Fiscal year 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 

Funds Authorized ................................... $785,148,545 $801,551,125 $822,480,580 $839,471,067 $860,812,057 

In addition to the funds made 

available to States under Section 5311, 

approximately 14 percent of the funds 

authorized for the Section 5340 Growing 

States formula factors will be 

apportioned to States for use in rural 

areas. 

2. FY 2022 Funding Availability 

In FY 2022, a total of $785,148,545 is 

authorized and appropriated for the 

section 5311 program for the period 

October 1, 2021, through September 30, 

2022. The total amount apportioned is 

$893,663,711 to Section 5311 programs 

and includes the amount for Growing 

States formula factors, reapportioned 

funds, and deduction for oversight 

(required by section 5338), as shown in 

the table below. 

FORMULA GRANTS FOR RURAL AREAS

PROGRAM—FY 2022 

Total Appropriation ........................ $785,148,545 

Oversight Deductions .................... (4,376,448) 

Section 5340 Growing States ....... 112,286,712 

Reapportioned Funds .................... 604,902 

Total Apportioned ...................... 893,663,711 

3. Basis for Formula Apportionment 

The IIJA made no changes to the 

formula for the Rural Areas Program. 

FTA apportions Section 5311 funds to 

the states by a statutory formula using 

the latest available U.S. decennial 

census data. The majority of rural 

formula funds (83.15 percent) are 

apportioned based on land area and 

population factors. In this first tier, no 

state may receive more than 5 percent 

of the amount apportioned on the basis 

of land area. The remaining rural 

formula funds (16.85 percent) are 

apportioned based on land area, vehicle 

revenue miles, and low-income 

individual factors. In this second tier, 

no state may receive more than 5 

percent of the amount apportioned on 

the basis of land area, or more than 5 

percent of the amounts apportioned for 

vehicle revenue miles. In addition to 

funds made available under Section 

5311, FTA adds amounts apportioned 

based on rural population according to 

the growing states formula factors of 49 

U.S.C. 5340 to the amounts apportioned 

to the states under the Section 5311 

formula. Before FTA apportions Section 

5311 funds to the states, FTA subtracts 

funding from the total available 

amounts for the Appalachian 

Development Transportation Assistance 

Program, the Tribal Transit Program, the 

Rural Transportation Assistance 

Program (RTAP), and FTA oversight 

activities. 

Data from the Rural Module of the 

National Transit Database (NTD) was 

used for this apportionment, including 

data from directly reporting Indian 

tribes. Data from public transportation 

systems that reported to the Annual 

(Urbanized Area) Module, and that was 

not attributable to an urbanized area, 

was also included. 

4. Eligible Expenses 

The Section 5311 program provides 

funding for capital, operating, planning, 

job access and reverse commute 

projects, and administration expenses 

for public transit service in rural areas 

under 50,000 in population. The 

planning activities undertaken with 

Section 5311 funds are in addition to 

those awarded to the State under 

Section 5305 and must be used 

specifically for rural areas’ needs. 

a. Intercity Bus Transportation 

Each State must continue to spend no 

less than 15 percent of its annual Rural 

Areas Formula apportionment for the 

development and support of intercity 

bus transportation, unless it can certify, 

after consultation with affected intercity 

bus service providers, that the intercity 

bus service needs of the State are 

adequately being met. FTA continues to 

encourage consultation with other 

stakeholders, such as communities 

affected by loss of intercity service. The 

intercity bus service match requirement 

in 49 U.S.C. 5311(g)(3) allows the cost 

of an unsubsidized portion of privately 

provided intercity bus service that 

connects feeder service, including all 

operating and capital costs of such 

service whether or not offset by revenue 

from such service, to be used as in-kind 

local match for the intercity bus 

projects. 

b. State Administration 

The IIJA did not change the amount 

available to States for administration, 

planning, and technical assistance. 

States may elect to use up to 10 percent 

of their apportionment at 100 percent 

Federal share to administer the Section 

5311 program and provide technical 

assistance to subrecipients. Technical 

assistance includes project planning, 

program and management development, 

public transportation coordination 

activities, and research the State 

considers appropriate to promote 

effective delivery of public 

transportation to rural areas. 

c. Eligibility for Safety Certification 

Training 

Recipients of Section 5311 funds are 

permitted to use not more than 0.5 

percent of their formula funds under the 

Rural Areas program to pay not more 

than 80 percent of the cost of 

participation for an employee who is 

directly responsible for safety oversight 

to participate in public transportation 

safety certification training. Safety 

certification training program 

requirements are established in 

accordance with Section 5329. 

5. Requirements 

The program requirements under this 

section are generally unchanged, with 

the exception of the cross-cutting 

requirements mentioned in section III.D. 

of this notice and specific subsections 

outlined below. 

The Federal share for capital 

assistance is 80 percent and for 

operating assistance is 50 percent, 

except that States eligible for the sliding 

scale match under FHWA programs may 

use that match ratio for Section 5311 

capital projects and 62.5 percent of the 

sliding scale capital match ratio for 

operating projects. This is not changed 

under the current authorization. 

Each State prepares an annual 

program of projects, which must 

provide for fair and equitable 

distribution of funds within the States, 


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including Indian reservations, and must 

provide for maximum feasible 

coordination with transportation 

services assisted by other Federal 

sources. 

Additional program guidance for the 

Rural Areas Program is found in FTA 

Circular 9040.1G, Formula Grants for 

Rural Areas: Program Guidance and 

Application Instructions, dated October 

24, 2014, and is supplemented by 

additional information and changes 

provided in this notice and that may be 

posted to FTA’s Section 5311 web page. 

FTA is in the process of updating the 

program circular to incorporate changes 

resulting from IIJA amendments to 49 

U.S.C. 5311. 

The following subsections outline 

several important program requirements 

that apply specifically to the section 

5311 program. 

6. Period of Availability 

Section 5311 funds remain available 

to states for obligation for three Federal 

fiscal years, beginning with the year of 

apportionment plus two additional 

years. The Rural Areas program funds 

apportioned in this notice are available 

for obligation during FY 2022 plus two 

additional years. Any FY 2022 

apportioned funds that remain 

unobligated at the close of business on 

September 30, 2024, will revert to FTA 

for reapportionment under the Rural 

Areas program. 

7. What’s New and Other Program 

Highlights 

The IIJA did not modify the rural 

formula program. 

G. Rural Transportation Assistance 

Program (49 U.S.C. 5311(b)(3)) 

This program is not changed in the 

IIJA and continues to provide funding to 

assist in the design and implementation 

of training and technical assistance 

projects, research, and other support 

services tailored to meet the needs of 

transit operators in rural areas. For more 

information about Rural Transportation 

Assistance Program (RTAP) contact Elan 

Flippin, Office of Transit Programs, at 

(202) 366–3800 or elan.flippin@dot.gov. 

1. Authorized Amounts 

The IIJA authorizes a two percent 

takedown from the funds appropriated 

for section 5311 for RTAP. Of this 

amount, 15 percent is reserved for the 

National RTAP program. The remainder 

is available for allocation to the States. 

The IIJA authorizes $105 million over 

five years to carry out this program. 

Fiscal year 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 

Funds Authorized ................................... $20,117,845 $20,538,128 $21,074,403 $21,509,749 $22,056,569 

2. FY 2022 Funding Availability 

In FY 2022, $20,117,845 is authorized 

and appropriated for the Section 5311 

RTAP program. After the reduction to 

the National RTAP program, and the 

addition of reapportioned funds a total 

of $17,563,773 is available for allocation 

to the States, as shown in the table 

below. 

RURAL TRANSPORTATION ASSISTANCE

PROGRAM—FY 2022 

Total Appropriation ........................ $20,117,845 

National RTAP .............................. (2,625,869) 

Reapportioned Funds .................... 71,797 

Total Apportioned ...................... 17,563,773 

Table 12 shows the FY 2022 RTAP 

allocations to the States. 

3. Basis for Formula Apportionment 

FTA will continue to allocate funds to 

the States by an administrative formula. 

First, FTA allocates $65,000 to each 

State ($10,000 to territories), and then 

allocates the balance based on rural 

population in the 2010 census. 

4. Eligible Expenses 

Eligible expenses include the design 

and implementation of training and 

technical assistance projects, research, 

and other support services tailored to 

meet the needs of transit operators in 

rural areas. 

5. Requirements 

States may use the funds to undertake 

research, training, technical assistance, 

and other support services to meet the 

needs of transit operators in rural areas. 

These funds are to be used in 

conjunction with a State’s 

administration of the Rural Areas 

Formula Program, but also may support 

the rural components of the Section 

5310 program. 

6. Period of Availability 

The Section 5311 RTAP funds 

apportioned in this notice are available 

for obligation in FY 2022 plus two 

additional years, consistent with that 

established for the Section 5311 

program. 

7. What’s New and Other Program 

Highlights 

The National RTAP project is 

administered by cooperative agreement 

and re-competed at five-year intervals. 

In 2019, FTA awarded a cooperative 

agreement to Neponset Valley 

Transportation Management Association 

to administer the National RTAP 

Program. The National RTAP projects 

are guided by a project review board 

that consists of managers of rural transit 

systems and State DOT RTAP programs. 

National RTAP resources also support 

the biennial TRB National Conference 

on Rural Public and Intercity Bus 

Transportation and other research and 

technical assistance projects of a 

national scope. 

H. Appalachian Development Public 

Transportation Assistance Program (49 

U.S.C. 5311(c)(2)) 

This program continues as a takedown under the section 5311 program to 

provide additional funding to support 

public transportation in the 

Appalachian region. There are sixteen 

eligible States that receive an allocation 

under this provision. The States and 

their allocation are shown in the Rural 

Areas Formula program table posted on 

FTA’s website under the FY 2022 

Apportionments page. 

For more information about the 

Appalachian Development Public 

Transportation Assistance Program, 

contact Elan Flippin, Office of Transit 

Programs, at (202) 366–3800 or 

elan.flippin@dot.gov. 

1. Authorized Amounts 

The IIJA authorizes a take-down of 

three percent of Section 5311 funding 

for the Appalachian Development 

Public Transportation Assistance 

Program. A total of $137.4 million is 

authorized over five years as shown on 

the following table to support public 

transportation in the Appalachian 

region. 


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Fiscal year 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 

Funds Authorized ................................... $26,258,687 $26,807,258 $27,507,228 $28,075,461 $28,789,194 

2. FY 2022 Funding Availability 

A total of $26,258,687 is authorized 

and appropriated for the Appalachian 

Development program for FY 2022, as 

shown below. 

APPALACHIAN DEVELOPMENT PUBLIC

TRANSPORTATION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM—FY 2022 

Total Appropriation ........................ $26,258,687 

Total Apportioned ...................... 26,258,687 

3. Basis for Formula Apportionment 

FTA apportions the funds using 

percentages established under section 

9.5(b) of the Appalachian Regional 

Commission Code (subtitle IV of Title 

40 U.S.C.). Allocations are based in 

general on each State’s remaining 

estimated need to complete eligible 

sections of the Appalachian 

Development Highway System as 

determined from the latest percentages 

of available cost estimates for 

completion of the System. Such cost 

estimates are produced at approximate 

five-year intervals. Allocations contain 

upper and lower limits in amounts 

determined by the Commission and are 

made in accordance with legislative 

instructions. 

4. Requirements 

Funds apportioned under this 

program can be used for purposes 

consistent with Section 5311 to support 

public transportation in the 

Appalachian region. Funds can be 

applied for in the State’s annual Section 

5311 grant. 

Appalachian program funds that 

cannot be used for operating may be 

used for a highway project under certain 

circumstances. States should contact 

their regional office if they intend to 

request a transfer. Additional 

information about the requirements for 

this section can be found in Chapter VII 

of FTA Circular 9040.1G, Formula 

Grants for Rural Areas: Program 

Guidance and Application Instructions, 

dated October 24, 2014. 

5. Period of Availability 

Section 5311 Appalachian program 

funds are available for three years, 

which includes the year of 

apportionment plus two additional 

years, consistent with that established 

for the Section 5311 program. 

6. What’s New and Other Program 

Highlights 

The IIJA Establishes fixed funding 

percentages for the Appalachian 

Development Public Transportation 

Assistance programs, providing three 

percent of Section 5311 funding each 

year. 

I. Formula Grants for Public 

Transportation on Indian Reservations 

Program (49 U.S.C. 5311(c)(1)) 

The Public Transportation on Indian 

Reservations Program or Tribal Transit 

Program (TTP) is continued as a 

takedown from the Section 5311 

program. Over the five-year period from 

FY 2022 through FY 2026, the program 

is authorized at a total of $229 million, 

of which $183 million is for a formula 

program and $45.8 million is for a 

discretionary grant program. More 

information on the discretionary 

program can be found in section III.6 of 

this notice. Eligible direct recipients are 

federally recognized Indian tribes and 

Alaskan Native Villages providing 

public transportation in rural areas. The 

TTP funds are to be allocated for grants 

to eligible recipients for any purpose 

eligible under Section 5311, which 

includes capital, operating, planning, 

and job access and reverse commute 

projects. 

For more information about the Tribal 

Transit Program contact Matthew Lange, 

Office of Transit Programs at (312) 353– 

4118 or TribalTransit@dot.gov. 

1. Authorized Funding 

Over the five-year period from FY 

2022 through FY 2026, the program is 

authorized at a total of $229 million, of 

which $183 million is for a formula 

program and $45.8 million is for a 

discretionary grant program. 

Fiscal year 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 

Formula Funds Authorized .................... $35,011,582 $35,743,011 $36,676,304 $37,433,948 $38,385,592 

Discretionary Funds Authorized ............. 8,752,896 8,935,753 9,169,076 9,358,487 9,596,398 

Total ................................................ 43,764,478 44,678,764 45,845,380 46,792,435 47,981,990 

2. FY 2022 Funding Availability 

In FY 2022, $35,011,582 is authorized 

and appropriated for the formula 

program as shown in the table below. 

After the addition of reapportioned 

funds, a total of $35,823,941 is available 

to be apportioned. 

FORMULA GRANTS FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION ON INDIAN RESERVATIONS PROGRAM—FY 2022 

Total Appropriation ........................ $35,011,582 

Reapportioned Funds .................... 812,359 

Total Apportioned ...................... 35,823,941 

3. Basis for Formula Apportionment 

Funding is allocated by formula and 

distributed to eligible Indian tribes 

providing public transportation on tribal 

lands. The formula apportionment 

shown in Table 9 is based on a statutory 

formula which includes three tiers. 

Tiers 1 and 2 are based on data reported 

to NTD by Indian tribes; Tier 3 is based 

on 2009–2013 American Community 

Survey data. The three tiers for the 

formula are: Tier 1—50 percent based 

on vehicle revenue miles reported to the 

NTD; Tier 2—25 percent provided in 

equal shares to Indian tribes reporting at 

least 200,000 vehicle revenue miles to 

the NTD; Tier 3—25 percent based on 

Indian tribes providing public 

transportation on tribal lands (American 

Indian Areas, Alaska Native Areas, and 

Hawaiian Home Lands) on which more 

than 1,000 low income individuals 

reside. If more than one tribe provides 

public transportation services on tribal 

lands in a single Tribal Statistical area, 

and the tribes cannot determine how to 

allocate Tier 3 funds, FTA will allocate 

the funds based on the relative portion 

of transit (as defined by unlinked 

passenger trips) operated by each tribe, 

as reported to the National Transit 

Database. 


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4. Requirements 

Formula funds apportioned under this 

program can be used for purposes 

consistent with Section 5311 to support 

public transportation on Indian 

Reservations in rural areas. Funds 

allocated under the competitive 

program must be used consistent with 

the tribe’s proposal and the allocation 

notice published in the Federal 

Register, which is used to announce the 

selected projects. Eligible recipients 

under both the competitive and formula 

program include federally recognized 

Indian tribes or Alaska Native villages, 

groups, or communities as identified by 

the U.S. Department of the Interior 

Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). A tribe 

must have the legal, financial and 

technical capabilities to receive and 

administer Federal funds. 

Section 5335 requires NTD reporting 

for all direct recipients and beneficiaries 

of Section 5311 funds. This reporting 

requirement has and continues to apply 

to the Tribal Transit Program. Tribes 

that provide public transportation in 

rural areas are reminded to report 

annually so they are included in the 

TTP formula apportionments. Tribes 

needing assistance with reporting to the 

NTD should contact the NTD Helpdesk: 

NTDHelp@dot.gov or the Appian NTD 

Reporting Application Support line: 

(877) 561–7466. 

5. Period of Availability 

Funding for the TTP is available for 

three years, which includes the year of 

apportionment or allocation plus two 

additional years, consistent with that 

established for the section 5311 

program. Any FY 2022 formula funds 

that remain unobligated at the close of 

business on September 30, 2024, will 

revert to FTA for reapportionment 

under the TTP. 

6. What’s New and Other Program 

Highlights 

The IIJA establishes fixed funding 

percentages for the Public 

Transportation on Indian Reservations 

program. Five percent of Rural Formula 

(Section 5311) funding is available for 

the Public Transportation on Indian 

Reservations program. Twenty percent 

of the Public Transportation on Indian 

Reservations funds must be distributed 

on a competitive basis, while the 

remainder must be apportioned by 

formula. 

The funds set aside for the TTP are 

not meant to replace or reduce funds 

that Indian tribes receive from States 

through the Section 5311 program but 

are to be used to enhance public 

transportation on Indian reservations 

and transit serving tribal communities. 

Funds allocated to Indian tribes by the 

States may be included in the State’s 

Section 5311 application or awarded by 

FTA in a grant directly to the Indian 

tribe. FTA encourages Indian tribes 

intending to apply to FTA as direct 

recipients to contact the appropriate 

FTA Regional Office at the earliest 

opportunity. 

TTP 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. To assist tribes with 

understanding these requirements, FTA 

regularly conducts Tribal Transit 

Technical Assistance Workshops, and 

expects to offer several workshops in FY 

2022. FTA has also implemented the 

Tribal Transit Technical Assistance 

Assessments initiative. Through these 

assessments, FTA collaborates with 

tribal transit leaders to review processes 

and identify areas in need of 

improvement and then assist with 

solutions to address these needs—all in 

a supportive and mutually beneficial 

manner. These assessments include 

discussions of compliance areas 

pursuant to the Master Agreement, a site 

visit, promising practices reviews, and 

technical assistance from FTA and its 

contractors. These workshops and 

assessments received exemplary 

feedback from Tribal Transit Leaders 

and provided FTA with invaluable 

opportunities to learn more about tribal 

transit leaders’ perspectives and honor 

the sovereignty of tribal nations. FTA 

will post information about upcoming 

workshops to its website and will 

disseminate information about the 

reviews through its Regional Offices. 

FTA has regional tribal transit liaisons 

in each of the FTA Regional Offices that 

are available to assist tribes with 

applying for and managing FTA grants. 

A list of regional tribal transit liaisons 

can be found on FTA’s website at 

https://www.transit.dot.gov/funding/ 

tribal-entities. Tribes are encouraged to 

work directly with their regional tribal 

transit liaison. 

The Tribal Transportation Self 

Governance Program (TTSGP) was 

authorized by the FAST Act and is 

codified at 23 U.S.C. 207. The TTSGP 

final rule became effective on October 1, 

2020 (85 FR 33494). Grant funding made 

available through the FTA formula or 

competitive TTP may be included in a 

Tribal Transportation Self-Governance 

funding agreement if there is an existing 

Self-Governance compact in place 

between the Tribe and the Department 

of Transportation. If funds are 

transferred to a Tribal Self-Governance 

funding agreement, the funds will be 

subject to the requirements and 

provisions of the Tribal Transportation 

Self-Governance Program regulation at 

49 CFR part 29 and may be used only 

for the purpose for which they were 

awarded. 

For more information about the Tribal 

Transit Program, please contact 

Matthew Lange at TribalTransit@dot.gov 

or 312–353–4118. 

J. Public Transportation Innovation (49 

U.S.C. 5312) 

FTA’s innovative research program 

includes three distinct programs: (a) A 

Research, Development, Demonstration, 

Deployment, & Evaluation program (49 

U.S.C. 5312(b–e)); (b) a Low or No 

Emission Vehicle Component 

Assessment Program (Lo-No CAP) (49 

U.S.C. 5312(h)); and (c) a Transit 

Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) 

(49 U.S.C. 5312(i)). 

For more information about the Public 

Transportation Innovation program, 

contact Mary Leary, Office of Research, 

Demonstration and Innovation at (202) 

366–4052 or mary.leary@dot.gov. 

1. Authorized Funding 

The IIJA authorizes $192.8 million 

over five years as follows: 

Fiscal year 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 

Research, Development, ....................... $25,261,523 $25,789,262 $26,462,651 $27,009,306 $27,695,935 

Low-No Component Testing .................. 5,000,000 5,104,455 5,237,739 5,345,938 5,481,842 

Transit Cooperative Research Program 6,578,592 6,716,026 6,891,389 7,033,749 7,212,560 

Total ................................................ 36,840,115 37,609,743 38,591,779 39,388,993 40,390,337 


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2. FY 2022 Funding Availability 

In FY 2022, $36,840,115 is authorized 

for the Public Transportation Innovation 

program. With the addition of $12 

million in Transit Infrastructure Grants, 

a total of $48,840,115 is available in FY 

2022. 

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION

INNOVATION—FY 2022 

Research, Development, Demonstration, Deployment, & Evaluation ......................................... $37,261,523 

Low or No Emission Vehicle Component Testing ........................... 5,000,000 

Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) ............................. 6,578,592 

Total Apportioned ...................... 48,840,115 

3. Basis for Allocation of Funds 

Section 5312 funds are allocated 

according to the authorized purposes 

and amounts described above, and then 

remaining amounts are subject to 

discretionary allocations where not 

specifically authorized. For FY 2022, 

FTA intends to fund projects and 

activities in support of the FTA FY 2022 

action plan in five major areas: Safety, 

climate and resiliency, equity, economic 

strength, and transformation. The 

Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022, 

(Pub. L. 117–103) included $12 million 

in Transit Infrastructure Grants, 

including: $1 million for demonstration 

and deployment for innovation mobility 

solutions; $1 million for the accelerating 

innovative mobility initiative; and $10 

million for technical assistance, 

research, demonstration, or deployment 

activities or projects to accelerate the 

adoption of zero emissions buses. 

Projects may be selected through 

competitive Notices of Funding 

Opportunity (NOFO), noncompetitive 

awards, and partnerships with other 

Federal entities through interagency 

agreements. Potential recipients can 

register to receive information on 

NOFOs that are released under this 

program on Grants.gov. 

4. Eligible Expenses 

Eligible expenses include activities 

involving: Research; innovation and 

development; demonstration, 

deployment, and evaluation; accelerated 

implementation and deployment of 

advanced digital construction 

management systems; evaluation; low or 

no emission vehicle component testing 

and research; and the Transit 

Cooperative Research Program. 

5. Requirements 

The Government share of the cost of 

a project carried out under this section 

shall not exceed 80 percent, except if 

there is substantial public interest or 

benefit, FTA may approve a greater 

Federal share. The non-Government 

share of the cost of a project carried out 

under this section may be derived from 

in-kind contributions. If FTA 

determines that there would be a clear 

and direct financial benefit to an entity 

under a grant, contract, cooperative 

agreement, or other agreement under 

this section, FTA shall establish a 

Government share of the costs of the 

project to be carried out under the grant, 

contract, cooperative agreement, or 

other agreement that is consistent with 

the benefit. However, for the Lo-No 

Component Testing Program, the 

Government share is 50 percent; the 

remaining 50 percent of the costs will be 

paid by amounts recovered through the 

fees established by the testing facilities. 

There is no match requirement for the 

TCRP. 

Application instructions and program 

management guidelines are set forth in 

FTA Circular C 6100.1E, Technology 

Development and Deployment, 

‘‘Research, Technical Assistance and 

Training Program: Application 

Instructions and Program Management 

Guidelines’’ dated April 10, 2015. All 

research recipients are required to work 

with FTA to develop approved 

Statements of Work. FTA will be 

updating the Circular for the Research 

program. 

6. Period of Availability 

FTA establishes the period in which 

the funds must be obligated to the 

project. If the funds are not obligated 

within that period of time, they revert 

to FTA for reallocation under the 

program. 

7. What’s New and Other Program 

Highlights 

The IIJA amends 49 U.S.C. 5312 to 

create an accelerated implementation 

and deployment of advanced digital 

construction management systems 

research program to promote, 

implement, deploy, demonstrate, 

showcase, support, and document the 

application of advanced digital 

construction management systems, 

practices, performance, and benefits. 

Also amended is the Low or No 

Emission Vehicle Component 

Assessment Program (Lo-No CAP). This 

program is expanded to allow the 

competitively selected center(s) to 

conduct directed technology research 

and to conduct testing, evaluation, and 

analysis of low or no emission vehicle 

components, and new and emerging 

technology components, intended for 

use in low or no emission vehicles. 

LONO–CAP funds may be used to 

purchase capital equipment and capital 

projects related to testing low or no 

emission vehicle components; or 

research related to advanced vehicle 

technologies that provide advancements 

to the entire public transportation 

industry. 

Pursuant to the Small Business 

Innovation Development Act, a portion 

of the Section 5312 funds must be set 

aside for the Department’s Small 

Business Innovation Research program 

to address high priority research that 

will demonstrate innovative, economic, 

accurate, and durable technologies, 

devices, applications, or solutions to 

significantly improve current transitrelated service including transit vehicle 

operation, safety, infrastructure and 

environmental sustainability, mobility, 

rider experience, or broadband 

communication. 

K. Technical Assistance and Workforce 

Development (49 U.S.C. 5314) 

The Technical Assistance and 

Workforce Development program, 49 

U.S.C. 5314, provides assistance to: (1) 

Carry out technical assistance activities 

that enable more effective and efficient 

delivery of transportation services, 

foster compliance with Federal laws, 

and improve public transportation 

service; (2) develop standards and best 

practices for the transit industry; and (3) 

address public transportation workforce 

needs through research, outreach, 

training and the implementation of a 

frontline workforce grant program, and 

conduct training and educational 

programs in support of the public 

transportation industry. 

For more information about the 

Technical Assistance and Workforce 

Development program, contact Betty 

Jackson, Office of Research, 

Demonstration and Innovation at (202) 

366–4052 or Betty.Jackson@dot.gov. 

1. Authorized Amounts 

The IIJA authorizes $61.98 million 

over five years for technical assistance. 

Of this amount, $34.4 million is 

authorized for the National Transit 

Institute under section 5314(c); 


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Fiscal year 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 

Technical Assistance, Standards Development & Human Resource Training $5,262,873 $5,372,820 $5,513,111 $5,626,999 $5,770,048 

National Transit Institute ........................ 6,578,592 6,716,026 6,891,389 7,033,749 7,212,560 

Total ................................................ 11,841,465 12,088,846 12,404,500 12,660,748 12,982,608 

2. FY 2022 Funding Availability 

In FY 2022, a total of $11,841,465, is 

authorized for the Technical Assistance 

and Workforce Development program 

for the period October 1, 2021, through 

September 30, 2022. With the addition 

of $7.5 million from the General Fund, 

a total of $19,341,465 was appropriated 

for FY 2022 as shown in the table 

below. 

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT—FY 2022 

Technical Assistance, Standards 

Development & Human Resource Training .......................... $12,762,873 

National Transit Institute ............... 6,578,592 

Total Appropriated ..................... 19,341,465 

3. Basis for Allocation of Funds 

Under the authorized level of section 

5314, $6.6 million is available for the 

National Transit Institute (NTI) in FY 

2022. The remaining $12.76 million of 

appropriated funds will be allocated in 

support of both FTA and USDOT 

strategic goals for technical assistance, 

standards development, and workforce 

development. Projects may be selected 

through Notices of Funding Opportunity 

(NOFO) or sole source cooperative 

agreements. Potential recipients can 

register to receive notification of NOFOs 

under this program on Grants.gov. 

Once selected, FTA enters into 

cooperative agreements, contracts, or 

other agreements to award funds and 

manage the projects carried out under 

this section. 

4. Eligible Expenses 

Eligible expenses include activities 

involving (a) technical assistance; (b) 

standards development; and (c) human 

resources and training, which includes 

workforce development programs and 

activities. 

Eligible technical assistance activities 

may include activities to support: (a) 

Compliance with the Americans with 

Disabilities Act (ADA); (b) compliance 

with coordinating planning and human 

services transportation; (c) meeting the 

transportation needs of elderly 

individuals; (d) increasing transit 

ridership in coordination with MPOs 

and other entities, particularly around 

transit-oriented development; (e) 

addressing transportation equity with 

regard to the effect that transportation 

planning, investment, and operations 

have for low-income and minority 

individuals; (f) facilitating best practices 

to promote bus driver safety; (g) 

compliance with Buy America and preand post-award audits; (h) assisting with 

the development and deployment of low 

and no emission vehicles or 

components for vehicles; (i) and other 

technical assistance activities that are 

necessary to advance the interests of 

public transportation. 

Eligible standards activities include 

the development of voluntary and 

consensus-based standards and best 

practices by the industry to include 

those needed for safety, fare collection, 

intelligent transportation systems, 

accessibility, procurement, security, 

asset management, operations, 

maintenance, vehicle propulsion, 

communications, and vehicle 

electronics. 

Eligible human resources and training 

activities include (a) employment 

training programs; (b) outreach 

programs to increase employment for 

veterans, females, individuals with 

disabilities, and minorities in public 

transportation activities; (c) research on 

public transportation personnel and 

training needs; (d) training and 

assistance for veteran and minority 

business opportunities; and (e) 

consensus-based national training 

standards and certifications in 

partnership with industry stakeholders. 

FTA funding directly allocated for these 

eligible purposes must be done through 

a competitive frontline workforce 

development program as required in the 

authorization. Should FTA allocate 

funds for these purposes, it will 

advertise the available funding in a 

Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) 

on Grants.gov and on its website. FTA 

will be issuing additional guidance in 

the coming months on how recipients 

can utilize their formula funds in 

support of these eligible activities. 

5. Requirements 

a. Federal Share 

The Government’s share of the cost of 

a project carried out using a grant under 

this section shall not exceed 80 percent. 

However, for the human resources and 

training, including the Innovative 

Public Transportation Frontline 

Workforce Development Program, the 

Government’s share cannot exceed 50 

percent. The Federal share for other 

types of awards will be stated in the 

agreement. In some cases, FTA may 

require a higher non-Federal share if 

FTA determines a recipient would 

obtain a clear and direct financial 

benefit from the project, or if the nonFederal share is an evaluation factor 

under a competitive selection process. 

There is no match requirement for the 

National Transit Institute. 

b. Non-Government Share 

The non-Government share of the cost 

of a project carried out under these 

sections (Technical Assistance and 

Standards and Technical Assistance and 

Training) may be derived from in-kind 

contributions as defined in the most 

current version of FTA Circular 5010, 

Grants Management Guidelines found 

on FTA’s Circular web page at (https:// 

www.transit.dot.gov/regulations-andguidance/fta-circulars/final-circulars). 

Application instructions and program 

management guidelines are set forth in 

FTA Circular 6100.1E, Research, 

Technical Assistance and Training 

Program: Application Instructions and 

Program Management Guidelines dated 

April 10, 2015. All research recipients 

are required to work with FTA to 

develop approved Statements of Work. 

6. Period of Availability 

FTA establishes the period in which 

the funds must be obligated to the 

project. If the funds are not obligated 

within that period of time, they revert 

to FTA for reallocation under the 

program. 

7. What’s New and Other Program 

Highlights 

Under 49 U.S.C. 5314(b)(4), recipients 

may use no more than one-half of one 

percent (0.5 percent) of their section 

5307, 5337 and 5339 funds to support 

workforce development activities. In 

addition, 49 U.S.C. 5314(c)(4) allows 

recipients to use no more than one-half 

of one percent (0.5 percent) of their 

5307, 5337, and 5339 funds to attend 

NTI training. Both provisions allow 

recipients to use these funds to pay up 

to 80 percent of the cost of training. 


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For more information about the NTI, 

contact Lisa Colbert, at the FTA Office 

of Research, Demonstration, and 

Innovation (TRI): Lisa.colbert@dot.gov 

or call 202–366–9261. 

L. Public Transportation Emergency 

Relief Program (49 U.S.C. 5324) 

FTA’s Emergency Relief (ER) Program 

is authorized to provide funding for 

public transportation expenses incurred 

as a result of an emergency or major 

disaster. No funding was provided in 

the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 

2022, for this program. 

In the event of a publicly declared 

emergency or disaster, eligible expenses 

will include emergency operating 

expenses, such as evacuations, rescue 

operations, and expenses incurred to 

protect assets in advance of a disaster, 

as well as capital projects to protect, 

repair, reconstruct, or replace 

equipment and facilities of a public 

transportation system in the United 

States or on an Indian reservation that 

the Secretary determines is in danger of 

suffering serious damage or has suffered 

serious damage as a result of an 

emergency. Additional information on 

eligible expenses and the process for 

applying for ER Program funding can be 

found in FTA’s Emergency Relief 

Manual: A Reference Manual for States 

& Transit Agencies on Response and 

Recovery from Declared Disasters and 

FTA’s Emergency Relief Program (49 

U.S.C. 5324), which was published on 

October 5, 2015. 

While Congress did not provide 

funding for this program in FY 2022, 

recipients of FTA funding affected by a 

declared emergency or disaster are 

authorized to use funds apportioned 

under sections 5307 and 5311 for 

emergency purposes. Recipients are 

advised that formula funds used for 

emergency purposes will not be 

replaced or restored in the event 

Congress subsequently makes funding 

available through FTA under the ER 

Program or by the Federal Emergency 

Management Agency (FEMA). 

In the event of a disaster affecting a 

public transportation system, the 

affected recipient should contact their 

FTA Regional Office as soon as 

practicable to determine whether 

Emergency Relief funds are available, 

and to notify FTA that it plans to seek 

reimbursement for emergency 

operations or repairs that have already 

taken place or are in process. If 

Emergency Relief funds are unavailable 

the recipient may seek reimbursement 

from FEMA. Properly documented costs 

for which the recipient has not received 

reimbursement from FEMA may later be 

reimbursed by grants made either from 

section 5324 funding (if appropriated) 

or sections 5307 and 5311 program 

funding, once the eligible recipient 

formally applies to FTA for 

reimbursement and FTA determines 

that the expenses are eligible for 

emergency relief. 

In addition, before receiving a grant 

under this section following an 

emergency, the recipient shall: (1) 

Submit documentation demonstrating 

proof of insurance required under 

Federal law for all structures related to 

the grant application; and (2) certify that 

the recipient has insurance required 

under State law for all structures related 

to the grant application. 

Additional information about the 

Emergency Relief program is available 

on the FTA website at https://

www.transit.dot.gov/funding/grantprograms/emergency-relief-program. 

For more information, contact Tom 

Wilson, Office of Program Management, 

at 202–366–5279 or Tom.Wilson@

dot.gov. 

M. Public Transportation Safety 

Program (49 U.S.C. 5329) 

Section 5329(e)(6) provides funding to 

support States with rail fixed guideway 

public transportation systems (rail 

transit systems) to develop and carry out 

State Safety Oversight (SSO) Programs 

consistent with the requirements of 49 

U.S.C. 5329. For more information, 

contact Maria Wright, Office of Safety 

Review at (202) 366–5922 or 

maria1.wright@dot.gov. 

1. Authorized Amounts 

A total of $251.6 million is authorized 

over five years for the State Safety 

Oversight Program. 

Fiscal year 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 

Funds Authorized ................................... $48,062,162 $49,066,231 $50,347,409 $51,387,466 $52,693,836 

2. FY 2022 Funding Availability 

In FY 2022, $48,062,162 is authorized 

and appropriated for the State Safety 

Oversight (SSO) program. With the 

addition of reapportioned funds, a total 

apportionment of $49,011,483 is 

provided for FY 2022. The total amount 

allocated for the SSO program is as 

shown in the table below. 

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SAFETY

PROGRAM—FY 2022 

Total Appropriation ........................ $48,062,162 

Reapportioned Funds .................... 949,321 

Total Apportioned ...................... 49,011,483 

3. Basis for Formula Apportionment 

FTA will continue to allocate funds to 

the States by an administrative formula, 

which is detailed in the Federal 

Register notice which apportioned SSO 

Formula Grant Program FY13 and FY14 

funds (79 FR 13380). Grant funds for the 

SSO program are apportioned to eligible 

States using a three-tier formula based 

on statutory requirements, which 

apportion 60 percent of available funds 

based on rail transit system vehicle 

passenger miles (PMT), vehicle revenue 

miles (VRM), and directional route 

miles (DRM), 20 percent of available 

funds equally to each eligible State, and 

20 percent based on the number of rail 

transit systems. 

4. Requirements 

FTA requires each applicant to 

demonstrate in its grant application that 

its proposed grant activities will 

develop, lead to, or carry out a State 

Safety Oversight program that meets the 

requirements under 49 U.S.C. 5329(e). 

Grant funds may be used for program 

operational and administrative 

expenses, including employee training 

activities. Please see the Federal 

Register notice which apportioned SSO 

Formula Grant Program FY13 and FY14 

funds (79 FR 13380) for more 

information. 

5. Period of Availability 

SSO Formula Grant Program funds are 

available for the year of apportionment 

plus two additional years. Any FY 2022 

funds that remain unobligated as of 

September 30, 2024, will revert to FTA 

for reapportionment under the SSO 

Formula Grant Program. 

6. What’s New and Other Program 

Highlights 

Under the IIJA, the percent takedown 

for the SSO Formula Grant Program 

increased from 0.5% to 0.75% of the 

section 5307 Urbanized Area Formula 

Program. The IIJA enhances State safety 

oversight programs by strengthening rail 

inspection practices by providing state 

safety oversight agencies authority to 


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collect and analyze data and conduct 

risk-based inspections of rail fixed 

guideway transportation systems. FTA 

continues to be authorized to issue 

restrictions and prohibitions to address 

unsafe conditions or practices, and to 

withhold funds for non-compliance 

with safety requirements. 

N. State of Good Repair Program (49 

U.S.C. 5337) 

The State of Good Repair (SGR) 

program provides capital assistance for 

maintenance, replacement, and 

rehabilitation projects of existing high 

intensity fixed guideway and high 

intensity motorbus systems to maintain 

a state of good repair. Additionally, SGR 

grants are eligible for developing and 

implementing Transit Asset 

Management plans. This program 

provides funding for the following fixed 

guideway transit modes: Rapid rail 

(heavy rail), commuter rail, light rail, 

hybrid rail, monorail, automated 

guideway, trolleybus (using overhead 

catenary), aerial tramway, cable car, 

inclined plane (funicular), passenger 

ferry, and bus rapid transit. Fixed-route 

bus capital projects for services 

operating on high-occupancy-vehicle 

(HOV) facilities are also funded through 

High Intensity Motorbus tier of this 

program. Of the amount authorized for 

Section 5337 each year, $300 million is 

set aside for the competitive Rail 

Vehicle Replacement Program. 

FTA published the State of Good 

Repair program guidance, FTA Circular 

5300.1, State of Good Repair Grants 

Program: Guidance and Application 

Instructions, on January 28, 2015. The 

circular can be accessed at https://

www.transit.dot.gov/regulations-andguidance/fta-circulars/final-circulars. 

For more information about the SGR 

program, contact Kevin Osborn, Office 

of Transit Programs, at (202) 366–7519 

or Kevin.Osborn@dot.gov. 

1. Authorized Amounts 

The IIJA authorizes $18.35 billion 

over five years for the State of Good 

Repair program, including $1.5 billion 

for the newly created Rail Vehicle 

Replacement Program, and provides an 

additional $4.75 billion in advance 

appropriations. 

Fiscal year 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 

SGR Formula Funds Total ..................... $4,165,528,226 $4,237,778,037 $4,330,934,484 $4,405,675,417 $4,500,496,668 

Rail Vehicle Replacement Program ....... 300,000,000 300,000,000 300,000,000 300,000,000 300,000,000 

Total ................................................ 4,465,528,226 4,537,778,037 4,630,934,484 4,705,675,417 4,800,496,668 

2. FY 2022 Funding Availability 

In FY 2022, $4,165,528,226 is 

authorized and appropriated for the 

State of Good Repair Formula program. 

As shown in the table below, these 

amounts are apportioned to support the 

State of Good Repair Formula program, 

for the High Intensity Fixed Guideway 

Formula program as well as the High 

Intensity Motorbus Formula program. 

STATE OF GOOD REPAIR FORMULA

PROGRAM—FY 2022 

Total Appropriation ........................ $4,165,528,226 

Oversight Deductions .................... (54,060,282) 

Transfer to OIG ............................. (95,000) 

Reapportioned Funds .................... 131,921 

Total Available to Apportion ...... 4,111,504,865 

Total Apportioned to High Intensity 

Fixed Guideway Formula ........... 3,994,326,976 

Total Apportioned to High Intensity 

Motorbus Formula ..................... 117,177,889 

Table 15 shows the FY 2022 State of 

Good Repair Program formula 

apportionments to eligible urbanized 

areas. 

3. Basis for Formula Apportionment 

FTA allocates State of Good Repair 

program funds according to a statutory 

formula. Funds are apportioned to 

urbanized areas with high intensity 

fixed guideway and high intensity 

motorbus systems that have been in 

operation for at least seven years. This 

means that only segments of high 

intensity fixed guideway and motorbus 

systems that entered into revenue 

service on or before September 30, 2014, 

are included in the formula, as 

identified in the NTD. 

The law requires that 97.15 percent of 

the total amount authorized for the State 

of Good Repair program be apportioned 

to urbanized areas with ‘‘High Intensity 

Fixed Guideway’’ systems. The 

apportionments to urbanized areas with 

‘‘High Intensity Fixed Guideway’’ 

systems are determined by two equal 

elements: (1) The proportion of the 

amount an urbanized area would have 

received in FY 2011 to the total amount 

apportioned to all urbanized areas in FY 

2011 using new fixed guideway 

definition; (2) the proportion of vehicle 

revenue miles of an urbanized area to 

the total vehicle revenue miles of all 

urbanized areas and the proportion of 

directional route miles of an urbanized 

area to the total directional route miles 

of all urbanized areas. High Intensity 

Motorbus systems will receive the 

remaining 2.85 percent of the total 

amount authorized for the State of Good 

Repair program, and the apportionments 

to urbanized areas are based on vehicle 

revenue miles and directional route 

miles. 

Vehicle revenue miles and directional 

route miles attributable to an urbanized 

area must be placed in revenue service 

at least 7 years before the first day of the 

fiscal year. A threshold level of more 

than one mile of high intensity fixed 

guideway is required in order to receive 

State of Good Repair funds. Therefore, 

urbanized areas reporting one mile or 

less of fixed guideway mileage under 

the NTD are not included. FTA will 

apportion funds to designated recipients 

in the UZAs (see section IV. C. of this 

notice for more information about 

designated recipients; FTA will 

apportion Section 5337 funds to the 

Section 5307 designated recipient for 

the UZA) with high intensity fixed 

guideway and/or high intensity 

motorbus systems operating at least 7 

years. The designated recipients will 

then allocate funds as appropriate to 

recipients that are public entities in the 

urbanized areas and provide split letters 

to FTA. FTA can make grants to direct 

recipients after sub-allocation of funds. 

4. Eligible Expenses 

Eligible activities include projects that 

maintain, rehabilitate, and replace 

transit assets, as well as projects that 

implement Transit Asset Management 

plans. Additionally, training and 

workforce activities authorized under 49 

U.S.C. 5314(b) and (c) are eligible for the 

State of Good Repair funds; funds for 

such activities are limited to 1 percent 

of the total amount apportioned to the 

recipient (0.5 percent for each of the 

authorized activities). 

5. Requirements 

In addition to the program guidance 

found in the circular, all recipients will 

need to certify that they will comply 

with the rule issued under Section 5326 

for the Transit Asset Management plan, 

49 CFR part 625, and SGR projects will 

need to be included in recipients’ 

Transit Asset Management plans. 


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6. Period of Availability 

The State of Good Repair Program 

funds apportioned in this notice are 

available for obligation during FY 2022 

plus three additional years. 

Accordingly, funds apportioned in FY 

2022 must be obligated in grants by 

September 30, 2025. Any FY 2022 

apportioned funds that remain 

unobligated at the close of business on 

September 30, 2025, will revert to FTA 

for reapportionment under the State of 

Good Repair Program. 

7. What’s New and Other Program 

Highlights 

The IIJA created as a takedown from 

Section 5337 authorized amounts for the 

Rail Vehicle Replacement Program. This 

is a $300,000,000 annual takedown. 

FTA will issue a NOFO with additional 

details including eligibility and program 

requirements. 

O. Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities 

Program (49 U.S.C. 5339) 

The Section 5339 program provides 

funding to replace, rehabilitate, and 

purchase buses and related equipment 

as well as construct bus-related 

facilities. 

Additional guidance on the Section 

5339(a) formula program can be found 

in FTA Circular 5100.1, which was 

published on May 18, 2015. This 

Circular will be updated to reflect the 

amendments to section 5339 by the IIJA. 

Information on the Section 5339(b) 

Buses and Bus Facilities Competitive 

Grant Program and the Section 5339(c) 

Low or No Emission Bus Competitive 

Grant Program was published in a 

Notice of Funding Opportunity on 

March 7, 2022 (87 FR 12528). 

For more information about the Buses 

and Bus Facilities program, contact 

Amy Volz, Office of Transit Programs at 

(202) 366–7484 or Amy.Volz@dot.gov. 

1. Authorized Amounts 

The IIJA authorizes a total of $9.75 

billion to be appropriated over five 

years for the Section 5339 Program. Of 

that amount, three-quarters of one 

percent is set aside for oversight. The 

IIJA provides an additional 

$1,050,000,000 in advance 

appropriations for the Section 5339(c) 

Low or No Emission Program, with two 

percent set aside for oversight and 

administrative expenses. 

Fiscal year 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 

5339(a) Formula Program ..................... $599,462,712 $611,986,119 $627,965,806 $640,938,080 $657,231,976 

5339(b) Bus Competitive ....................... 372,341,813 380,120,424 390,045,823 398,103,239 408,223,797 

5339(c) Low or No Emission Discretionary ................................................. 1,100,561,189 1,102,056,178 1,103,963,762 1,105,512,334 1,107,457,427 

Oversight, Administrative and OIG 

transfer ............................................... 28,884,376 29,049,089 29,259,260 29,429,876 29,644,180 

Section 5339 Total .......................... 2,101,250,090 2,123,211,810 2,151,234,651 2,173,983,529 2,202,557,380 

2. Funding Availability 

In FY 2022, $2,101,250,090 is 

authorized for section 5339 Buses and 

Bus Facilities or provided through 

advance appropriations. The 

Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022, 

provided an additional $250 million for 

Transit Infrastructure Grants, including 

$175 million for the Buses and Bus 

Facilities Competitive Program and $75 

million for the Low or No Emission 

Grant Program, for a total appropriation 

of $2,351,250,090 in FY 2022. For the 

Formula Program, a total apportionment 

of $601,222,535 is provided after a 

takedown for oversight and the addition 

of reapportioned funds. 

GRANTS FOR BUSES AND BUS

FACILITIES FORMULA—FY 2022 

Total Appropriation ........................ $603,992,657 

Oversight ....................................... (4,529,945) 

Reapportioned Funds .................... 1,759,823 

Total Apportioned ...................... 601,222,535 

3. Basis for Allocation 

Section 5339(a) Buses and Bus 

Facilities formula program funds are 

apportioned to States, territories, and 

designated recipients based on a 

statutory formula. Under the national 

distribution, each State is allocated $4 

million, and each territory is allocated 

$1 million, for use anywhere in the 

State or territory. The remainder of the 

available funding is then apportioned 

for UZAs based on population, vehicle 

revenue miles and passenger miles 

using the same apportionment formula 

and allocation process as section 5307. 

Funds for UZAs under 200,000 in 

population are apportioned to the State 

through a section 5339(a) Governor’s 

apportionment for allocation to eligible 

recipients within such areas of the State 

at the Governor’s discretion. Funds for 

UZAs with populations of 200,000 or 

more are apportioned directly to one or 

more designated recipients within each 

UZA for allocation to eligible projects 

and recipients within the UZA. 

4. Eligible Expenses 

Eligible capital projects under the 

Buses and Bus Facilities formula 

program (Section 5339(a)) continue to 

include projects to replace, rehabilitate, 

and purchase buses and related 

equipment, and projects to construct 

bus-related facilities. Recipients may 

use up to one-half of one percent of 

their Section 5339 funds to support 

workforce development activities at an 

80 percent Federal share; the eligible 

workforce development activities are 

defined in Section 5314; see Section IV. 

K. of this notice for more information. 

This provision is in addition to the onehalf of one percent that the recipients 

may use for training activities with the 

National Transit Institute. 

5. Requirements 

Eligible recipients of the Buses and 

Bus Facilities formula program (Section 

5339(a)) include designated recipients 

that operate fixed route bus service or 

that allocate funding to fixed route bus 

operators; and state or local 

governmental entities that operate fixed 

route bus service that are eligible to 

receive direct grants under the 

Urbanized Area Formula (Section 5307) 

and Rural Formula (Section 5311) 

programs. Eligible subrecipients 

continue to include public agencies or 

private nonprofit organizations engaged 

in public transportation, including those 

providing services open to a segment of 

the general public, as defined by age, 

disability, or low income. 

The requirements of Section 5307 

apply to recipients of Section 5339 

funds within an urbanized area. The 

requirements of Section 5311 apply to 

recipients of Section 5339 funds within 

rural areas. For additional program 

requirements, refer to FTA Circular 

5100.1. 

6. Period of Availability 

The Buses and Bus Facilities Formula 

Program funds apportioned in this 

notice are available for obligation during 

FY 2022 plus three additional years. 


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Accordingly, funds apportioned in FY 

2022 must be obligated in grants by 

September 30, 2025. Any FY 2022 

apportioned funds that remain 

unobligated at the close of business on 

September 30, 2025, will revert to FTA 

for reapportionment under the Buses 

and Bus Facilities Formula Program. 

Discretionary program funds 

authorized under Section 5339(b) and 

(c) (Bus and Low No, respectively) 

follow the same period of availability: 

Year of allocation plus three additional 

years. 

7. What’s New and Other Program 

Highlights 

The Buses and Bus Facilities formula 

amounts for the national distribution is 

increased to $4 million for each State 

and $1 million for each territory. 

Additionally, both the Buses and Bus 

Facilities formula and competitive 

programs now require that applicants 

should, to the extent possible, utilize 

Innovative Procurement tools 

authorized under Section 3019 of the 

FAST Act, and if less than 5 buses are 

purchased through a standalone 

procurement, they must provide a 

written explanation to FTA explaining 

why they did not utilize the 

procurement tools authorized. 

P. Growing States and High-Density 

States Formula Factors (49 U.S.C. 5340) 

The IIJA continues the use of formula 

factors to distribute additional funds to 

the Section 5307 and Section 5311 

programs for Growing States and HighDensity States. FTA will continue to 

publish single urbanized and rural 

apportionments that show the total 

amount for Section 5307 and 5311 

programs that includes Section 5340 

apportionments for these programs. 

a. Authorized Amounts 

The IIJA authorizes $3.879 billion 

over five years for the Growing States 

and High-Density States Formula 

factors, as shown below: 

Fiscal year 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 

Growing States ...................................... $392,752,680 $400,957,696 $411,427,180 $419,926,283 $430,601,628 

High Density States ............................... 348,290,112 355,566,259 364,850,518 372,387,459 381,854,274 

Total Funds Authorized .................. 741,042,792 756,523,956 776,277,698 792,313,742 812,455,901 

b. FY 2022 Funding Availability 

In FY 2022, $741,042,792 is 

authorized and appropriated for 

apportionment in accordance with the 

formula factors prescribed for Growing 

States and High-Density States set forth 

in Section 5340 for FY 2022. 

GROWING STATES AND HIGH-DENSITY

STATES FORMULA FACTORS—FY 2022 

High-Density 5307 Formula .......... $348,290,112 

Growing States (5307 & 5311) ..... 392,752,680 

Total Apportioned ...................... 741,042,792 

c. Basis for Formula Apportionment 

Under the Growing States portion of 

the Section 5340 formula, FTA projects 

each State’s 2025 population by 

comparing each State’s apportionment 

year population (as determined by the 

Census Bureau) to the State’s 2010 

Census population and extrapolating to 

2025 based on each State’s rate of 

population growth between 2010 and 

the apportionment year. Each State 

receives a share of Growing States funds 

on the basis of its projected 2025 

population relative to the nationwide 

projected 2025 population. 

Once each State’s share is calculated, 

funds attributable to that State are 

divided into an urbanized area 

allocation and a non-urbanized area 

allocation on the basis of the percentage 

of each State’s 2010 Census population 

that resides in urbanized and nonurbanized areas. Urbanized areas 

receive portions of their State’s 

urbanized area allocation on the basis of 

the 2010 Census population in that 

urbanized area relative to the total 2010 

Census population in all urbanized 

areas in the State. These amounts are 

added to the Urbanized Area’s Section 

5307 apportionment. The States’ rural 

area allocation is added to the allocation 

that each State receives under the 

Section 5311 Formula Grants for Rural 

Areas program. 

The High-Density States portion of the 

Section 5340 formula are allocated to 

urbanized areas in States with a 

population density equal to or greater 

than 370 persons per square mile. Based 

on this threshold and 2010 Census data, 

the States that qualify are Maryland, 

Delaware, Massachusetts, Connecticut, 

Rhode Island, New York and New 

Jersey. The amount of funds provided to 

each of these seven States is allocated 

on the basis of the population density of 

the individual State relative to the 

population density of all seven States. 

Once funds are allocated to each State, 

funds are then allocated to urbanized 

areas within the States on the basis of 

an individual urbanized area’s 

population relative to the population of 

all urbanized areas in that State. 

Q. Washington Metropolitan Area 

Transit Authority Grants 

1. Authorized Amounts 

Under the IIJA, $150 million is 

authorized for each fiscal year from 

2022 through 2030 for grants to the 

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit 

Authority (WMATA). After the one 

percent oversight takedown, $148.5 

million is available for obligation. Such 

funding is authorized under section 601 

of the Passenger Rail Investment and 

Improvement Act of 2008. See Public 

Law 110–432, Division B, Title VI, as 

amended by the IIJA. 

For more information about WMATA 

grants, contact Kevin Osborn, Office of 

Transit Programs, at (202) 366–7519 or 

Kevin.Osborn@dot.gov. 

WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN AREA

TRANSIT AUTHORITY GRANTS—FY 

2022 

Total Appropriation ........................ $150,000,000 

Oversight Deduction ...................... (1,500,000) 

Total Apportioned ...................... 148,500,000 

Grants may be provided for capital and preventive maintenance expenditures for WMATA. 

2. What’s New and Other Program 

Highlights 

The IIJA requires that $5,000,000 of 

the funding made available each year be 

used for grants for the WMATA Office 

of the Inspector General to carry out 

operations in accordance with Section 9 

of Article III of the WMATA Compact. 

Grants for capital and preventive 

maintenance projects may not be made 

until WMATA notifies the Secretary of 

Transportation that $5,000,000 in nonFederal funds has been made available 

for the exclusive use of the WMATA 

Office of the Inspector General. 

Furthermore, the IIJA requires that 

WMATA reform the WMATA Office of 

Inspector General and update its capital 

program planning and reporting 

procedures. FTA will provide additional 


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guidance on these requirements to 

WMATA. 

R. FY 2022 Transit Infrastructure 

Grants—Community Project Funding 

1. Appropriated Amounts 

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 

2022, appropriated $200,798,267 for 

Community Project Funding/ 

Congressionally Directed Spending for 

80 projects in 27 States, identified in the 

accompanying Joint Explanatory 

Statement. Table 20 identifies the 

recipient, project, amount and a project 

ID that will be used to identify the 

project in TrAMS. As the Consolidated 

Appropriations Act, 2022 identifies that 

funds are for projects and activities 

eligible under Chapter 53, generally 

applicable Chapter 53 requirements 

apply to these funds, including the 

planning requirements of Sections 5303 

and 5304; bus testing requirements of 

Section 5318; general provision 

requirements of Section 5323 (such as 

NEPA and Buy America compliance); 

contract requirements of Section 5325; 

project management requirements of 

Section 5327; nondiscrimination 

requirements of Section 5322; 

disposition requirements of Section 

5334; and applicability of FTA oversight 

of Section 5338. Non-federal match is 

not required for these funds. Upon 

written request by the project sponsor in 

Table 20 and the requested direct 

recipient, FTA may approve another 

entity to act as the direct recipient of the 

funding and the project sponsor may 

serve as a subrecipient. Pre-award 

authority is provided consistent with 

the requirements for FTA’s formula 

funds as of the date all necessary 

requirements were met (see Section V, 

below.) However, before incurring costs, 

recipients are strongly encouraged to 

consult with the appropriate FTA 

Regional office regarding the eligibility 

of the project for future FTA funds and 

for questions on environmental 

requirements, or any other Federal 

requirements that must be met before 

incurring pre-award costs. 

For more information about 

Community Project Funding grants, 

contact Kevin Osborn, Office of Transit 

Programs, at (202) 366–7519 or 

Kevin.Osborn@dot.gov. 

COMMUNITY PROJECT FUNDING/CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING—FY 2022 

Total Appropriated ......................... $200,798,267 

V. FTA Policy and Procedures for FY 

2022 Grants 

A. Automatic Pre-Award Authority To 

Incur Project Costs 

1. Caution to New Recipients 

While FTA provides pre-award 

authority to incur expenses before grant 

award for formula programs, it 

recommends that first-time grant 

recipients NOT utilize this automatic 

pre-award authority without verifying 

with the appropriate FTA Regional 

Office that all pre-requisite 

requirements have been met. 

Commonly, a new recipient may 

misunderstand pre-award authority 

conditions and be unaware of all the 

applicable FTA requirements that must 

be met in order to be reimbursed for 

project expenditures incurred in 

advance of grant award. FTA programs 

have specific statutory requirements 

that are often different from those for 

other Federal grant programs with 

which new recipient may be familiar. If 

funds are expended for an ineligible 

project or activity, or for an eligible 

activity but at an inappropriate time 

(e.g., prior to NEPA completion), FTA 

will be unable to reimburse the project 

sponsor and, in certain cases, the entire 

project may be rendered ineligible for 

FTA assistance. 

2. Policy 

FTA provides pre-award authority to 

incur expenses before grant award for 

certain program areas described below. 

This pre-award authority allows 

recipients to incur certain project costs 

before grant approval and retain the 

eligibility of those costs for subsequent 

reimbursement after grant approval. The 

recipient assumes all risk and is 

responsible for ensuring that all 

conditions are met to retain eligibility. 

This pre-award spending authority 

permits an eligible recipient to incur 

costs on an eligible transit capital, 

operating, planning, or administrative 

project without prejudice to possible 

future Federal participation in the cost 

of the project. In this notice, FTA 

provides pre-award authority through 

the authorization period of the IIJA 

(October 1, 2022, through September 30, 

2026) for capital assistance under all 

formula programs, so long as the 

conditions described below are met. 

Pre-award authority is indicated in the 

application. The actual items of cost 

associated with the use of pre-award 

authority are documented in the initial 

Federal Financial Report (FFR) that is 

required to be completed prior to the 

recipient executing the award. FTA 

provides pre-award authority for 

planning and operating assistance under 

the formula programs without regard to 

the period of the authorization. For 

projects funded by competitive 

programs, pre-award authority may be 

granted at the time of project selection. 

All pre-award authority is subject to 

conditions and triggers stated below: 

a. Operating, Planning, or 

Administrative Assistance 

FTA does not impose additional 

conditions on pre-award authority for 

operating, planning, or administrative 

assistance under the formula grant 

programs. Recipients may be 

reimbursed for expenses incurred before 

grant award so long as funds have been 

expended in accordance with all 

Federal requirements, costs would have 

been allowable if incurred after the date 

of award, and the recipient is otherwise 

eligible to receive the funding. In 

addition to cross-cutting Federal grant 

requirements, program specific 

requirements must be met. Designated 

recipients of Section 5310 funds have 

pre-award authority for the ten percent 

of the apportionment for program 

administration. 

b. Transit Capital Projects 

For transit capital projects, the date 

that costs may be incurred varies 

depending on the type of activity and its 

potential to have a significant impact on 

the human and natural environment as 

described in section 3. Conditions 

below. 

c. Public Transportation Innovation, 

Technical Assistance and Workforce 

Development 

Unless provided for in an 

announcement of project selections, preaward authority does not apply to 

Section 5312 Public Transportation 

Innovation projects or Section 5314 

Technical Assistance and Workforce 

Development projects. Before an 

applicant may incur costs for activities 

under these programs, it must first 

obtain a written Letter of No Prejudice 

(LONP) from FTA. 

For more information, contact Lisa 

Colbert, at the FTA Office of Research, 

Demonstration, and Innovation (TRI): 

Lisa.colbert@dot.gov or call 202–366– 

9261. 

3. Conditions 

The conditions under which preaward authority may be utilized are 

specified below: 

i. Pre-award authority is not a legal or 

implied commitment that the subject 

project will be approved for FTA 

assistance or that FTA will obligate 

Federal funds. Furthermore, it is not a 


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legal or implied commitment that all 

items undertaken by the applicant will 

be eligible for inclusion in the project. 

ii. All FTA statutory, procedural, and 

contractual requirements must be met. 

iii. No action will be taken by the 

recipient that prejudices the legal and 

administrative findings that the Federal 

Transit Administration must make in 

order to approve a project. 

iv. Local funds expended by the 

recipient after the date of the pre-award 

authority will be eligible for credit 

toward local match or reimbursement if 

FTA later makes a grant or grant 

amendment for the project. Local funds 

expended by the recipient before the 

date of the pre-award authority will not 

be eligible for credit toward local match 

or reimbursement. Furthermore, the 

expenditure of local funds or the 

undertaking of certain activities that 

would compromise FTA’s ability to 

comply with Federal environmental 

laws (e.g., project implementation 

activities such as land acquisition, 

demolition, or construction before the 

date of pre-award authority) may render 

the project ineligible for FTA funding. 

v. The Federal amount of any future 

FTA assistance awarded to the recipient 

for the project will be determined on the 

basis of the overall scope of activities 

and the prevailing statutory provisions 

with respect to the Federal/local match 

ratio at the time the funds are obligated. 

vi. For funds to which the pre-award 

authority applies, the authority expires 

with the lapsing of the fiscal year funds. 

vii. When a grant for the project is 

subsequently awarded, the grant and the 

Federal Financial Report in TrAMS 

must indicate the use of pre-award 

authority and an initial Federal 

Financial Report must be submitted in 

TrAMS to associate those costs with the 

award. 

viii. Environmental Requirements— 

All Federal grant requirements must be 

met at the appropriate time for the 

project to remain eligible for Federal 

funding. Designated recipients may 

incur costs for design and 

environmental review activities for all 

formula funded projects from the date of 

the authorization of the formula funds 

or for discretionary funded projects 

other than those funded by the Capital 

Investment Grants (CIG) program from 

the date of the announcement of the 

competitive allocation of funds for the 

project. 

For projects that qualify for a 

categorical exclusion (CE) pursuant to 

23 CFR 771.118(c), designated 

recipients may start activities and incur 

costs under pre-award authority for 

property acquisition, demolition, 

construction, and acquisition of 

vehicles, equipment, or construction 

materials from the date of the 

authorization of formula funds or the 

date of the announcement of 

competitive allocations for the project. 

FTA recommends that a grant 

applicant considering a CE pursuant to 

23 CFR 771.118(c) contact the 

appropriate FTA Regional Office for 

assistance in determining the proper 

environmental review process, 

including other applicable 

environmental laws, and level of 

documentation necessary before 

incurring the above-mentioned costs. 

This applies especially when the grant 

applicant believes a c-list CE with 

construction activities, such as 23 CFR 

771.118(c)(8), (9), (10), (12), or (13), or 

property acquisition applies to its 

project. If FTA subsequently finds that 

a project does not qualify for a CE under 

23 CFR 771.118(c) and the sponsor has 

already undertaken activities under preaward authority, the project will be 

ineligible for FTA assistance. 

For all other non-CIG projects that do 

not qualify for a CE under 23 CFR 

771.118(c), grant applicants may take 

action and incur costs for property 

acquisition, demolition, construction, 

and acquisition of vehicles, equipment, 

or construction materials from the date 

that FTA completes the environmental 

review process required by NEPA and 

its implementing regulations, 23 U.S.C. 

139, and other environmental laws, by 

its issuance of a 23 CFR 771.118(d) CE 

determination, a finding of no 

significant impact (FONSI), a combined 

final environmental impact statement 

(FEIS)/record of decision (ROD), or a 

ROD. 

ix. Planning and other requirements. 

Formula funds must be authorized, or 

appropriated, and competitive project 

allocations published or announced, 

before pre-award authority can be 

considered. 

The requirements that a capital 

project be included in a locally adopted 

Metropolitan Transportation Plan, the 

metropolitan transportation 

improvement program, and the federally 

approved statewide transportation 

improvement program (23 CFR part 450) 

must be satisfied before the recipient 

may advance the project beyond 

planning and preliminary design with 

non-federal funds under pre-award 

authority. If the project is located within 

an EPA-designated non-attainment or 

maintenance area for air quality, the 

conformity requirements of the Clean 

Air Act, 40 CFR part 93, must also be 

met before the project may be advanced 

into implementation-related activities 

under pre-award authority triggered by 

the completion of the NEPA process. 

For a planning project to have preaward authority, the planning project 

must be included in an MPO-approved 

UPWP that has been coordinated with 

the State. 

x. Federal procurement procedures, as 

well as the whole range of applicable 

Federal requirements (e.g., Buy 

America, Davis-Bacon Act, and 

Disadvantaged Business Enterprise) 

must be followed for projects in which 

Federal funding will be sought in the 

future. Failure to follow any such 

requirements could make the project 

ineligible for Federal funding. In short, 

the administrative flexibility requires a 

recipient to make certain that no Federal 

requirements are circumvented. 

xi. All program specific requirements 

must be met. For example, projects 

under Section 5310 must comply with 

specific program requirements, 

including coordinated planning. 

Before incurring costs, recipients are 

strongly encouraged to consult with the 

appropriate FTA Regional office 

regarding the eligibility of the project for 

future FTA funds and for questions on 

environmental requirements, or any 

other Federal requirements that must be 

met. 

4. Pre-Award Authority for the Fixed 

Guideway Capital Investment Grants 

Program 

Projects proposed for Section 5309 

Capital Investment Grant (CIG) program 

funds are required to follow a multistep, multi-year process defined in law. 

For New Starts and Core Capacity 

projects, this process includes three 

phases—project development (PD), 

engineering, and construction. For 

Small Starts projects, this process 

includes two phases: PD and 

construction. After receiving a letter 

from the project sponsor requesting 

entry into the PD phase, FTA must 

respond in writing within 45 days 

whether the information was sufficient 

for entry. If FTA’s correspondence 

indicates the information was sufficient 

and the New Starts, Small Starts or Core 

Capacity project enters PD, FTA extends 

pre-award authority at that time to the 

project sponsor to incur costs for PD 

activities. PD activities include the work 

necessary to complete the 

environmental review process and as 

much engineering and design activities 

as the project sponsor believes are 

necessary to support the environmental 

review process. Upon completion of the 

environmental review process with a 

Record of Decision (ROD), Finding of 

No Significant Impact (FONSI), or 

Categorical Exclusion (CE) 

determination by FTA for a New Starts, 

Small Starts, or Core Capacity 


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Improvement project, FTA extends preaward authority to project sponsors to 

incur costs for as much engineering and 

design as needed to develop a 

reasonable cost estimate and financial 

plan for the project, utility relocation, 

and real property acquisition and 

associated relocations for any property 

acquisitions not already accomplished 

as a separate project for hardship or 

protective purposes or right-of-way 

under 49 U.S.C. 5323(q). 

For Small Starts projects, upon 

completion of the environmental review 

process and confirmation from FTA that 

the overall project rating is at least a 

Medium, FTA extends pre-award 

authority for vehicle purchases. Upon 

receipt of a letter notifying a New Starts 

or Core Capacity project sponsor of the 

project’s approval into the engineering 

phase, FTA extends pre-award authority 

for vehicle purchases as well as any 

remaining engineering and design, 

demolition, and procurement of long 

lead items for which market conditions 

play a significant role in the acquisition 

price. The long lead items include, but 

are not limited to, procurement of rails, 

ties, and other specialized equipment, 

and commodities. 

Please contact the appropriate FTA 

Regional Office for a determination of 

activities not listed here, but which 

meet the intent described above. FTA 

provides this pre-award authority in 

recognition of the long-lead time and 

complexity involved with purchasing 

vehicles as well as their relationship to 

the ‘‘critical path’’ project schedule. 

FTA cautions recipients that do not 

currently operate the type of vehicle 

proposed in the project about exercising 

this pre-award authority. FTA 

encourages these sponsors to wait until 

later in the process when project plans 

are more fully developed. FTA reminds 

project sponsors that the procurement of 

vehicles must comply with all Federal 

requirements including, but not limited 

to, competitive procurement practices, 

the Americans with Disabilities Act, and 

Buy America. FTA encourages project 

sponsors to discuss the procurement of 

vehicles with FTA in regard to Federal 

requirements before exercising preaward authority. Because there is not a 

formal engineering phase for Small 

Starts projects, FTA does not extend 

pre-award authority for demolition and 

procurement of long lead items. Instead, 

this work must await receipt of a 

construction grant award or an 

expedited grant agreement. 

a. Real Property Acquisition 

FTA extends pre-award authority for 

the acquisition of real property and real 

property rights for CIG projects (New or 

Small Starts or Core Capacity) upon 

completion of the environmental review 

process for that project. The 

environmental review process is 

completed when FTA signs a combined 

FEIS/ROD, ROD, FONSI or makes a CE 

determination. With the limitations and 

caveats described below, real estate 

acquisition may commence, at the 

project sponsor’s risk. To maintain 

eligibility for a possible future FTA 

grant award, any acquisition of real 

property or real property rights must be 

conducted in accordance with the 

requirements of the Uniform Relocation 

Assistance and Real Property 

Acquisition Policies Act (URA) and its 

implementing regulations, 49 CFR part 

24. This pre-award authority is strictly 

limited to costs incurred: (i) To acquire 

real property and real property rights in 

accordance with the URA regulation, 

and (ii) to provide relocation assistance 

in accordance with the URA regulation. 

This pre-award authority is limited to 

the acquisition of real property and real 

property rights that are explicitly 

documented in the draft environmental 

impact statement (DEIS), FEIS, 

environmental assessment (EA), or CE 

document, as needed for the selected 

alternative that is the subject of the 

FTA-signed ROD or FONSI, or CE 

determination. This pre-award authority 

regarding property acquisition that is 

granted at the completion of the 

environmental review process does not 

cover site preparation, demolition, or 

any other activity that is not strictly 

necessary to comply with the URA, with 

one exception—namely when a building 

that has been acquired, has been vacated 

and awaits demolition poses a potential 

fire safety hazard or other hazard to the 

community in which it is located or is 

susceptible to reoccupation by 

unauthorized occupants. Demolition of 

the building is also covered by this preaward authority upon FTA’s written 

agreement that the adverse condition 

exists. Pre-award authority for property 

acquisition is also provided when FTA 

makes a CE determination for a 

protective buy or hardship acquisition 

in accordance with 23 CFR 

771.118(d)(3). Pre-award authority for 

property acquisition is also provided 

when FTA completes the environmental 

review process for the acquisition of 

right-of-way as a separate project in 

accordance with 49 U.S.C. 5323(q). 

When a tiered environmental review in 

accordance with 23 CFR 771.111(g) is 

used, pre-award authority is not 

provided upon completion of the firsttier environmental document except 

when the Tier-1 ROD or FONSI signed 

by FTA explicitly provides such preaward authority for a particular 

identified acquisition. Project sponsors 

should use pre-award authority for real 

property acquisition relocation 

assistance with a clear understanding 

that it does not constitute a funding 

commitment by FTA. FTA provides preaward authority upon completion of the 

environmental review process for real 

property acquisition and relocation 

assistance for displaced persons and 

businesses in accordance with the 

requirements of the URA. 

b. Reimbursement of Costs Incurred 

Under Pre-Award Authority 

Although FTA provides pre-award 

authority for property acquisition, long 

lead items, and vehicle purchases upon 

completion of the environmental review 

process, FTA does not generally award 

Federal funding for these activities 

conducted under pre-award authority 

until the project receives a CIG program 

construction grant. This is to ensure that 

Federal funds are not risked on a project 

whose advancement into construction is 

still not yet assured. 

c. National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) Activities 

NEPA requires that major projects 

proposed for FTA funding assistance be 

subjected to a public and interagency 

review of the need for the project, its 

environmental and community impacts, 

and alternatives to avoid and reduce 

adverse impacts. Projects of more 

limited scope also need a level of 

environmental review, to determine 

whether there are significant 

environmental impacts or confirmation 

that a CE applies. FTA’s regulation 

titled ‘‘Environmental Impact and 

Related Procedures,’’ at 23 CFR part 771 

states that the costs incurred by a grant 

applicant for the preparation of 

environmental documents requested by 

FTA are eligible for FTA financial 

assistance (23 CFR 771.105(f)). 

Accordingly, FTA extends pre-award 

authority for costs incurred to comply 

with NEPA regulations and to conduct 

NEPA-related activities, effective as of 

the earlier of the following two dates: (1) 

The date of the Federal approval of the 

relevant STIP or STIP amendment that 

includes the project or any phase of the 

project, or that includes a project 

grouping under 23 CFR 450.216(j) that 

includes the project; or (2) the date that 

FTA approves the project into the 

project development phase of the CIG 

program. The grant applicant must 

notify the appropriate FTA Regional 

Office upon initiation of the Federal 

environmental review process 

consistent with 23 CFR 771.111. NEPArelated activities include, but are not 


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limited to, public involvement 

activities, historic preservation reviews, 

section 4(f) evaluations, wetlands 

evaluations, and endangered species 

consultations. This pre-award authority 

is strictly limited to costs incurred to 

conduct the NEPA process and 

associated engineering, and to prepare 

environmental, historic preservation 

and related documents. When a New 

Starts, Small Starts, or Core Capacity 

project is granted pre-award authority 

for the environmental review process, 

the reimbursement for NEPA activities 

conducted under pre-award authority 

may be sought at any time through 

section 5307 (Urbanized Area Formula 

Program) or the flexible highway 

programs (e.g., Surface Transportation 

Program or Congestion Mitigation and 

Air Quality Improvement Program). 

Reimbursement from the section 5309 

CIG program for NEPA activities 

conducted under pre-award authority is 

provided only for expenses incurred 

after entry into the project development 

phase and only once a construction 

grant agreement is signed. FTA 

reimbursement for costs incurred is not 

guaranteed and recipients may not start 

activities and incur costs under preaward authority for property 

acquisition, demolition, construction, 

and acquisition of vehicles, equipment, 

or construction materials until the 

environmental review process is 

complete. 

For more information about FTA’s 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) activities, contact Megan Blum, 

Office of Environmental Programs, at 

(202) 366–0463 or megan.blum@dot.gov. 

d. Other CIG Project Activities 

Requiring Letter of No Prejudice (LONP) 

Except as discussed in paragraphs i 

through iii above, a CIG project sponsor 

must obtain a written LONP from FTA 

before incurring costs for any activity 

not covered by pre-award authority. To 

obtain an LONP, an applicant must 

submit a written request accompanied 

by adequate information and 

justification to the appropriate FTA 

Regional Office, as described in B 

below. 

For more information about the Fixed 

Guideway Capital Investment Grants 

program, including LONP policy, real 

property acquisition, and 

reimbursement of costs incurred under 

Pre-Award Authority, contact Elizabeth 

Day, Office of Capital Project 

Development, at (202) 366–5159 or 

elizabeth.day@dot.gov. 

e. Pre-Award Authority for the 

Expedited Project Delivery (EPD) Pilot 

Program 

The EPD Pilot Program, as authorized 

by Section 3005(b) of the Fixing 

America’s Surface Transportation Act 

(FAST Act), is aimed at expediting 

delivery of new fixed guideway capital 

projects, small starts projects, or core 

capacity improvement projects. Section 

3005(b) requires the FTA to notify 

Congress and the applicant, in writing, 

within 120 days after the receipt of a 

complete application, on the decision of 

project selection. FTA will extend preaward authority for all eligible project 

costs at the time it is announced that a 

project has been selected. There is no 

pre-award authority provided until a 

project selection announcement is 

made, and costs incurred prior to 

project selection are not eligible. Letters 

of No Prejudice will not be provided for 

the EPD Pilot Program, as all eligible 

costs are covered by pre-award authority 

at the time of project selection. 

Although FTA provides pre-award 

authority for eligible project costs, FTA 

does not award Federal funding for 

activities conducted under pre-award 

authority until the project receives an 

EPD Pilot Program construction grant. 

This is to ensure that Federal funds are 

not risked on a project whose 

advancement into construction is not 

yet assured. To maintain eligibility for 

a possible future FTA grant award, any 

acquisition of real property or real 

property rights must be conducted in 

accordance with the requirements of the 

Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real 

Property Acquisition Policies Act (URA) 

and its implementing regulations, 49 

CFR part 24. 

For more information about the 

Expedited Project Delivery Pilot 

Program, contact Mark Ferroni, Office of 

Planning and Environment, at (202) 

366–3233 or mark.ferroni@dot.gov. 

B. Letter of No Prejudice (LONP) Policy 

1. Policy 

LONP authority allows an applicant 

to incur costs on a project utilizing nonFederal resources, with the 

understanding that the costs incurred 

subsequent to the issuance of the LONP 

may be reimbursable as eligible 

expenses or eligible for credit toward 

the local match should FTA approve the 

project at a later date. LONPs are 

applicable to projects and project 

activities not covered by automatic preaward authority. The majority of LONPs 

will be for Section 5309 CIG program 

projects undertaking activities not 

covered under automatic pre-award 

authority. LONPs may be issued for 

formula funds beyond the life of the 

current authorization or FTA’s 

extension of automatic pre-award 

authority; however, the LONP is limited 

to a five-year period, unless otherwise 

authorized in the LONP, or otherwise 

extended. Receipt of Federal funding 

under any program is not implied or 

guaranteed by an LONP. 

2. Conditions and Federal Requirements 

The conditions and requirements for 

pre-award authority specified in section 

V.4.ii and V.4.iii above apply to all 

LONPs for the CIG program. Because 

project implementation activities may 

not be initiated before completion of the 

environmental review process, FTA will 

not issue an LONP for such activities 

until the environmental review process 

has been completed with a combined 

FEIS/ROD, ROD, FONSI, or CE 

determination. 

3. Request for LONP 

Before incurring costs for project 

activities not covered by automatic preaward authority, the project sponsor 

must first submit a written request for 

an LONP, accompanied by adequate 

information and justification, to the 

appropriate regional office and obtain 

written approval from FTA. FTA 

approval of an LONP is determined on 

a case-by-case basis. Federal funding 

under the CIG program is not implied or 

guaranteed by an LONP. Specifically, 

when requesting an LONP, the applicant 

shall provide the following items: 

a. Description of the activities to be 

covered by the LONP. 

b. Justification for advancing the 

identified activities. The justification 

should include an accurate assessment 

of the consequences to the project 

scope, schedule, and budget should the 

LONP not be approved. 

c. Allocated level of risk and 

contingency for the activity requested. 

C. FY 2022 Annual List of Certifications 

and Assurances 

Section 5323(n) requires FTA to 

publish annually a list of all 

certifications required under Chapter 53 

concurrently with the publication of 

this annual apportionment notice. The 

FY 2022 version of FTA’s Certifications 

and Assurances is available on FTA’s 

website at FY 2022 Annual List of 

Certifications & Assurances. 

FTA cannot make an award or an 

amendment to an award unless the 

recipient has executed the latest version 

of FTA’s Certifications and Assurances. 

FTA encourages recipients of formula 

funding to execute the FY 2022 

Certifications and Assurances 


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electronically in TrAMS within 90 days 

of this notice, to prevent delays. 

D. Civil Rights Requirements 

Recipients must ensure their 

programs and services operate in a 

nondiscriminatory manner and fulfill 

reporting requirements to document 

their civil rights compliance as a 

condition to receiving Federal funds. 

Recipients must carry out provisions 

of the Americans with Disabilities Act 

(ADA) of 1990, Section 504 of the 

Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, 

and the Department of Transportation’s 

implementing regulations at 49 CFR 

parts 27, 37, 38, and 39. FTA’s ADA 

Circular (C 4710.1) provides guidance 

for implementing the regulatory 

requirements of the ADA. 

• In addition, recipients must 

regularly prepare and submit in TrAMS 

civil rights program plans and reports to 

establish and demonstrate compliance 

and document policies and practices in 

the following areas: Title VI of the Civil 

Rights Act of 1964: The Department of 

Transportation’s Title VI implementing 

regulations are found in 49 CFR part 21. 

FTA’s Title VI Circular (C 4702.1B) 

provides guidance for carrying out the 

regulatory requirements and outlines 

the Title VI program requirements and 

timeline for submitting updates. 

• Disadvantaged Business Enterprise 

(DBE) program: The Department of 

Transportation’s DBE implementing 

regulations are found in 49 CFR part 26 

and set forth requirements for 

implementing the DBE program in good 

faith and developing and reporting on 

the triennial DBE goal. 

• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 

1964, Equal Employment Opportunity 

(EEO): The Department of 

Transportation’s EEO implementing 

regulations are found in 49 CFR part 21. 

FTA’s EEO Circular (C 4704.1A) 

provides guidance for carrying out the 

regulatory requirements and outlines 

the EEO program submission process. 

Recipients are expected to maintain 

current civil rights program plans and 

submit required reports in TrAMS. 

Recipients with past due or expired 

programs are ineligible for new funding 

awards and may be subject to other 

remedies or sanctions at FTA’s 

discretion. 

While not new requirements, 

recipients are specifically reminded of 

the following: 

• Recipients awarding $250,000 or 

more in FTA-funded contracts must 

comply with the Disadvantaged 

Business Enterprise (DBE) regulations, 

including by implementing a DBE 

program that affirmatively remedies the 

ongoing effects of discrimination in 

transportation contracting. The recipient 

must conduct outreach to and 

consultation with small businesses, 

women-owned businesses, and 

minority-owned businesses; apply DBE 

goals as needed when exercising preaward authority; and verify the DBE 

certification of transit vehicle 

manufacturers before purchasing transit 

vehicles. 

• Recipients in urbanized areas of 

200,000 or more in population and with 

50 or more fixed-route vehicles in peak 

service must conduct a service equity 

analysis for all service changes that 

meet the recipient’s definition of ‘‘major 

service change’’ prior to implementing 

the service change. Those recipients 

also must conduct a fare equity analysis 

for all fare increases or decreases prior 

to implementing a fare change. 

Furthermore, an environmental justice 

analysis is not a substitute for a Title VI 

service equity analysis triggered by a 

major service change or fare change. 

When a full equity analysis is not 

required due to the size of the recipient 

or duration of a change, FTA expects 

agencies to take steps to ensure changes 

are equitable and nondiscriminatory. 

Recipients are encouraged to reach 

out to FTA’s Office of Civil Rights when 

contemplating new projects, new 

services, or new service models for 

technical assistance and guidance, to 

support recipients in achieving their 

equity and accessibility goals and 

complying with federal civil rights 

requirements. 

E. Consolidated Planning Grants (CPG) 

FTA and FHWA planning funds 

under both the Metropolitan Planning 

and State Planning and Research 

Programs can be consolidated into a 

single consolidated planning grant, 

awarded by either FTA or FHWA. The 

CPG eliminates the need to monitor 

individual fund sources, if several have 

been used, and ensures that the oldest 

funds will always be used first. 

Under the CPG, States can report 

metropolitan planning program 

expenditures to comply with the 

Uniform Guidance 2 CFR part 200, 

subpart F, for both FTA and FHWA 

under the Catalogue of Federal Domestic 

Assistance number for FTA’s 

Metropolitan Planning Program 

(20.505). Additionally, for States with 

an FHWA Metropolitan Planning (PL) 

fund-matching ratio greater than 80 

percent, the State can waive the 20 

percent local share requirement, with 

FTA’s concurrence, to allow FTA funds 

used for metropolitan planning in a CPG 

to be granted at the higher FHWA rate. 

For some States, this Federal match rate 

can exceed 90 percent. 

States interested in transferring 

planning funds between FTA and 

FHWA should contact the FTA Regional 

Office or FHWA Division Office for 

more detailed procedures. FHWA Order 

4551.1 dated August 12, 2013, on ‘‘Fund 

Transfers to Other Agencies and Among 

Title 23 Programs’’ provides guidance 

and more detailed information. 

For further information on CPGs, 

contact Ann Souvandara, Office of 

Budget and Policy, FTA, at (202)366– 

0649 or ann.souvandara@dot.gov; or 

Victor Austin, Office of Planning and 

Environment at (202) 366–2996 or 

victor.austin@dot.gov. 

F. Grant Application Procedures 

All applications are filed 

electronically. FTA continues to award 

and manage grants and cooperative 

agreements using the Transit Award 

Management System (TrAMS). To 

access TrAMS, contact your FTA 

Regional Office. Resources on using 

TrAMS can be found on FTA’s website 

at https://www.transit.dot.gov/TrAMS. 

FTA regional staff is responsible for 

working with potential recipients to 

review and process grant applications. 

In order for an application to be 

considered complete and for FTA to 

assign a Federal Award Identification 

Number (FAIN), enabling submission in 

TrAMS, and submission to the 

Department of Labor (when applicable), 

the following requirements must be met: 

i. Applicants must be registered and 

have an ‘‘active status’’ in the System 

for Award Management (SAM) and its 

registration is current. To register an 

entity or check the status and renew 

registration, visit the SAM website at 

https://www.sam.gov/SAM. 

ii. Applicant’s contact information is 

correct and up to date. 

iii. Applicant has properly submitted 

its annual certifications and assurances. 

iv. Applicant’s Civil Rights 

submissions are current and approved. 

v. Recipient has a Transit Asset 

Management plan in place that meets 

the requirements of 49 CFR part 625 or 

is covered by a compliant Group Plan. 

vi. Documentation is on file to 

support status as either a designated 

recipient (for the program and area) or 

a direct recipient. 

vii. Funding is available, including 

any flexible funds included in the 

budget, and split letters or suballocation 

letters on file, where applicable, to 

support amount being applied for in 

grant application. 

viii. The activity is listed in a 

currently approved Transportation 

Improvement Program (TIP); Statewide 

Transportation Improvement Program 

(STIP), or Unified Planning Work 


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Program (UPWP) unless such 

requirements have been waived for the 

specific funding and activity type to 

facilitate response and recovery from 

the COVID–19 public health emergency. 

ix. All eligibility issues are resolved. 

x. Required environmental findings 

are made. 

xi. The application contains a welldefined scope of work including at least 

one project with accompanying project 

narratives, budget that includes scope 

codes and activity line-item 

information, Federal and non-Federal 

funding amounts, and milestones. 

xii. Major Capital Projects as defined 

by 49 CFR part 633 Project Management 

Oversight must document FTA has 

reviewed the project management plan 

and provided approval. 

xiii. Milestone information is 

complete. FTA will also review status of 

other open grants’ reports to confirm 

financial and milestone information is 

current on other open awards. 

xiv. Applicant has ensured that it has 

registered to report to the National 

Transit Database, and that any 

beneficiaries that provide public 

transportation service have also 

registered to report to the National 

Transit Database. 

xv. FTA must provide Congressional 

notification before awarding 

competitive grants. 

Other important issues that impact 

FTA grant processing activities are 

discussed below. 

a. Award Budgets—Scope Codes and 

Activity Line Items (ALI) Codes; 

Financial Purpose Codes 

FTA uses the Scope and Activity Line 

Item (ALI) Codes in the award budgets 

to track program trends, to report to 

Congress, and to respond to requests 

from the Inspector General and the 

Government Accountability Office 

(GAO), as well as to manage grants. The 

accuracy of the data is dependent on the 

careful and correct use of codes. 

b. Designated and Direct Recipients 

Documentation 

For its formula programs, FTA 

primarily apportions funds to the 

Designated Recipient in the large UZAs 

(areas over 200,000), or for areas under 

200,000 (small UZAs and rural areas), it 

apportions the funds to the Governor, or 

the Governor’s designee (e.g., State 

DOT). Depending on the program and as 

described in the individual program 

sections found in Section IV of this 

notice, further suballocation of funds 

may be permitted to eligible recipients 

who may then apply directly to FTA for 

the funding as direct recipients. 

For the programs in which FTA can 

make grants to eligible direct recipients, 

other than the designated recipients, 

recipients are reminded that 

documentation must be on file to 

support the (1) status of the recipient 

either as a designated recipient or direct 

recipient; and (2) the allocation of funds 

to the direct recipient. 

Documentation to support existing 

designated recipients for the UZA must 

also be on file at the time of the first 

application in FY 2022. Split letters or 

suballocation letters (Governor’s 

Apportionment letters), must also be on 

file to support grant applications from 

direct recipients. Once suballocation 

letters for FY 2022 funding are finalized 

they should also be uploaded as part of 

the application into TrAMS. 

The Direct Recipient is required to 

upload to TrAMS a copy of the 

suballocation letter (Letter) indicating 

their allocation of funding, for the 

appropriate fund program, when the 

applicant transmits their application for 

initial review. The Letter must be signed 

by the Designated Recipient, or as 

applicable in accordance with their 

planning requirements. If there are two 

Designated Recipients, both entities 

must sign the Letter. The Letter must: 

(1) Indicate the allocations to the 

respective Direct Recipients listed in the 

letter; (2) incorporate language above 

the signatories to reflect this agreement; 

and (3) make clear that the Direct 

Recipient will assume all responsibility 

associated with the award for the funds. 

When drafting the Letter, Designated 

Recipients may use the template 

language below: 

‘‘As identified in this Letter, the 

Designated Recipient(s) authorize the 

reassignment/reallocation of [enter fund 

source, e.g., Section 5307 funds] to the 

Direct Recipient(s) named herein. The 

undersigned agree to the amounts 

allocated/reassigned to each Direct 

Recipient. Each Direct Recipient is 

responsible for its application to the 

Federal Transit Administration to 

receive such funds and assumes the 

responsibilities associated with any 

award for these funds.’’ 

1. Payments 

Once a grant has been awarded and 

executed, requests for payment can be 

processed. To process payments FTA 

uses ECHO-Web, an internet accessible 

system that provides recipients the 

capability to submit payment requests 

on-line, as well as receive user-IDs and 

passwords via email. New applicants 

should contact the appropriate FTA 

Regional Office to obtain and submit the 

registration package necessary for set-up 

under ECHO-Web. 

2. Oversight 

FTA is responsible for conducting 

oversight activities to help ensure that 

grant recipients use FTA Federal 

financial assistance in a manner 

consistent with their intended purpose 

and in compliance with regulatory and 

statutory requirements. FTA conducts 

periodic oversight reviews to assess 

recipient compliance with applicable 

Federal requirements. Each Urbanized 

Area Formula Program recipient is 

reviewed every three years, (FTA’s 

Triennial Review); and States and statewide public transportation agencies are 

reviewed periodically to assess the 

management practices and program 

implementation of FTA state-wide 

programs (e.g., Planning, Rural Areas, 

Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and 

Individuals with Disabilities Programs). 

Other more detailed reviews are 

scheduled based on an annual recipient 

oversight assessment. Important 

objectives of FTA’s oversight program 

include but are not limited to: 

Determining recipient compliance with 

Federal requirements; identifying 

technical assistance needs and 

delivering technical assistance to meet 

those needs; spotting emerging issues 

with recipients in a forward-looking 

fashion; recognizing when there is a 

need for more in-depth reviews in the 

areas of procurement, financial 

management, and civil rights; and 

identifying recipients with recurring or 

systemic issues. 

3. Technical Assistance 

As noted throughout the notice, FTA 

continues to rely on several of the 

existing program circulars for general 

program guidance. FTA is continuing to 

update the program circulars, with an 

opportunity for notice and comment 

where warranted, to reflect amendments 

to chapter 53 of title 49, U.S.C. made by 

the IIJA. In the meantime, if you have 

any questions, please do not hesitate to 

contact FTA. FTA headquarters and 

regional staff will be pleased to answer 

your questions and provide any 

technical assistance you may need to 

apply for FTA program funds and 

manage the grants you receive. At its 

discretion, FTA may also use program 

oversight consultants to provide 

technical assistance to recipients on a 

case-by-case basis. This notice and the 

program guidance circulars previously 

identified in this document may be 

accessed via the FTA website at 

www.transit.dot.gov. 


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G. Grant Management 

1. Grant Reporting 

Recipients of FTA funds are reminded 

that all FTA recipients are required to 

report on their grants and that it is 

critical to ensure reports demonstrate 

that reasonable progress is being made 

on the project. At a minimum, all 

awards require a Federal Financial 

Report (FFR) and a Milestone Progress 

Report (MPR) on an annual basis, with 

some reports required quarterly or 

monthly depending on the recipient and 

the type of projects funded under the 

grant. The requirements for these 

reports and other reporting 

requirements can be found in FTA 

Circular 5010.1E, Grant Management 

Requirements, dated July 16, 2018. FTA 

staff, auditors, and contractors rely on 

the information provided in the FFR 

and MPR to review and report on the 

status of both financial and project-level 

activities contained in the grant. It is 

critical that recipients provide accurate 

and complete information in these 

reports and submit them by the required 

due date. Failure to report or 

demonstrate reasonable progress on 

projects can result in suspension or 

premature close-out of a grant. 

2. Inactive Grants and Grant Closeout 

In FY 2022, FTA will continue to 

focus on inactive grants and grants that 

do not comply with reporting 

requirements. If appropriate, FTA will 

take action to close out and deobligate 

funds from these grants if reasonable 

progress is not being made. The efficient 

use of funds will further FTA’s 

fulfillment of its mission to provide 

efficient and effective public 

transportation systems for the nation. As 

inactive grants continue to be an audit 

finding within the DOT, FTA must take 

action to ensure its grants do not 

prevent the DOT from receiving a ‘‘clean 

audit’’ opinion on its annual financial 

statement. 

At the end of Federal Fiscal Year 

2022, FTA will identify the list of grants 

that were awarded on or prior to 

September 20, 2019, have had no funds 

disbursed or have not had a 

disbursement since September 30, 2021. 

FTA Regional Offices will contact grant 

recipients with grants that meet these 

criteria to notify them that FTA intends 

to close the grant and deobligate any 

remaining funds unless the recipient 

can provide information that 

demonstrates that the projects funded 

by the grant remain active and the 

recipient has a realistic schedule to 

expedite completion of the projects 

funded in the grant. 

3. Transportation Investments 

Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER), 

Better Utilizing Investments To 

Leverage Development (BUILD) and 

Rebuilding American Infrastructure 

With Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) 

Discretionary Grants 

Recipients of open TIGER, BUILD and 

RAISE grants should be aware that, as 

a matter of law, all remaining TIGER 

funds must be disbursed from grants by 

the end of the fifth fiscal year after the 

Expiration of Obligation Authority. (See 

31 U.S.C. 1552.) For FTA TIGER VII 

projects, that requirement takes effect at 

the end of FY 2022. Accordingly, once 

ECHO closes for disbursements in late 

September 2022, all undisbursed funds 

within FTA TIGER VII-funded grants 

will no longer be available to the 

recipient. These undisbursed funds will 

be de-obligated from the grant. Even if 

a recipient has incurred costs or 

disbursed funds prior to the close of 

ECHO, if the recipient has not actually 

drawn down the funds by the time 

ECHO closes, FTA will be unable to 

reimburse the recipient. Therefore, 

recipients with open TIGER VII grants 

must ensure project activities are 

completed and all funds are drawn 

down before ECHO closes by late 

September 2022. 

The contents of this document do not 

have the force and effect of law and are 

not meant to bind the public in any 

way. This document is intended only to 

provide clarity to the public regarding 

existing requirements under the law or 

agency policies. Recipients should refer 

to applicable regulations and statutes 

referenced in this document. 

Nuria I. Fernandez, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2022–09143 Filed 4–27–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–57–P 


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