[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 207 (Monday, October 27, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64006-64008]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-25518]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration


Fiscal Year 2014 Bus Ladders of Opportunity Initiative Grant 
Program Project Selections

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration; FTA, DOT.

ACTION: Bus Ladders of Opportunity Initiative announcement of project 
selections.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Federal Transit 
Administration (FTA) announces the selection of projects with prior 
year Section 5309 Bus and Bus Facilities funds authorized by the Safe, 
Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy 
for Users (SAFETEA-LU, Pub. L. 109-59) and prior authorizations for the 
Bus and Bus Facilities Program (Ladders of Opportunity Initiative). The 
amount available to projects is $100 million. On August 4, 2014, FTA 
published a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) (79 FR 32358) 
announcing the availability of funding for this program. These program 
dollars will provide financial assistance to purchase, replace, or 
rehabilitate buses, bus facilities, and bus-related equipment, and 
other eligible capital project costs.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Successful applicants should contact 
the appropriate FTA Regional Office for information regarding applying 
for the funds or program-specific information. A list of Regional 
Offices can be found at www.fta.dot.gov. A TDD is available at 1-800-
877-8339 (TDD/FIRS).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In response to the NOFA, FTA received 282 
proposals for 446 projects from 49 States plus the District of 
Columbia, Mariana Islands and Puerto Rico requesting $1.4 billion in 
Federal funds. FTA evaluated project proposals based on each 
applicant's responsiveness to the program evaluation criteria as 
detailed in the NOFA. FTA is funding 24 projects as shown in Table 1 
for a total of $100 million.
    Successful applicants selected for competitive discretionary 
funding should work with their FTA Regional Office to finalize the 
grant application in FTA's Transportation Electronic Awards Management 
System (TEAM) so that funds can be obligated expeditiously. Grant 
applications must only include eligible activities applied for in the 
original project application. Funds must be used consistent with the 
competitive proposal and for the eligible purposes established in the 
NOFA and

[[Page 64007]]

described in FTA Circulars 5010 and 9300.1B. In cases where the 
allocation amount is less than the proposer's requested amount, 
grantees should work with the Regional Office to reduce scope or scale 
the project such that a complete phase or project is accomplished. 
Grantees are reminded that program requirements such as cost sharing or 
local match can be found in the NOFA. A discretionary project 
identification number has been assigned to each project for tracking 
purposes and must be used in the TEAM application. Selected projects 
are eligible for pre-award authority no earlier than September 25, 
2014. Pre-award authority is also contingent upon Federal requirements, 
such as planning and environmental requirements, having been met. For 
more about FTA's policy on pre-award authority, please see the FTA 
Fiscal Year 2014 Apportionments, Allocations, and Program notice found 
in 77 FR 13461 (March 10, 2014). Post-award reporting requirements 
include submission of the Federal Financial Report and Milestone 
reports in TEAM as appropriate (see FTA Circulars 5010.1D and 9030.1E). 
Grantees must comply with all applicable Federal statutes, regulations, 
executive orders, FTA circulars, and other Federal requirements in 
carrying out the project supported by the FTA grant.
    FTA emphasizes that grantees must follow all third-party 
procurement guidance, as described in FTA Circular 4220.1F. Funds 
allocated in this announcement must be obligated in a grant by 
September 30, 2017.
    Due to the volume of unfunded project proposals, FTA is unable to 
conduct individual debriefs with unsuccessful applicants. FTA can, 
however offer the following feedback to strengthen proposals when 
responding to other future discretionary opportunities:
    <bullet> Submit new and carefully conceived proposals that directly 
reflect the requirements contained in the Notice of Funding 
Availability (NOFA).
    <bullet> Contact FTA staff, regional and Headquarters, to discuss 
eligibility of your project before submitting the proposal.
    <bullet> Address, clearly and thoroughly, all of the criteria 
outlined in the NOFA, to include why the investment it is needed and 
how it will meet the need, and accomplish or meet the intent of the 
program/opportunity to which you are applying.
    <bullet> If a project is scalable, include both the scalable amount 
and an explanation of what can/will be funded with the scalable amount 
and how the benefits of the project may be scaled as a result of lesser 
funding.
    <bullet> Ensure supporting documentation and attachments are 
clearly referenced in the application, and that they are relevant for 
the criteria.
    <bullet> Ensure that qualitative and quantitative data provided in 
response to the criteria is project specific or specific to the 
targeted service area.
    <bullet> Check numbers for the local match and ensure the budget 
shows the required match or accounts for the use of in-kind match that 
is equal to or more than the required local share.

Therese W. McMillan,
Acting Administrator.

                    Table I--FY 2014 Bus Ladders of Opportunity Initiative Project Selections
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         State                Recipient                 Project ID           Project description    Allocation
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AK....................  State of Alaska        D2014-BUSP-00001             Bus Shelters........         $82,318
                         Department of
                         Transportation and
                         Public Facilities.
CA....................  Los Angeles County     D2014-BUSP-00002             Bus Stop                   1,668,557
                         Metropolitan                                        Improvements.
                         Transportation
                         Authority.
CA....................  San Diego              D2014-BUSP-03001             Bus Replacements....      18,054,003
                         Metropolitan Transit
                         System.
CA....................  San Francisco          D2014-BUSP-00003             Buses for Service          8,995,226
                         Municipal                                           Expansion.
                         Transportation
                         Agency.
CO....................  Mesa County..........  D2014-BUSP-00004             Bus Replacements....         432,000
CO....................  Regional               D2014-BUSP-03002             Priority                   4,999,000
                         Transportation                                      Signalization &
                         District.                                           Service Enhancement.
FL....................  Central Florida        D2014-BUSP-97001 D2014-BUSP- Bus Transfer Center;      1,000,000;
                         Regional               04001                        Compressed Natural        8,390,860
                         Transportation                                      Gas Articulated
                         Authority (LYNX).                                   Buses.
IA....................  Ames Transit Agency..  D2014-BUSP-04002             Buses for Expansion        2,550,000
                                                                             of Service.
IL....................  Bloomington-Normal     D2014-BUSP-10001             Bus Replacements....       2,040,000
                         Public Transit
                         System (Connect
                         Transit).
IL....................  Springfield Mass       D2014-BUSP-06001             Expanded Bus Service         762,400
                         Transit District                                    (Bus Purchase).
                         (SMTD).
KS....................  Sac and Fox Nation of  D2014-BUSP-06002             Vans for New Service          66,308
                         Missouri.
KY....................  Transit Authority of   D2014-BUSP-06003             Replacement Buses...       8,700,000
                         River City.
MI....................  City of Detroit        D2014-BUSP-05001             Replacement Buses...      25,925,548
                         Department of          ($20,325,548); D2014-BUSP-
                         Transportation.        01001 ($5,600,000)
MN....................  Metropolitan Council-- D2014-BUSP-07001             Bus Stop                   3,260,000
                         Metro Transit.                                      Improvements.
MO....................  Kansas City Area       D2014-BUSP-07002             Transit Access             1,200,000
                         Transportation                                      Improvements.
                         Authority.
NE....................  City of Lincoln,       D2014-BUSP-02003             Replacement Buses...       2,014,496
                         Nebraska.
OK....................  Oklahoma Department    D2014-BUSP-07003             Replacement Buses...       4,082,400
                         of Transportation.

[[Page 64008]]

 
OR....................  Douglas County--       D2014-BUSP-07004             Replacement Buses...         576,000
                         Oregon Department of
                         Transportation.
OR....................  Lake County--Oregon    D2014-BUSP-11001             ADA vans to expand           105,400
                         Department of                                       service.
                         Transportation.
OR....................  Lane Transit District  D2014-BUSP-98001             Paratransit Vehicle        1,064,145
                         (Eugene).                                           Replacement and
                                                                             Security Camera
                                                                             Expansion.
TX....................  Fort Worth             D2014-BUSP-99001             Replacement Buses...       1,162,078
                         Transportation
                         Authority.
TX....................  Texarkana Urban        D2014-BUSP-99002             Replacement Buses...       1,200,000
                         Transit District.
WA....................  Muckleshoot Indian     D2014-BUSP-02001             Buses for New                194,262
                         Tribe.                                              Service.
WA....................  Washington State       D2014-BUSP-02002             Transit Facility....       1,474,999
                         Department of
                         Transportation.
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[FR Doc. 2014-25518 Filed 10-24-14; 8:45 am]
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