New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 17 - DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION › Chapter VI - Transportation Regulations › Subchapter G - Mass Transportation Operating Assistance › Part 975 - Statewide Mass Transportation Operating Assistance Program › Section 975.23 - Special Mobility Improvement Projects Related to Transit Enhancements within the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
(a) Authority for this sub-section is
				  established by the Aid to Localities portion of the New York State Budget Act
				  beginning with 1993-1994 and any future appropriation, which specifies funding
				  for Special Mobility Projects Related to Transit Enhancements within the
				  Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District.
(b) Purpose. To provide seed money for the
				  development and implementation of new and innovative services to improve
				  mobility in the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District. This money is
				  intended to help overcome the traditional barriers to new and innovative
				  services. Grants awarded from this allocation may be for a period of up to two
				  years, subject to reappropriation in the second year by the
				  legislature.
(c) Eligibility
				  requirements. All service providers, within the Metropolitan Commuter
				  Transportation District eligible for funding under the State Mass
				  Transportation Operating Assistance Program (STOA) are eligible to compete for
				  funding under this program. In addition, private for-profit, private
				  non-profit, quasi-public transit or ridesharing service providers are eligible
				  and encouraged to compete for these funds. All applications must be sponsored
				  by and any grant monies received will be contracted by a STOA-eligible public
				  agency (City or County) or non-profit corporation whose project has been
				  endorsed by a county in which the service is to be provided. Applicants
				  eligible under Section 14-g  of the Transportation Law may contract
				  directly with the New York State Department of Transportation. Transit services
				  now eligible under STOA such as express commuter, suburb to suburb, local
				  circulation, shuttle and feeder and reverse commute services will be eligible
				  under this new provision, provided that they constitute new and innovative
				  services that do not duplicate existing transit service. In addition, certain
				  activities not now eligible under STOA (17 NYCRR) may be deemed eligible under
				  this sub-section if they are deemed to be innovative in addressing the mobility
				  needs of the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District. Such activities may
				  include but are not limited to: employer based vanpooling, guaranteed ride home
				  programs, and selective capital costs that facilitate new and innovative
				  services.
(d) Application process.
				  Applicants competing for funding under this sub-section shall submit an
				  application to the regional office of the New York State Department of
				  Transportation in which the service will be provided. The address may be
				  obtained from any of the regional offices in the metropolitan area, to include
				  the following:
(1) A Strategic Service Plan
				  describing:
(i) The market to be
				  served;
(ii) The nature of the
				  service (bus, van, feeder, reverse commute, etc.);
(iii) The estimated ridership;
(iv) budgeted total cost (operating and
				  capital) for the service, including the percentage funding split between this
				  program and other sources;
(v) Plan
				  for service provision following the 2 year grant eligibility period, provided
				  that the service performance warrants continued funding, including
				  identification of intended funding sources for continued service;
(vi) Other plan components, in the form of
				  rough estimates should include, as appropriate:
(a) Availability of capital resources in
				  place for use by the new service: vehicles, parking facilities, stops and
				  pedestrian facilities;
(b) Number
				  and type of vehicles to be used;
(c) General service routing
				  possibilities;
(d) Potential target
				  headways and span of service, if fixed route service is contemplated;
(e) Key land uses to be served;
(f) Availability of data resources for market
				  identification (i.e. existing origin/destination surveys, Census data and
				  Transportation Management Association employer data);
(g) Proposed approach to marketing and public
				  information;
(h) Operational plan,
				  if demand responsive service is contemplated.