Federal Transit Formula Grants

The Urbanized Area Formula Program provides federal funding to transit agencies, states, and local governments to develop new transit systems and to improve, maintain, and operate existing systems in urbanized areas. Public transportation under this program means regular, continuing shared‑ride services that are open to the general public or to segments of the public defined by age, disability, or low income. Funds may be used for capital projects, planning, and operating assistance consistent with program statutes and FTA guidance.

The following documentation must be submitted prior to award of a formula grant under this program: A resolution by an authorized public body approving the filing of an application, the transportation improvement program (TIP) of the respective urbanized area’s metropolitan planning organization (MPO), and the statewide transportation improvement program (STIP) of the respective state approved by FTA and FHWA. In addition, depending on the project for which funds are proposed to be used, information must be provided on labor agreements, environmental impacts of proposed projects, legal capacity, financial capacity, technical capacity, use of competitive procurements, asset maintenance plans, coordinated regional planning, and compliance with certifications and assurances as compiled in FTA’s Annual List of Certifications and Assurances. Eligible costs must be in accordance with OMB Circular 2 CFR 200. Prior to the award of a discretionary grant under this program, applicants must submit a project application based on criteria outlined in the Notice of Funding Opportunity published annually in the Federal Register.
A notice is published annually in the Federal Register on FTA’s fiscal year apportionments and applications. The notice contains a list of the amount apportioned to each urbanized area and the total available for discretionary award. You can find current and prior year notices on FTA’s website at: https://www.transit.dot.gov/funding/apportionments or by contacting the appropriate FTA Regional Office to obtain copies or publication dates.

The program operates under the statutory formula prescribed in 49 U.S.C. 5336. The federal share is not to exceed 80 percent of the net project cost for capital and planning expenses. The Federal share may be 90 percent for the cost of vehicle-related equipment and facilities attributable to compliance with the American with Disabilities Act and the Clean Air Act or 85 percent for the cost of a vehicle that complies with these requirements. The Federal share may not exceed 50 percent of the net cost for operating assistance.

The formula that drives amounts made available for use in urbanized areas is based on urbanized area population, low-income population, and population density for urbanized areas with populations of less than 200,000. Urbanized areas with populations of less than 200,000 may also receive additional funding based on whether they exceed in certain performance factors the average with respect to those factors for urbanized areas with a population of at least 200,000 but less than 1,000,000. For urbanized areas with a population of 200,000 or more, amounts made available are based on population, low-income population, population density, transit vehicle revenue miles, passenger miles, fixed-guideway directional route miles, operating expenses, and whether commuter rail operates within the urbanized area.