/ Transit / FTA Taking Applications for $226.5M in Grant Funding to Improve Transit Bus Service

FTA Taking Applications for $226.5M in Grant Funding to Improve Transit Bus Service

Parul Dubey on July 19, 2017 - in Transit, Transportation

The Federal Transit Administration said it is taking applications through Aug. 25 for about $226.5 million in competitive grant funding for transit bus projects nationwide, under a program to help replace and upgrade buses and related facilities.

“Transit buses account for more than five billion passenger trips every year, providing vital connections to jobs and economic opportunities,” said FTA Executive Director Matthew Welbes. “These grants will help more communities bring their transit infrastructure into a much-needed state of good repair.”

State departments of transportation often oversee rural transit bus services or other transit operations, and award state funding in addition to federal dollars to help improve equipment fleets.

The FTA announcement said that according to the USDOT’s latest “Conditions & Performance Report,” transit providers face a nationwide maintenance backlog of nearly $90 billion, which includes 10,000 buses estimated to be in poor or marginal condition.

The FTA said it will award the bus infrastructure grants to designated recipients, states, local governmental entities and Indian tribes that operate fixed route bus services. Of the total, the program will assign at least a minimum of 10 percent or $22.6 million to rural bus needs.

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