The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has announced a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) to solicit project proposals for the 5339(b) Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities Program, with approximately $454.6 million available for FY2020.
Synopses and the full announcement will be posted on Grants.gov as opportunity FTA-2020-006-BUS. Proposals must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov website by 11:59 PM Eastern Time March 30, 2020.
The Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities Program (49 U.S.C. 5339) makes federal resources available to states and direct recipients to replace, rehabilitate and purchase buses and related equipment and to construct bus-related facilities including technological changes or innovations to modify low or no emission vehicles or facilities. Funding is provided through formula allocations and competitive grants. A sub-program, the Low- or No-Emission Vehicle Program, provides competitive grants for bus and bus facility projects that support low and zero-emission vehicles.
The program provides funds to designated recipients that allocate funds to fixed route bus operators, states, or local governmental authorities that operate fixed route bus service and Indian tribes. Eligible recipients include designated recipients that operate fixed route bus service or that allocate funding to fixed route bus operators; state or local governmental entities; and federally recognized Indian tribes that operate fixed route bus service that are eligible to receive direct grants under 5307 and 5311.
Subrecipients include eligible recipients that receive grant funding under the formula or discretionary programs may allocate amounts from the grant to subrecipients that are public agencies or private nonprofit organizations engaged in public transportation.
Any agency intending to apply should initiate the process of registering on the GRANTS.GOV site to ensure completion of registration before the submission deadline. For more information on this NOFO for the Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities Program, contact Mark G. Bathrick, Office of Program Management, (202) 366-9955.
For those interested in applying, FTA will host a webinar from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. ET Feb. 11. The webinar will detail the requirements and eligibility in order to apply, what will be reviewed upon submission and the submission process.
