The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) has announced the availability of funding for local public transit alliances focused on grassroots advocacy efforts that can help achieve equitable local public transportation goals.
APTA will award grants ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 to organizations that:
- Prioritize equitable transportation projects that improve access and mobility for underserved populations;
- Incorporate methods to increase citizen participation in the public engagement process, especially low-income and communities of color; and
- Promote safe and sustainably equitable transit policies that lessen the effects of climate change on disadvantaged communities.
Additional activities could include projects in partnership with local chambers of commerce or other prominent business organizations that support public transportation and community mobility and efforts to educate decision makers about policies favorable to public transportation.
Any local public transportation coalition is eligible, provided it has the support of the local APTA public transit member(s) and is a member of the National Alliance of Public Transportation Advocates (NAPTA). Membership in NAPTA is free. For this grant program, a coalition is defined as a collection of groups or individuals joined together for the common purpose of promoting public transit.
Applications are accepted through Nov. 3, 2021, and can be found on APTA’s website.
