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FTA has several other initiatives that concern transit safety, livable communities, and financing techniques.
INTERNATIONAL MASS TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM
Contact: Office of Research, Demonstration, & Innovation 202-366-0955
The FTA International Mass Transportation Program (IMTP) (49 U.S.C. 5312(e)) helps further the DOT and FTA strategic goals of advancing U.S. economic growth and global competitiveness. The IMTP is authorized to develop and monitor information about global market opportunities, cooperate with the foreign public sector on research, development, and technology transfer, promote U.S. products and services in mass transit markets, and provide FTA technical services to foreign public authorities on a cost recovery basis.
IMTP activities include development of intergovernmental agreements on science and technology exchange; technology/information exchange to foster information flow between the U.S. and other countries; human capacity building by familiarizing transit management officials with best practices from abroad; and classroom instruction and practical training for foreign public sector officials in planning and operating public transit systems. This training showcases best practices and innovative transit technology from the United States.
LIVABLE COMMUNITIES
Contact: Office of Planning and Environment 202-366-4033
 The FTA Livable Communities initiative demonstrates ways to improve the link between transportation and communities. It promotes customer friendly, community oriented, and well designed facilities and services. The characteristics of community sensitive transit facilities and services include readily available customer information and services; a safe and secure environment; sufficient pedestrian and bicycle access; and architecture that reflects the values of the community.
The Initiative encourages transportation agencies and local governments to introduce proposed transportation improvements to communities in the early stages of the planning process.
INNOVATIVE FINANCING
Contact: Office of Budget and Policy 202-366-1675
The Innovative Financing program involves the application of a wide variety of established and newly emerging financing techniques, commonly used in other sectors of the economy, to transit. Effective use of these techniques can reduce the financing costs of transit infrastructure and therefore reduce the overall cost of providing transit service. Additionally, they provide opportunities for transit systems and private sector firms to develop mutually beneficial partnerships for infrastructure investment.
These financing techniques include certificates of participation, cross border leases, domestic leases, joint development, turnkey, and state infrastructure banks.
TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE FINANCE AND INNOVATION
Contact: Office of Budget and Policy 202-366-1675
The Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 1998 (TIFIA) (TEA-21, Sections 1501-1504) will provide Federal credit assistance for major transportation investments of critical national importance, such as intermodal facilities, border crossing infrastructure, expansion of multi-State highway trade corridors, and other investments with regional and national benefits. The TIFIA credit program is designed to fill market gaps and leverage substantial private co-investment by providing supplemental and subordinate capital.
 The TIFIA credit program consists of secured loans, loan guarantees, and standby lines of credit designed to address projects’ varying requirements throughout their life cycles. Any type of project that is eligible for Federal assistance through surface transportation programs under Title 23 or chapter 53 of Title 49 U.S.C. (highway projects and transit capital projects) is eligible for the TIFIA credit program. In addition, the following types of projects are eligible: international bridges and tunnels; inter-city passenger bus and rail facilities and vehicles (including Amtrak and magnetic levitation systems); and publicly owned intermodal freight transfer facilities (except seaports or airports) on or adjacent to the National Highway System.
TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNITY AND SYSTEMS PRESERVATION PILOT PROGRAM
Contact: Office of Budget and Policy 202-366-1668
The Transportation and Community and System Preservation Pilot Program (TCSP) (TEA-21, Section 1221) provides funding for a comprehensive initiative including planning grants, implementation grants, and research to investigate and address the relationships between transportation and community and system preservation and to identify private sector-based initiatives.
Any project eligible for funding under Title 23 or chapter 53 of Title 49 U.S.C. is eligible for TCSP funds as well as any other activity relating to the purposes of this section when determined appropriate by the Secretary. These may include corridor preservation activities necessary to implement transit oriented development plans, traffic calming measures, or other coordinated preservation practices. Funds are administered by FHWA.
States, metropolitan planning organizations and local governments are eligible for planning and for implementation grants that meet the purposes of this section to improve the efficiency of the transportation system; to reduce impacts of transportation on the environment; to reduce the need for costly future public infrastructure investments; to ensure efficient access to jobs, services and centers of trade; and to examine and encourage private sector development patterns that meet these purposes.
JOINT PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM
Contact: Office of Research, Demonstration, & Innovation 202-366-4052
The Joint Partnership Program [49 U.S.C. 5312(d)] will be the primary deployment mechanism for the activities of the National Research and Technology Program. Through these partnerships, FTA seeks to deploy innovations in cooperation with transit agencies, system suppliers, and other Federal agencies. This helps to increase competition and leverage scarce Federal funding. NATIONAL TRANSIT DATABASE
Contact: Office of Program Management 202-366-4020
This industry reporting activity (49 U.S.C. 5335) is administered and funded by FTA. Each year, more than 500 transit operators report to FTA on transit in more than 300 urbanized areas. The database is a major source of public transportation vehicle, capital investment, revenue, operating, and safety data. The database was designed to provide information for service planning by public transit systems. FTA publishes various annual reports based on these data. An important industry safety information resource developed through NTD is the data provided in the “Safety Management and Information Statistics” annual report.
COMMUTER CHOICE PROGRAM
Contact: Office of Budget and Policy 202-366-1698
 The Commuter Choice program provides incentives to employees to commute to work by means other than single occupancy vehicle. It promotes a greater range of employer-provided commuting benefits which can reduce traffic congestion, improve air quality, and conserve energy. It also allows employers to tailor transportation benefits to their individual employees’ needs and assists employers in attracting and retaining qualified workers in a tight labor market. Considered “qualified transportation fringe benefits” under the Internal Revenue Code, employers may provide employees any of the following:
- Transit and/or vanpool vouchers or passes up to $65 per month, tax free ($100 per month beginning on January 1, 2002)
- Qualified parking up to $175 per month, tax free at park-and-ride lots, at vanpool staging areas, or at or near the worksite for vanpools and carpools
- Parking cash out whereby the employer offers the employee the option to accept taxable cash instead of a parking space, to be used for alternative methods of commuting to work, such as walking, biking, rollerblading, or carpooling
Transit, vanpool, and parking benefits are free of any Federal income or payroll taxes up to the monthly limits. However, State laws vary regarding excludability from taxable income for State income taxes. Employers may use either corporate funds or permit employees to exchange pre-taxed salary to pay for any of these benefits. All benefit levels are indexed to inflation and are subject to change on an annual basis.
FTA has published the Commuter Choice Tool Kit, a comprehensive guide to implementing Commuter Choice at the worksite. Hard copies are available from any FTA regional office and an electronic version is posted on the FTA Home Page. Numerous FTA grantees offer Commuter Choice programs to employers in their service areas.
JOINT DEVELOPMENT
Contact: Metropolitan or Regional Office
Joint development involves the common use of property for transit and non-transit purposes. FTA policy, published in March 1997, indicated that transit operators were expected to generate revenue from land around their transit facilities. Under TEA-21, transit operators are allowed to sell excess land and retain all of the proceeds to defray the capital costs of a transit project. Proximity to rail transit enhances the value of residential property and increases the opportunity for fostering community and development partnerships.
FTA grantees may use FTA financial assistance for joint development projects that are physically or functionally related to transit or that increase transit ridership in a corridor. Such projects may include disposing of land for nearby real estate development, preparing land for development, providing enhanced access, and developing on-site community services such as dependent care, health care, public safety, or commercial conveniences.
The eight factors that grantees should address for joint development projects are:
- establishing the physical or functional relationship to transit;
- coordinating the site and functional plans to avoid non-incidental use;
- existence of program income to recover the cost of the project;
- designing transit and related services in an integrated manner;
- determining the market and financial feasibility of the transit-related components;
- producing supportive land use policies, urban design guidelines, and transportation management strategies to increase transit ridership;
- development of a joint development agreement; and
- compliance with cross-cutting Federal requirements and executive orders.
INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS
Contact: Office of Research, Demonstration, & Innovation 202-366-4991
Intelligent transportation systems (ITS) are the integrated use of advanced technologies and management strategies to increase safety and efficiency of our surface transportation system. ITS can be used to monitor traffic and notify authorities about stalled vehicles (buses, truck, cars, etc) or collisions so they can be cleared quickly, and traffic can move more efficiently. “Smart signs” warn vehicle operators about collisions ahead and electronic toll collection helps reduce congestion.
In support of ITS, FTA funds may be used for, among other things, electronic fare payment systems, transit management systems, traveler information systems, incident management systems, and signal priority systems.
HUMAN SERVICES TRANSPORTATION COORDINATION
Contact: Office of Program Management 202-366-4020
The Coordinating Council on Access and Mobility was established in 1986 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Transportation. The Council promotes quality transportation services by encouraging the coordination of the program efforts of government and non-profit human service agencies with public transit and paratransit providers. The Council brings together Federal agencies which fund or purchase transportation services to improve the availability and quality of community transportation services.
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT
Contact: Office of Communications and Congressional Affairs 202-366-4043
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) generally provides that any person has a right, enforceable in court, of access to Federal agency records, except to the extent that such records are protected from disclosure by one of nine exemptions or by one of three special law enforcement record exclusions. The Office of Communications and Congressional Affairs has the responsibility within the Federal Transit Administration for handling all FOIA requests involving FTA.
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