This is FTA

FTA is one of ten modal administrations within the U.S. Department of Transportation. Headed by an Administrator who is appointed by the President of the United States, FTA functions through a Washington, DC, headquarters office, ten regional offices, and a number of metropolitan offices which assist transit agencies in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa.

Public transportation includes buses, subways, light rail, commuter rail, monorail, passenger ferry boats, trolleys, inclined railways, and people movers.

The Federal government, through the FTA, provides financial assistance to develop new transit systems and improve, maintain, and operate existing systems. FTA oversees thousands of grants to hundreds of state and local transit providers, primarily through its regional and metropolitan offices. These grantees are responsible for managing their programs in accordance with Federal requirements, and FTA is responsible for ensuring that grantees follow Federal mandates along with statutory and administrative requirements.

Table of Contents

• Public Transit in the United States
• Planning and Project Development Process
• Major Assistance Programs
• Safety
• Oversight Requirements
• Grantee Requirements
• Initiatives and Other Programs
• How to Contact the FTA
• Appendix I: SAFETEA-LU Authorization Levels

Transit serves many public purposes, among the most important ones are: affordable mobility, congestion management, and supporting neighborhoods served by intensive transit services. These objectives are not mutually exclusive and frequently overlap.

PUBLIC PURPOSES

Affordable Mobility

Affordable mobility for all is the most fundamental reason for offering transit service. All transit systems provide low cost mobility for people who do not, or cannot, operate a motor vehicle because of personal preference, low income, disability, youth or old age. An important characteristic of low cost affordable mobility service is that regular access is provided to as many destinations as possible. Trip types include, school, medical, business, shopping, recreation, social, etc. It is estimated that these types of trips comprise about 65 percent of total transit ridership.

Congestion Management

Transit services that can compete effectively with the automobile are the most effective in mitigating traffic congestion. When transit provides reliable rapid door-to-door travel times, many automobile owners will choose transit to avoid the unreliability, stress, and delays of roadway congestion. On average, 56 percent of all transit riders have reduced travel time and efficient cost effective travel as their objective. These travelers tend to be served by transit systems in larger cities that have multimodal systems including rail and bus service. A congestion management trip offers travel times competitive with driving times for the same trip. Reduced congestion provides the additional benefits of improving air quality and conserving energy.

Supporting Transit Intensive Neighborhoods

Transit trips that help support household locations in densely developed neighborhoods served by intensive transit service are typically made where service frequency is high and land use patterns make it easy to reach bus stops and rail stations by walking. These areas served by transit are pedestrian-oriented and multiple-purpose central business districts and communities. On average, 51 percent of transit riders cite community livability for using transit. Pedestrian access to transit allows households and businesses to reduce their use of motor vehicles. In this way, transit helps support “Smart Growth.”

Economic Benefits of Transit

By economic yardsticks, the annual benefits that transit returns to the national economy easily outpace costs (by $26 billion in 1997). During the 1990s transit returned $23 billion per year in affordable mobility for households that prefer not to drive, cannot afford a car, or cannot drive due to age or disability; $19.4 billion per year in reduced congestion delays for rush-hour passengers and motorists; $10 billion per year in reduced auto ownership costs for residents of location efficient neighborhoods; up to $12 billion per year in reduced auto emissions; $2 billion savings per year in local human service agency budgets; and a 2 percent boost in property tax receipts from commercial real estate.

Transit System Usage and Characteristics

Five hundred fifty-six (556) local public transit operators provided transit services in 408 urbanized areas of over 50,000 population. An additional 1,215 organizations provided transit services in nonurbanized (rural) areas and 3,673 organizations provided specialized services to the elderly and to people with disabilities. Over 9 billion trips representing 46 billion passenger miles of transit services were provided in 2001.

Transit Finance

Almost all public transit systems need financial assistance. Fare box revenues on average account for only 40 percent of system operating costs. Transit systems receive funds from the Federal, state, and local levels, and private sector sources, and it remains essentially a public service that is provided and managed locally. There has been an increase in the number of urbanized areas served by a single transit system. Regional transit authorities and transit organizations, decision making, and financing are becoming much more common. As transit plays a more important role in regional job access and congestion mitigation and in shaping development, this change in transit organization and governance is expected to accelerate.

Collectively, all levels of government provided $21.0 billion for transit operations and capital improvements in 2000, with the Federal government contributing $5.3 billion, and State and local governments contributing $15.7 billion. Since 1991, the State and local share of total transit funding has remained around 75 percent.

In 2007, Federal funding for transit is nearly $9 billion.

Federal support for transit includes revenue from motor fuel taxes (from the Mass Transit Account of the Highway Trust Fund) and general fund appropriations. The amount of Federal motor fuel taxes dedicated for transit in the Mass Transit Account has totaled 2.86 cents per gallon since 1997. Sources of funds at the state and local levels include direct transit system taxing authority, property taxes, motor fuel taxes, tolls, sales taxes, income taxes, and a variety of other tax sources.

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The federally-mandated metropolitan transportation planning and project development process in the United States was established in 1964. The process was significantly expanded by the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) to include statewide planning, and was strengthened and reinforced by the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) in 1998 and the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) in 2005. The planning process is ongoing, as discussed below.

METROPOLITAN PLANNING
Contact: FTA Metropolitan or Regional Office

Regional or metropolitan transportation planning (49 USC § 5303) in urbanized areas – those over 50,000 in population – is performed by the metropolitan planning organization (MPO). MPOs are responsible for developing a long-range (minimum 20 years) transportation plan and a four-year transportation improvement program (TIP) for the area, in cooperation with the state and affected transit operators. The TIP must be consistent with the long-range plan and must include all projects in the metropolitan area that are proposed for funding with federal funds.

The major elements of transportation planning in metropolitan areas are as follows:

• A proactive and inclusive public involvement process;
• Consideration of eight broad areas: support for the economic vitality of the metropolitan area; increase safety of the transportation system; increase security of the transportation system; increase the accessibility and mobility for people and freight; protect and enhance the environment, promote energy conservation, improve the quality of life and promote consistency between transportation improvements and state and local planned growth and economic development patterns; enhance the integration and connectivity of the transportation system; promote efficient system management and operation; and emphasize the preservation of the existing transportation system;
• Area studies conducted to address significant transportation problems in a corridor or subarea that might involve the use of federal funds;
• Development of financial plans for implementing the transportation plan and TIP; and
• Assurance that the transportation plan and TIP in air quality nonattainment areas conform to the State Implementation Plan as required by the Clean Air Act as amended in 1990.

STATEWIDE PLANNING
Contact: FTA Metropolitan or Regional Office

Each state is responsible for the state-wide transportation planning process within its jurisdiction (49 USC § 5304). This planning process produces both the 20-year statewide transportation plan and the four-year statewide transportation improvement program (STIP). Statewide transportation plans include the future state vision for mobility that considers the same eight factors of the metropolitan planning process.

STIPs are short-term documents that list the projects to be advanced by the state over four years with federal funding. Only projects listed in the STIP can receive federal funding and must be consistent with the long-range plan. STIPs include all capital projects in rural areas as well as all capital projects contained in the metropolitan TIPs. STIPs are approved by the state, FTA, and the Federal Highway Administration at least every four years or when the STIPs are updated.

NEW STARTS PLANNING AND PROJECT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
Contact: FTA Metropolitan or Regional Office

FTA’s discretionary New Starts program is the federal government’s primary financial resource for supporting locally planned, implemented, and operated transit “guideway” capital investments. SAFETEA-LU authorize $8 billion in Section 5309 (49 USC § 5309) New Starts funding for fiscal years 2005 through 2009 for the construction of new transit projects. Projects seeking New Starts funding, like all federally-funded transportation investments in metropolitan areas, must emerge from a locally-driven, multimodal transportation planning process and follow FTA’s New Starts Planning and Project Development Process. Steps in the process include

1. alternatives analysis, where local agencies evaluate several modal and alignment options for addressing mobility needs in a given corridor and select a locally preferred alternative to implement;
2. preliminary engineering, where project costs, benefits, and impacts are refined; federal environmental studies are completed; and local funding commitments are secured; and
3. final design, which includes right-of-way acquisition, utility relocation, and the preparation of final construction plans.

SAFETEA-LU directs FTA to evaluate and rate New Starts projects as they proceed through the project development process and as input into federal funding recommendations published in the Department of Transportation’s Annual Report on New Starts to Congress. The ratings and evaluations of proposed New Starts are used to help identify those projects that are most worthy of federal investment.

Separate funding is provided for projects requesting less than $75 million in New Starts funds beginning in fiscal year 2007. These projects will be subjected to a simplified project development and rating process in which preliminary engineering and final design are combined into a single step called “project development.”

ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW PROCESS
Contact: FTA Metropolitan or Regional Office

Projects which are proposed for federal funding by FTA must meet the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). NEPA requires federal agencies to carefully consider the environmental effects of the projects they propose to fund before making a decision to proceed. Like other federal agencies, FTA relies on past experience with a wide variety of mass transit projects to select the appropriate level of environmental impact assessment and review.

Many types of projects can be processed with minimal or no environmental documentation. Major projects involving substantial new construction and greater off-site impacts are handled with specially prepared environmental documents and a formal review-and-comment process.

There are many single-purpose environmental protection statutes in addition to NEPA, such as Section 404 of the Clean Water Act; Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act; and Section 4(f) of the DOT Act. FTA’s general policy is to satisfy the requirements of related environmental statutes within the framework of NEPA compliance.

Another important goal of the environmental review process is to provide a forum for the general public to learn about a project proposal and react to it. Over three decades, many citizens have become aware of FTA’s responsibility to comply with NEPA. FTA uses this process as the primary means of soliciting comments about a project from the affected community. After public review and comment, FTA works with the local project sponsor, usually a public transit agency, to try to mitigate adverse environmental effects caused by the project.

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DOT'S HIGHEST PRIORITY AND FTA'S NUMBER ONE GOAL

TRANSIT SAFETY AND SECURITY STATISTICS
Contact: Office of Program Management 202-366-2896

FTA publishes an annual Safety Management Information System report that compiles and analyzes transit safety and security statistics reported through FTA’s National Transit Database. Safety data includes collisions and non-collisions (derailments, personal casualties, and fire). Security data is based on the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting System and includes violent crime, property crime, and other offenses. Additional data collection includes highway-rail grade crossing accidents.

SECURITY AUDITS
Contact: Office of Program Management 202-366-2896

The FTA Office of Safety and Security conducts voluntary audits of transit systems’ security functions. Upon request, the Office will review in-place security functions such as communications systems, equipment and technology; fare protection; employee training; crime reporting; coordination with local law enforcement agencies; emergency management procedures; and other key security operations. Recommendations for improvement are based on the concept of “system security” and recognized industry standards and best practices.

NATIONAL SAFETY AND SECURITY PROGRAM
Contact: Office of Program Management 202-366-2896

The safety and security program addresses a broad range of safety oversight and technical assistance initiatives. In the area of oversight, FTA ensures that recipients of Federal assistance under Sections 5309, 5307 and 5311 have implemented and are administering drug and alcohol testing programs for safety-sensitive employees. The State Safety Oversight program provides oversight of rail fixed guideway operations and the companion security audit activity assesses and recommends corrective actions to lessen a transit system’s vulnerability to serious security problems such as crime and vandalism. Technical assistance is provided through special studies, best practices, recommended guidelines, and safety data analysis that focus on particular safety issues of concern to the transit industry, for example, fatigue management.

FTA provides transit system personnel an opportunity to attend, without charge, 22 different safety focused training courses through financial support of the Transportation Safety Institute (TSI). Training courses include bus and rail system safety, substance abuse management, industrial safety, rail and bus accident investigation, emergency event management, alternative fuels, fatigue management, transit system security and bus operator safety.

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Oversight Requirements

OVERSIGHT PROGRAMS

FTA evaluates grantee effectiveness in carrying out project obligations under a grant agreement that is signed by FTA and the grantee after project approval. A site inspection may follow up on events that impact a grantee’s project or may take the form of a compliance review focused on civil rights, laws, regulations, or agreements.

PLANNING CERTIFICATION REVIEWS
Contact: Office of Planning and Environment 202-366-6385

23 U.S.C. 134 and 49 U.S.C. 5303 call for FHWA and FTA to certify jointly the transportation planning processes in metropolitan areas over 200,000 in population, known as Transportation Management Areas (TMAs), every four years (five years in air quality attainment areas).

The law states that these certifications may be issued if: (i) the transportation planning process complies with 23 U.S.C. 134 and 49 U.S.C. 5303 (as amended), and (ii) there is a TIP for the TMA that has been approved by the MPO and the Governor. The certification remains in effect for four years, unless a new finding is issued sooner. In practice, Certification Reviews are conducted jointly by FTA/FHWA field staff, with findings published in a final certification report. These reports note 1) Recommendations for Improvement (areas that could be improved but do not represent a regulatory deficiency), 2) Corrective Actions (areas where action needs to be taken to correct a regulatory deficiency, and timelines for such action) and 3) Commendations (areas of noteworthy planning practices or performance). These findings provide an overview of the Metropolitan Planning program, and identify areas where FTA/FHWA needs to provide guidance or direction to the process.

TRIENNIAL REVIEW
Contact: Office of Program Management 202-366-4020

FTA is required by law to perform reviews and evaluations of urbanized area formula program grantees to evaluate formula grant management performance and grantee compliance with FTA and other Federal requirements. The reviews must be conducted for each formula grant recipient at least once every three years with the results integrated into FTA’s grant management functions. The reviews are conducted by FTA staff and outside contractor teams following an annual work program. Desk reviews are followed by a site visit. The team documents its findings and recommendations in a draft triennial review report, which is furnished to the grantee for comment before it is released in final form to interested local, State and Federal officials.

When appropriate, corrective actions are recommended to resolve grantees’ program management deficiencies. FTA monitors the grantee’s performance until compliance with all program requirements is achieved. If needed, FTA can invoke sanctions to assure that grantees act to correct any noted program deficiencies.

STATE OVERSIGHT
Contact: Office of Program Management 202-366-4020

The State Management Review Program assesses the States’ implementation and management of the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities Program, the Nonurbanized Area Formula Program, and the State-administered portions of the Job Access and Reverse Commute Program and the New Freedom Program to ensure that they are being administered in accordance with FTA’s requirements and are meeting program objectives.

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS REVIEWS
Contact: Office of Program Management 202-366-4020

Grantees are selected for financial management oversight (FMO) reviews by FTA to provide FTA an oversight tool and the grantees with technical assistance on financial management systems issues. FTA contractors conduct a series of interviews, a review of grantee transactions, and several process and procedural tests. After the review, the contractor expresses an objective, external, independent professional opinion to FTA on the effectiveness of the grantees’ internal control environment and FTA decides whether the grantee’s financial management systems meet Federal requirements (Common rule, 49 CFR Part 18.20). An average FMO review takes three to four weeks, conducted at the grantee’s site.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT OVERSIGHT Contact: Office of Program Management 202-366-4020

FTA defines oversight as a continuous review and evaluation of grantee and FTA processes to ensure compliance with statutory, administrative, and regulatory requirements. Oversight of grantee project management focuses this review on the management of major investments in transit projects. This activity begins early in project implementation, usually at the time of preliminary engineering. PMO contractors monitor all major FTA projects, following guidelines established by FTA. They serve to supplement the FTA technical staff to evaluate grantee project management and technical capacity and capability to successfully implement these major transit projects. They also monitor the projects to determine whether they are progressing on time, within budget, and in accord with approved grantee plans and specifications. Other activities are also involved, such as reviews of whether a given design can in fact be constructed, change order reviews, and value engineering.

STATE SAFETY OVERSIGHT COMPLIANCE Contact: Office of Program Management 202-366-4020

FTA manages State Safety Oversight for Rail Fixed Guideway Systems under 49 CFR 659. The program mandates that states designate an independent Oversight Agency (OA) to oversee the safety of rail systems not regulated by the Federal Railroad Administration. FTA ensures the states’ compliance with the rule’s requirements. FTA provides OAs ongoing technical assistance in the form of guidance and training, including an annual workshop, implementation guidelines, and newsletters. Audits guide the states in ensuring that the program is implemented according to standards that they set forth.

DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING COMPLIANCE
Contact: Office of Program Management 202-366-4020

FTA implements regulations governing substance abuse management programs, under its drug and alcohol testing regulations for transit employees, published in February 1994. The ultimate goal of the program is promoting the riding public’s health and safety by eliminating illegal drug use and alcohol misuse by safety-sensitive employees.

PROCUREMENT SYSTEMS REVIEW
Contact: Office of Program Management 202-366-4020

Conduct of procurement system reviews of FTA grantees involves a site visit to ensure that the requirements and standards of the Common Rule on administrative requirements for grants, 49 CFR Part 18.36 as it specifically applies to procurements, are met, as well as FTA Circular 4220.1E, Third Party Contracting Requirements.

CIVIL RIGHTS
Contact: Office of Civil Rights 202-366-4018

FTA’s enabling legislation includes the non-discriminatory use of Federal funds by recipients of FTA assistance, including their sub-recipients and contractors. FTA ensures non-discrimination through oversight of grantee implementation of required civil rights regulations and policy. Compliance reviews and assessments are conducted to determine if the grantee’s required efforts under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, (including aspects of Environmental Justice), Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO), Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) programs, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) requirements are in compliance as represented to the FTA.

The Environmental Justice Executive Order 12898, Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations (EO 12898) addresses fair treatment of all people regardless of race, color, ethnicity or income with respect to the benefits and burdens of environmentally related programs, policies and activities. EO 12898 directs each Federal agency “to make achieving environmental justice part of its mission by identifying and addressing, as appropriate, disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects of its programs, policies, and activities on minority populations and low-income populations.” The EO and accompanying Presidential Memorandum emphasize that agencies should utilize existing laws, such as the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, to achieve this mission.

FTA has integrated Title VI and Environmental Justice considerations into FTA’s general grant program. In FY 1999, FTA developed joint FTA/FHWA policy emphasizing environmental justice considerations in the metropolitan planning review process. An example of this is the Office of Civil Rights’ work with the FTA Office of Planning and Environment to ensure that recipients of FTA funds incorporate Title VI requirements into the planning process for transit projects and activities. Title VI requirements include:

FTA continues to monitor the implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act by its grantees to ensure that persons with disabilities have access to accessible mass transit services as required by law. FTA enforcement concentrates on three primary areas. These areas are: ADA Complementary Paratransit Service, accessibility of the fixed route, and the accessibility of rail service through the enforcement of the requirements applicable to existing designated key stations as well as those newly built and those undergoing major renovations.

Contact FTA via email at FTA.ADAAssistance@dot.gov and (888-446-4511) ADA toll free hotline to provide customer service to persons with disabilities and transit providers who have questions about, or who are experiencing difficulties with, public transportation.

Another significant effort is FTA’s ADA Key Station Assessments. Together with the quarterly reviews, FTA continues to monitor the compliance at these stations on a regular basis. Like the triennial review, the assessments are a “check and balance” tracking system. ADA key rail station compliance continues to be challenging in that these stations were built at different times, with differing facilities and standards in their construction. Nationally known experts on key station compliance within the transportation community conduct the FTA ADA Key Station assessments. The assessments are state of the art and continue to provide both technical assistance to the grantees and ensure ADA compliance.

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GRANTEE REQUIREMENTS
Contact: Office of Program Management 202-366-4020

The Federal Transit Act, as amended, directs FTA to rely on individual grantee certifications of compliance with many FTA requirements. For all FTA grants, it also establishes a statutory scheme of 1) grantee self-certifications at the grant award phase, 2) annual audits to ascertain that grantees are carrying out their programs of projects, and 3) triennial reviews by FTA, which also address grantee performance regarding self-certifications, the planned projects, their implementation and compliance with statutory and administrative requirements.

Grantee certifications and assurances of compliance with Federal requirements are contained in one document that is published annually in conjunction with the publication of the annual apportionment notice. The required grantee certifications, substantiated by annual independent audits and triennial reviews, stand in lieu of detailed scrutiny by FTA staff. Much of the information provided in developing the grant pertains to the determination of grantee compliance and, as such, is retained and incorporated into the triennial review process.

Certifications and Assurances

Each applicant for Federal assistance awarded by FTA must submit the following certifications and assurances:

• Authorization of Applicants and its Representatives
• Standard Assurances
• Debarment/Suspension
• Drug Free Workplace Agreement
• Intergovernmental Review
• Nondiscrimination
• Disadvantaged Business Enterprise
• Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability
• Procurement Compliance
• Certifications Prescribed by OMB
• Lobbying Certification for an Application Exceeding $100,000
• Certification on Effects on Private Mass Transportation Companies
• Public Hearing Certification - Substantial Effect on a Community or its Transit Service
• Pre-Award and Post Delivery Reviews for Acquisition of Rolling Stock
• Bus Testing Certification for New Bus Acquisitions
• Charter Service Agreement
• School Transportation Agreement
• Demand Responsive Service
• Substance Abuse Certification
• Drug and Alcohol Testing
• Drug-Free Workplace
• Interest or Other Financing Costs
• Certifications & Assurances for Urbanized Area Formula Program and Job Access and Reverse Commute
• Certifications & Assurances for Elderly and Persons with Disabilities Program
• Certifications & Assurances for Nonurbanized Area Formula Program
• Certifications & Assurances for State Infrastructure Bank Program

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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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FTA’s Regional and metropolitan offices are responsible for implementation of grants and the provision of financial assistance to FTA customers, other than specific programs that are the responsibility of headquarters. Inquiries should be directed to either the Regional or metropolitan office responsible for the geographic area in which you are located.

Headquarters
Federal Transit Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
East Building
Washington, DC 20590
Office of Communications and Congressional  Affairs (202) 366-4043
Fax: (202) 366-3472

REGION 1
Transportation Systems Center
Kendall Square
55 Broadway, Suite 920
Cambridge, MA 02142-1093
Telephone: (617) 494-2055
Fax: (617) 494-2865
Areas served: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut

REGION 2
One Bowling Green
Room 429
New York, NY 10004-1415
Telephone: (212) 668-2170
Fax: (212) 668-2136
Areas served:New York, New Jersey, and U.S. Virgin Islands

REGION 3
1760 Market Street
Suite 500
Philadelphia, PA 19103-4124
Telephone: (215) 656-7100
Fax: (215) 656-7260
Areas served: Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, and District of Columbia

REGION 4
Atlanta Federal Center
230 Peachtree Street, N.W.
Suite 800
Atlanta, GA 30303
Telephone: (404) 865-5620
Fax: (404) 685-5605
Areas served: North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, and Puerto Rico

REGION 5
200 West Adams Street
Suite 2410
Chicago, IL 60606
Telephone: (312) 353-2789
Fax: (312) 886-0351
Areas served: Illinois, Ohio, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Michigan

REGION 6
819 Taylor Street
Room 8A36
Fort Worth, TX 76102
Telephone: (817) 978-0550
Fax: (817) 978-0575
Areas served:Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, and New Mexico

REGION 7
901 Locust Street
Suite 404
Kansas City, MO 64106
Telephone: (816) 329-3920
Fax: (816) 329-3921
Areas served: Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, and Missouri

REGION 8
12300 West Dakota Ave., Suite 310
Lakewood, CO 80228-2583
Telephone: (720) 963-3300
Fax: (720) 963-3333
Areas served:Colorado, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, and North Dakota

REGION 9
201 Mission Street, Room 2210
San Francisco, CA 94105-1926
Telephone: (415) 744-3133
Fax: (415) 744-2726
Areas served: California, Arizona, Nevada, Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands

REGION 10
Jackson Federal Building
915 Second Avenue, Suite 3142
Seattle, WA 98174-1002
Telephone: (206) 220-7954
Fax: (206) 220-7959
Areas served: Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Alaska

MetropolitanOffices/Lower Manhatten Recovery Office

New York Metropolitan Office
One Bowling Green, Room 428
New York, NY 10004-1415
Telephone: (212) 668-2201
Fax: (212) 668-2136
Area served: New York Metropolitan Area

Lower Manhatten Recovery Office
One Bowling Green, Room 436
New York, NY 10004-1415
Telephone: (212) 668-1770
Fax: (212) 668-2505
Area served: Lower Manhatten Recovery Area

Philadelphia Metropolitan Office
1760 Market Street, Suite 510
Philadelphia, PA 19103-4124
Telephone: (215) 656-7070
Fax: (215) 656-7269
Area served: Philadelphia Metropolitan Area

Chicago Metropolitan Office
200 West Adams Street
Suite 2410 (24th floor)
Chicago, IL 60606
Telephone: (312) 886-1616
Fax: (312) 886-0351
Area served: Chicago Metropolitan Area

Los Angeles Metropolitan Office
888 S. Figueroa, Suite 1850
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Telephone: (213) 202-3950
Fax: (213) 202-3961
Area served: Los Angeles Metropolitan Area

Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Office
1990 K Street, NW
Suite 510
Washington, DC 20006
Telephone: (202) 219-3562/219-3565
Fax: (202) 219-3545
Area served: Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area

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