Emergency Relief Program
What's New
- On July 8, FTA announced Emergency Relief Funding Allocations for Transit Systems Affected by Major Declared Disasters Occurring in 2018
- Information and FAQ about FTA assistance for novel coronavirus (COVID-19)
- On March 13, 2020, FTA announced that expanded eligibility of federal assistance is available under FTA’s Emergency Relief Program to help transit agencies respond to the coronavirus (COVID-19) in states where the Governor has declared an emergency. This includes allowing all transit providers, including those in large urban areas, to use federal formula funds for emergency-related capital and operating expenses, and raises the cap on the federal government’s share of those expenses.
- FTA's Hurricane and Natural Disaster Response webpage provides important information for transit agencies in the event of a disaster.
Overview
FTA’s Emergency Relief program, established under MAP-21 legislation, enables FTA to provide assistance to public transit operators in the aftermath of an emergency or major disaster. The program helps states and public transportation systems pay for protecting, repairing, and/or replacing equipment and facilities that may suffer or have suffered serious damage as a result of an emergency, including natural disasters such as floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes. The program can fund capital projects to protect, repair, or replace facilities or equipment that are in danger of suffering serious damage, or have suffered serious damage as a result of an emergency. The program can also fund the operating costs of evacuation, rescue operations, temporary public transportation service, or reestablishing, expanding, or relocating service before, during or after an emergency.
The Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013 provided the first appropriation for FTA’s Emergency Relief Program - $10.9 billion for FTA’s Emergency Relief Program for recovery and relief efforts in areas affected by Hurricane Sandy. After mandatory deductions, including sequestration, approximately $10.4 billion is available to FTA for allocation to states and transit operators affected by Hurricane Sandy.
The second appropriation for FTA’s Emergency Relief Program was $330 million provided through the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 for response and recovery related to Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria. For more information, see our Emergency Relief Program Overview presentation.