Answer:

The complexity of operating in an urban environment is complicated by multimodal interactions with bicycles, emergency vehicles, pedestrians, etc. A fully-automated transit vehicle would need to be able to distinguish between bystanders and would-be passengers, who are actively walking toward the vehicle or waiting at a designated stop.

FTA is exploring potential non-technical challenges, such as federal policies regarding procurement, accessibility, labor, and other topics. The existing policies were all written with the assumption of a human operator.

Answer:

Funds allocated for response, recovery, and rebuilding may be used for eligible expenses according to statute and FTA regulation, including:

• Repair / replacement of damaged or destroyed assets to a state of good repair;
• Emergency operating expenses for evacuations, temporary emergency service, disaster preparation, and temporary repairs/protective measures.

Funds allocated for resilience projects may be spent on capital projects that are designed and built specifically to address existing and future vulnerabilities to damages from disasters. Please see FTA’s Emergency Relief Manual for further detail.

Answer:

The VTCLI grant program can be used for capital expenses of a one-call center such as hardware, software, in-vehicle technology, facility-related costs, engineering and design.

Answer:

FTA and FHWA’s shared planning regulation, found at 23 CFR 450 outlines federal expectations for statewide and metropolitan planning agencies in effectively engaging the public, including low-income and minority communities. Planning agencies are required to evaluate the effectiveness of these strategies and, where necessary, improve public involvement processes to eliminate participation barriers and engage minority and low-income populations in transportation decision making. Grantees should develop and implement strategies for meaningful engagement of the community, including members of EJ populations as a part of the planning process. Through effective public engagement grantees are able to identify and understand the needs of the community as a whole, and incorporate those needs into transportation plans and programs. FTA’s regulation outlines MPO requirements for producing public participation plans with specific outreach strategies for transportation plan and program development that “describe explicit procedures, strategies, and desired outcomes for” public engagement, which includes low-income and minority populations, as well as a process for periodically evaluating the effectiveness of these outreach strategies. Direct outreach to individuals and engagement with organizations that represent members of the EJ community are methods to determine the needs and concerns of environmental justice populations. Reaching out to the EJ populations in their community is critical. Public engagement is not a one-size-fits-all approach and should be scaled to the specific impacts of the proposed action, as well as the resources available. Many agencies rely on formal meetings as the foundation of their public engagement plans because these are often required by law; however, agencies should consider going beyond the traditional methods of public outreach to incorporate innovative approaches that leverage the ever-changing communications environment in which we live. Effective communication methods include distributing flyers at the local community center, churches, or grocery stores, and posting information on vehicles, at bus stops, transit stations, and other locations frequented by riders. Materials also should be prepared for persons with limited-English proficiency. “Meaningful public engagement” does not mean that every issue or concern raised by the community must be resolved. However, it does mean that grantees work diligently to engage in a meaningful public dialogue with the communities impacted by the proposed action, listen to what they have to say, respond to their comments and concerns, and incorporate their comments into the transportation decision-making process where practicable.

Answer:

FTA recognizes that landscaping is an integral and functional element of many transit facilities.  For example, landscaping can be used to aid in the absorption or drainage of storm water, prevention of erosion, support of structures on a steep grade, minimization of noise impacts, protection of habitat,  provision of shade in hot climates, channeling of pedestrian or vehicle traffic, definition of publicly accessible and inaccessible areas, and many other purposes.  In interpreting the term “functional landscaping” under this provision of law, FTA draws a similar distinction, as with art, between functionally appropriate landscape design and landscape elements installed solely for visual or aesthetic appeal.
For example, an eligible landscaping expense would include the installation of shade trees near a passenger station entrance.  Likewise, FTA would allow the use of grant funds to install dense shrubs surrounding the area containing the transit system’s electrical equipment.  FTA would expect the grantee to select particular varieties of trees and shrubs that are well-suited for the particular location and climate.

Answer:

For the purposes of the EEO Program, "requests or receives" means the FTA formula or competitive grants that an entity was awarded in the previous fiscal year for capital, operations, or planning expenditures. For this monetary threshold, FTA is not interested in the expenditures or grant drawdowns by an agency.

Answer:

If the expenses have already been paid out of a contingency in the budget, then they are Category 1 expenses and do not require documentation of budgeting, which is for future expenditures. For future expenditures to be paid from a contingency, there should be some documentation showing either budgeting or approval of the use of the contingency line item (Board meeting minutes, for example). This documentation should be included in the initial proposal.

Answer:

Communities with existing one-call centers are encouraged to apply for a VTCLI grant to expand their services. Such communities should detail how the planning and design process will incorporate veterans groups and needs that have not been addressed by the current one-call services.

Answer:

For the ABFE+1/FEMA Best Available+1 requirement, applicants must submit documentation showing that they have identified the appropriate flood hazard area and the best available base flood elevation for the project location, or locations, as applicable. Applicant must also provide an explanation of how a proposed project was designed to make the asset resilient based on this flood hazard information. Applicants should cite the relevant FEMA map source and/or FEMA flood insurance study for the project location.

Answer:

Commuter highway vehicle and vanpool vehicle are vehicles with seating capacity for at least six (6) adults (not including the driver); and at least 80 percent of the mileage use can be reasonably expected to be for the purposes of transporting commuters in connection with travel between their residences and their places of employment.

Answer:

The Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Emergency Relief (ER) Program is authorized by Congress and enables FTA to reimburse public transit operators in the aftermath of an emergency or major disaster to help pay for protecting, repairing, or replacing equipment and facilities that may suffer or have suffered serious damage. The program also funds the operating costs of evacuation, rescue operations, or temporary public transportation service during or after an emergency.

Under the ER Program, FTA may make grants for capital projects to protect, repair, or replace damaged assets, and for operating expenses incurred while responding to a declared emergency or major disaster.

Answer:

In the spring of 2014, FTA extended pre-award authority for costs associated with the environmental review, as well as design and engineering expenses for selected projects. These costs may remain eligible for reimbursement or may count towards the local match, regardless of the date incurred. Pre-award authority for other costs is extended as of September 22, 2014.
Consistent with FTA policy on pre-award authority, a project must have met all applicable Federal requirements prior to incurring expenses. The recipient assumes all risk and is responsible for ensuring that all applicable federal program and grant requirements are met to retain eligibility. Recipients are also advised that incurring certain project costs prior to NEPA completion may render the entire project ineligible for Federal assistance. Therefore, FTA strongly encourages all recipients to consult with the appropriate FTA regional office regarding the anticipated environmental review requirements and the applicability of Federal conditions and requirements before incurring expenses under pre-award authority with the hope of future reimbursement.
Note that any expenses incurred for projects that were NOT selected may not be reimbursed under the Emergency Relief program, but may be eligible for reimbursement under FTA formula programs such as Section 5307.

Answer:

FTA encourages the use of a wide variety of tools to engage the public. Social media should not replace traditional public meetings, but can be a very useful supplement that provides greater opportunity to engage the public. Be sure to establish a policy (it can be brief) to outline expectations for users about how their input will be considered and whether comments submitted via social media are considered “official” comments and will be included in the administrative record. TCRP Synthesis Report 99, Uses of Social Media in Public Transportation provides helpful case studies and information.

Answer:

Heavy maintenance generally refers to occasional or periodic maintenance on facilities, such as track work, or cleaning a station and making minor repairs to that station after the storm, as opposed to restoring vehicles to operable status. Repairing vehicles seriously damaged in the storm to an operable status is an eligible expense.

Answer:

Funds made available for the FTA Emergency Relief Program are available until expended, and thus do not have a lapse date. Once obligated, funds must be expended within 24 months. FTA is working to resolve questions and concerns regarding this issue and will post information as it becomes available.

Answer:

The FHWA and FTA joint planning rule (23 CFR 450.324) provides that "emergency relief projects" that do not involve substantial functional, locational, or capacity changes are not required to be included in the TIP/STIP. For purposes of FTA's Emergency Relief Program (ERP), "emergency relief projects" may include recovery funded projects, and if applicable, integral resiliency-elements for the said specific recovery projects. Generally, it does not apply to stand-alone or auxiliary resiliency projects funded out of a project sponsor's local priority resiliency allocation or future competitive resiliency allocations. For these category of projects and others that would not qualify under the exception, grantees must ensure the projects funded under this program are included in the TIP and STIP prior to incurring costs.To qualify for this exception, the grantee must certify in writing that the project funded under FTA’s ERP does not involve substantial functional, locational or capacity changes and that the local share is available. The Grantee must submit this documentation to FTA in order for the project to be considered eligible for federal participation. If a Grantee is unsure whether a project qualifies as one of the exceptions, it should contact the FTA. If during the grant award process the FTA determines that the exception does not apply to a specific project that the Grantee certified, then that project must be programmed on the TIP/STIP. Absent a certification stating that the project qualifies as one of the exceptions or a previously issued waiver, the FTA expects projects funded under FTA’s ERP be included in the TIP/STIP prior to incurring costs.

Answer:

FTA does not require a stand-alone EJ analysis for the S/TIP. Chapter IV of the Circular describes how environmental justice considerations at the planning level, which extend to the S/TIP, are addressed primarily through data collection and comparative analysis, and public engagement.
As projects are prioritized from the plan into the S/TIP, and then selected from the S/TIP for implementation, it is assumed that a S/TIP would be equally reflective of EJ considerations as the plan from which it is derived. FTA expects that projects that primarily benefit an EJ community would be equally likely to move forward into implementation as any other project.

Answer:

Labor costs that can be directly allocated to emergency operations are eligible. This includes straight-time and over-time. Stand-by time is eligible as long as the stand-by time expenses were incurred for an eligible activity, for example operators placed on stand-by for evacuations or temporary service. Leave (administrative or personal) taken during the emergency is not an eligible expense. Accrued leave and other fringe benefits earned by hourly employees are eligible if the expenses can be allocated to an eligible ER activity and an indirect cost rate is not applied to the grant. Fringe benefits for all salaried employees, as well as straight-time labor for salaried management are not eligible as a direct cost. Over-time for salaried management may be eligible as reimbursement for emergency operations if the over-time can be allocated to eligible activities.

Indirect costs, which may include non-allocable fringe benefits, are an eligible expense and may be applied to the grant if the applicant has an approved Cost Allocation Plan or Indirect Cost Rate Proposal, or the applicant may use the de minimis rate if eligible. Please see section 4.1.3 “Eligible Projects and Costs” of FTA’s Emergency Relief Manual for more information.

Answer:

Other eligible activities may include office supplies; personal protective equipment; technical engineering and inspection tools; uniforms; vehicle operational expenses; furniture; course registration and fees; conferences, workshops, and seminars; and travel, per diem, mileage, and lodging. Please see Appendix B of 2 C.F.R. Part 225 (PDF) and consult with your FTA regional office.

Answer:

Generally if the facility was in transit use at the time of the disaster and the facility sustained damage, ER funds will be made available to bring the aspects of the facility that were damaged by the storm up to a state of good repair.
 
For example, if an administrative building was in use by the transit agency and in poor condition but was flooded with 6 inches of water during a the storm, ER funds could be used to repair or replace damaged flooring, drywall, office equipment, etc. at current standards.

If a facility was not in transit use at the time of the damage, whether due to age, condition or other reasons, the damage would not be eligible for repair.  However, ER funds may be available to reimburse for debris removal and other expenses that return the property to a safe status as long as the facility is still owned by the transit agency.