Answer:

If an applicant is proposing to use their own funds as local match, the documentation of the availability of such funds in a capital or financial plan is recommended. If local match will be provided by a separate entity, a letter that promises the availability of funds should be submitted. Finally, if an applicant will need to raise funds for a project, such as through the issuance of bonds, a description and timeline for that process should be provided.

Answer:

Contractors determine the monetary threshold by counting the amount of federal funding received or requested through applicable contracts (including, but not limited to, for capital projects, operations, and planning, but excluding construction contracts) from the direct recipient in the previous fiscal year.

Subrecipients determine the monetary threshold by counting the amount of federal funding received or requested from the direct recipient in the previous fiscal year.

Answer:

Work that has been budgeted (but for which an RFP has not been advertised) is eligible for funding under the prorated allocation, not under Categories 1-3. The RFP, when issued, will need to comply with all federal requirements unless FTA issues a waiver to the applicant pursuant to the waiver process detailed in the Notice of Availability of Emergency Relief Funding. Force account work associated with that contract should not be requested under Category 3, unless it has independent utility and is not contingent upon a future contract action.

Answer:

FTA suggests a variety of options for integrating EJ considerations into existing programs, planning and project development processes, including:
Ensuring that the level and quality of public transportation service is provided in a non-discriminatory manner: for example, when considering transit routes and service options, grantees should take into account the challenges faced by low-income and minority households who are dependent on transit for accessing employment and other services.
Promoting full and fair participation in transportation decision-making without regard to race, color, national origin or income: for example, grantees should (and MPOs must) be able to demonstrate how they seek out and consider the needs of those traditionally underserved by existing transportation systems and should periodically review the effectiveness of the procedures, strategies, and desired outcomes contained in their public participation plan to ensure a full and open participation process, which considers the needs of low-income and minority households.
Ensuring meaningful access to public transportation-related programs and activities by persons with limited English proficiency: for example, grantees can prepare additional literature in the languages which are predominant in their regions.

Answer:

There is no single way to define or quantify the benefits and burdens of a long range plan or TIP. Each community should look to visioning, long range planning, TIP development, and the public participation plan as opportunities to collaboratively define and then implement community priorities regarding environmental justice. For this reason, extensive public involvement is the center piece of the planning process. Benefits and burdens should be locally determined in collaboration with the low-income and minority population in any given community. There is no one-size-fits-all solution. FTA’s and FHWA’s shared planning regulation specifically requires grantees to develop explicit procedures, strategies, and desired outcomes for public involvement, make special efforts to engage members of low-income and minority communities, and periodically evaluate the effectiveness of that engagement from visioning to project development and operations. The fundamental objective of public engagement programs is to ensure that the concerns and issues of everyone with a stake in transportation decisions are identified and addressed in the development of the policies, programs, and projects being proposed in their communities. For many of grantees, engaging EJ populations in the transportation decision-making process is a standard part of their overall public engagement plan that is integrated throughout the process, from the earliest stages (long-range planning, visioning, and scenario planning) through project implementation (construction, operation, and on-going evaluation).

Answer:

If the amounts expended for acquisition of a van is undertaken through a third party leased van, the third party should follow FTA’s Capital Cost of Contracting guidance found in chapter IV, pages 11-13 of FTA circular 9030.1E to determine the amount that can be treated as local match.

Answer:

The information requested in the charts above can be attached in FTA’s Electronic Award Management System (EAMS), (e.g. TEAM or TrAMS).

Answer:

Yes. While the official applicant and recipient of the funds must be an eligible public agency, organizations engaged in transportation or veterans issues are encouraged to participate in the application process and even lead the development of a community’s proposal.

Answer:

Yes! Any transit agency impacted by these hurricanes that is an FTA direct recipient, State, or Territory may apply for Emergency Relief funding even if it is not listed as receiving an allocation. If your agency is a subrecipient to another organization that receives FTA funding, you can apply through that organization. Contact your FTA regional office for more information.

Answer:

No, if a bus is filled to capacity, a driver is not required to remove other passengers from the bus in order to make room for additional persons with disabilities. However, the driver would still be required to request that persons without disabilities vacate priority seating locations they may be occupying.

Answer:

The city or county EEO Program is likely not transit-focused and therefore may not meet the EEO Program requirements in the FTA EEO Circular. For example, the reporting requirements in the FTA EEO Circular require counting transit-related employees, whereas a city or county EEO Program may count all employees of the city or county. However, if the city or county program fulfills all the requirements of FTA EEO Circular 4704.1A, then the city or county EEO Program may be sufficient for the transit agency’s submission. Even if the full city or county EEO Program is not sufficient for FTA submission, some components required by the FTA EEO Circular may overlap, and may be able to be used, such as the EEO Policy Statement.

If a city or county transit agency reaches the two-prong threshold noted in Circular Section 1.4, and is a direct recipient, the transit agency must submit an EEO Program to FTA that fulfills the requirements of Circular 4704.1A. If the entity is a subrecipient that meets the two-prong threshold in Circular Section 1.4, the program must be filed with the direct recipient.

Answer:

A contractor must satisfy the EEO requirements for each transit agency with which it has a contract. For example, if Contractor A has contracts with five different transit agencies, it must meet the EEO requirements for each agency. When counting transit-related employees for purposes of the threshold, it would count how many transit-related employees it has with each transit agency. For example, if Contractor A has contracts with Transit Agency Y and Transit Agency Z, and has 60 transit-related employees at Y and 110 transit-related employees at Z, and met the monetary threshold for each, it would be required to submit an EEO Program to Transit Agency Z, as it met the thresholds, but would only be required to prepare and maintain an EEO Program as outlined in Circular Section 1.4 for Transit Agency Y.

While the contractor can have much of the same EEO Program for each of its direct recipients, the Assessment of Employment Practices, Goals and Timetables, and Utilization Analysis tables, when required based on the threshold, must be unique to the number of contractor employees working for the specific direct recipient.

Answer:

Yes, however requirements associated with the “shared use” of the facility may be applicable.

Answer:

An agency may submit an application for a project that involves multiple subcomponents, provided that those components are part of a larger overall resilience proposal. If one or more of the subcomponents need to be undertaken by another agency, the applicant may either serve as the grantee for the entire award, and administer a sub-award to the other agency, or if the other agency is an FTA direct recipient (grantee), the applicant may direct the other agency to apply to FTA separately for its part of the project. In this second case, both agencies will be required to enter into an agreement outlining their mutual responsibilities in accomplishing the project and the terms of their coordination.

Answer:

Under Department of Transportation (DOT) Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations at 49 C.F.R. Section 37.167(j) bus operators are required to ask the person without a disability to move to another seat. If, after the operator asks, the person refuses to move, the regulations do not require the operator to compel this person to move. However, a transit operator can decide to adopt a policy requiring people to vacate the seats.

Answer:

Any funds awarded for a competitively selected project must be used for that project, consistent with the scope identified in the project proposal. If a project is completed under budget, any remaining funds must be returned to FTA. If funds cannot be used to complete the project as proposed, FTA should be notified immediately, so that funds can be reallocated through the program.

Answer:

As an alternative to the competitive resilience NOFA, some projects may also be eligible for funding that FTA allocated to certain agencies for locally prioritized resilience projects on May 29, 2013. In general, these local priority resiliency funds were intended for resiliency improvements that are integrated with a repair project, or for stand-alone projects that are not complex and/or need to be completed quickly. Grantees should contact their regional office, which must approve local priority resiliency projects.

Answer:

Please see FTA’s recent Dear Colleague letter and policy guidance on this question. If the Federal recovery allocation plus any insurance proceeds received together exceed the total amount of estimated damages, FTA will reduce the recovery allocation to equal 100 percent of the estimated damage. A grantee may request that FTA adjust the total damage estimate by submitting evidence of additional damage or increased recovery costs.

Answer:

If the facility was destroyed and is being moved because rebuilding on the existing site is not practical or feasible, the project would be awarded a 90% Federal share as a recovery project. If the facility is at risk of future damage but did not sustain significant damage during a storm, the relocation project would likely need to be selected by the State or Territory allocated resilience funding and would be awarded an 80% Federal share as a resilience project. Each project is different and it is recommended that you discuss the specifics of your project with your FTA regional office.

Answer:

For fixed route service, vehicles must be accessible.
A private entity that purchases or leases new, used, or remanufactured vehicles for use, or in contemplation of use, in fixed route or demand responsive service under contract or other arrangement or relationship with a public entity must acquire accessible vehicles in all situations in which the public entity itself would be required to do so (49 CFR 37.23(b)).
If a transit agency contracts with a ridesourcing entity to provide demand-responsive service, and the ridesourcing entity acquires a fleet of vans to provide that service, the vans must be accessible to wheelchair users unless the system, when viewed in its entirety, meets the standard for equivalent service