Answer:

Since a significant portion of the seriously damaged transit infrastructure was technologically obsolete, and hence not appropriate to replace in kind or restore to the exact previous condition, FTA will fund repair and replacement projects that bring transit assets up to a state of good repair.Specifically, when repairing or replacing facilities and infrastructure damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Sandy, the following activities are eligible for Emergency Relief funding: 1) replacement of older features with new ones; 2) incorporation of current design standards; 3) replacement of a destroyed facility at a different location when replacing at the existing location is not practical or feasible; and 4) additional required features resulting from the NEPA process. The incorporation of improvements or changes designed solely to improve the resiliency of transit infrastructure is not considered a state of good repair improvement under this eligibility. Further guidance on mitigation and resiliency improvements will be forthcoming.Rolling stock and other equipment used in public transportation that was damaged or destroyed before the end of its useful life may be replaced with new rolling stock and equipment.

Answer:

FTA will make determinations on a case-specific basis, which may require recipients to submit contract documents to FTA for review. Generally, costs that are incurred after January 29th, such as by amending a contract, exercising options on a contract for additional work, or ordering previously un-budgeted tasks on an indefinite quantity contract, would not qualify for category 2, and would need to comply with all federal requirements, or would need to seek a waiver of specific requirements through the FTA docket as described in the March 29, 2013 Notice of Allocation. The docket is available on www.regulations.gov, and the docket number for calendar year 2013 is FTA–2013–0001. However, issuing future task orders on an existing contract for which funds were already committed (such as for storm clean-up/debris removal work) may be eligible under Category 2.

Answer:

All Americans with Disabilities Act requirements apply to ER grants and all recovery and resilience projects must be ADA compliant, including “path of travel” requirements when rehabilitating passenger facilities. Applicants should coordinate with their FTA Regional Civil Rights Officer early in the grant development process to ensure all requirements are being met. Repair and rebuilding projects using ER funds should be designed to be compliant with ADA requirements.

Answer:

Transit operators are responsible for submitting and pursuing insurance claims for covered damages consistent with their policy and coverage. FTA’s allocations of ER funding are intended and designed to supplement a transit agency’s insurance coverage, and are subject to estimates of the amount of insurance proceeds an agency expects to receive, as well as the amounts eventually received under a claim. Each application for FTA ER funds requires that the applicant attach any insurance policies that may cover damage to the assets for which the applicant is requesting ER funding.

Answer:

Transit agencies can undertake a number of partnerships or contractual relationships with other mobility providers to provide additional mobility options to the public. Examples include mobility management; joint marketing; advertising; integration of schedules or travel information systems; linking to services from Internet sites; and integrated payment systems, etc.  
Additionally, the FTA encourages non-transit uses of transit agency property that can raise additional revenues or, at a reasonable cost, enhance ridership. Incidental uses may include permission for other transportation providers to use transit facilities or parking spaces, as long as such use does not conflict with the intended transit uses of the project property. The recipient must fully recapture all costs related to incidental use from the non-transit entity and any revenues received from incidental use must be used for public transportation purposes.

Answer:

Transit operators may realize savings from improved operations and maintenance efficiencies, among other benefits. For example, automated buses may reduce fuel consumption from optimized acceleration and deceleration or bus yard operations.  In addition, it is anticipated that transit bus automation will increase safety by reducing the severity and frequency of collisions, thereby reducing agencies’ liability and other collision-related costs.

New transit services, such as feeder, circulator, or late-night service, or operations in low density areas, may become cost effective, improving transit access for all users.

Answer:

• Greater access to funds is provided by:
  • Tapping a wider range of funding programs
  • Accessing a greater variety of staff and facilities
  • Employing more specialized and skilled staff
  • More cost-effective use of resources is created through:
  • Productivity increases
  • Economies of scale
  • Eliminating waste caused by duplicated efforts
  • More centralized planning and management of resources
• Greater productivities and efficiencies will:
  • Fill service gaps within communities by offering services to additional geographic areas and individuals within existing budgets.
  • Provide additional trips for community members, thus enhancing their quality of life.
  • Generate cost savings to some participating agencies in special forms of coordinated transportation service
• More centralized management of existing resources results in greater visibility for transportation services to:
  • Riders
  • Agencies needing trips for their clients
  • The community
  • Funders
• And results in:
  • Reduced consumer confusion about how to access services
  • Clear lines of authority
  • More professional (comfortable, reliable, and safe) transportation services

Answer:

The Section 5309 program, from which the VTCLI grant funds come, allows in-kind contributions and the market value of real property integral to the project to be counted as cash toward local share but does not allow volunteer drivers as an eligible source of local match.
From State Transit Guidance:
In-Kind and Other Soft MatchIn limited circumstances, local governments and other agencies may use in-kind and/or other contributed services as soft match for projects. Office space, staff services, contract expenses, and other local operating costs may be allowable in-kind match to certain grant funded projects . . . . . In addition, real property may also be used toward the local share of certain capital projects. (Resource Guide for Transit and Transit-Related Programs, Florida DOT, p. 17, December 2005. http://www.floridartap.org/pdfs/TransitResourceGuide.pdf (PDF))

Contact Us: VeteransTransportation@dot.gov

Answer:

The level of service provided to people with disabilities, including those who use wheelchairs, must be equivalent to that provided to people without disabilities. The service characteristics for determining whether the service is equivalent are:
Response time
Fares
Geographic area of service
Hours and days of service
Restrictions or priorities based on trip purpose
Availability of information and reservations capability
Any constraints on capacity or service availability
A transit system partnering with a ridesourcing entity to provide demand-responsive service to a new service area would have to ensure not only that accessible vehicles were available, but that any person requiring an accessible vehicle would not be charged more than a typical ridesource user for a similar trip and would not have to wait longer for service.

Answer:

Emergency and permanent repairs do not need to be in the TIP/STIP if the repairs do not include changes to the location, capacity, or function of the transit asset.  However, FTA recommends that such repair projects undertaken more than a year after a disaster be programmed in the TIP/STIP to ensure that projects are planned and funded alongside non-emergency transportation projects within the State and/or metropolitan planning region. All other ER projects must be in the TIP/STIP prior to incurring costs.

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:

At the planning level, activities should be supplemented by data collection through both national services (e.g., Census Bureau, American Community Survey) and locally developed and administered data collection (e.g., finance department data, community impact assessments, customer surveys). Local data can be derived from local surveys and recordkeeping. Places where surveys may be used include: churches, farmer's markets, transit stations and centers, senior centers and various local community organizations and social groups. These data will permit a comparative assessment of accessibility, travel times, travel mode usage, and other travel attributes across EJ and non-EJ populations. FTA understands the uncertainty with the US 2010 Census data, but currently it is the best data set to use for future EJ analyses. Remember that partnering with local public and nonprofit organizations with an interest in Environmental Justice outcomes (such as local groups that provide services or University researchers) can offer valuable strategies for accessing additional resources and data. There are a variety of tools for you to consider listed on FTA’s website: FTA EJ web page

Answer:

Encountering cigarette smoke, service animals, and other potential allergens is a function of going out in public. Adoption of a no smoking policy at bus stops is a local issue and is not covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA); however, you may contact your local transit authority to discuss such a concern. Under Department of Transportation (DOT) ADA regulations at 49 C.F.R. Section 37.167(d), public transit providers are required to allow trained service animals to accompany riders on vehicles.

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:

If mitigation is not possible, FTA encourages grantees to involve the EJ community in identifying acceptable alternatives, such as betterments or enhancements of a project.

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:

This means that FTA will consider a recipient’s acceptance of a standard base flood elevation of one foot above FEMA’s best available flood hazard information as a minimum requirement for funding under this program. All recipients must indicate how this floodplain management guideline has been considered in project selection and design.

Answer:

FTA recommends that grantees conduct a quantitative evaluation of the distributional, system-level EJ impacts of the collection of projects in the long-range plan and that plan level distributions translate to the TIP level. One option for this would be to use the most recent Census and land use data available, supplemented by any local surveys, to identify the areas where low-income and / or minority populations live, work, and play. By overlaying the geographic location of proposed investments, including access points to those investments, grantees may determine whether a proportionate share of anticipated investment will serve those who are minorities and / or low-income. It is important to determine whether a new project will provide a proportionate level of access to members of the EJ community.