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:

Recipients affected by Hurricane Sandy may request an FTA Administrator determination that certain terms and conditions not apply when the requirement(s) will limit a recipient’s or sub-recipient’s ability to respond to an emergency or major disaster. Recipients must follow the procedures as set forth in 49 CFR part 601, subpart D when requesting such a determination or seeking a waiver of administrative requirements. The docket is available on www.regulations.gov, and the docket number for calendar year 2013 is FTA–2013–0001. More information is available in the Notice of Availability of Emergency Relief Funding.

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:

Congress appropriated $330 million for FTA’s Emergency Relief Program in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (Public Law 115-123), signed into law on February 9, 2018.

Answer:

There is no fixed starting date for eligible costs, since different parts of the region may have started preparations at different times. Costs that were incurred in preparation for the storm's landfall during the time that the storm was forecast to hit an affected area are eligible for reimbursement at a 90% Federal share under this announcement unless otherwise noted.

Answer:

In general, when a public transit passenger randomly chooses from among a number of taxicab companies providing service, the testing regulations do not apply. The rationale for this is the practical difficulty of trying to administer a drug and alcohol testing program in connection with multiple companies. An example of this scenario is a guaranteed ride home program, in which the transit agency contracts with multiple (two or more) taxicab companies in the area and a passenger may choose which taxicab company to contact to get a ride home.

Answer:

FTA defines transit bus automation as the operation of a transit vehicle in mixed traffic or a dedicated right-of-way (e.g., bus lane) in which at least one element of vehicle control (e.g., steering, speed control) occurs without direct driver input. There are five levels of automation from SAE Level 1, (i.e. driver assistance), up to Level 5 (full driverless automation). For the STAR plan, FTA defines bus broadly, to accommodate a range of vehicle designs and capacities, but in line with 49 CFR 665.5 : “Bus means a rubber-tired automotive vehicle used for the provision of public transportation service by or for a recipient of FTA financial assistance.”

While related to connected vehicles, automated vehicles are not the same. Connected vehicles use communications technologies to share information between vehicles or between vehicles and infrastructure. Connectivity can serve as an input to automation technologies, but connected vehicles are not necessarily automated, and vice-versa.

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:

FTA does not require that any NEPA work be completed prior to applying. However, applicants should have a reasonable understanding about the NEPA class of action required for the project, as this will allow them to develop an appropriate project timeline. If a project is selected, agencies are advised to consult with FTA prior to grant submittal and indicate in the grant submission if a 4(f) or Section 106 review will be needed.

Answer:

Emergency and permanent repair projects may qualify for a C-List or D-List Categorical Exclusion if they do not involve changes to the capacity, location, or function of public transportation assets. Please see section 4.2.4 “National Environmental Policy Act Review Process” in FTA’s Emergency Relief Manual for details.

Answer:

Transit automation has the potential to provide benefits to both urban and rural areas. Given the lower population density of rural areas, the specific automation technologies and the implementation of those technologies in rural areas may require different approaches from urban technologies. Automation technologies could make certain types of transit service in rural areas more cost-effective. For example, cost effectiveness may be achieved through the use of smaller vehicles more suited to rural areas. Automation may also lead to greater cost-effectiveness through the use of such services as on-demand shared rides with flexible routing. Rural areas may be well-suited to benefit from transit bus automation use cases such as automatic driver assist systems (ADAS), automated ADA paratransit, and mobility-on-demand shared ride services, among others. Overall, transit bus automation will improve geographic and temporal access to transit because of the associated cost savings and the capability to provide new service models, such as late-night and off-peak service. 

Answer:

The Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Office of Civil Rights ensures the non-discriminatory use of federal funds through oversight of grantee implementation of required civil rights regulations and policy. Compliance reviews are conducted to ensure conformity under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program, the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Program, and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. More information about each of the four programs administered by FTA’s Office of Civil Rights, as well as links to corresponding statutes and regulations, may be found by visiting the following website and selecting individual program links.

Answer:

Applicants should indicate when a resilience project can be undertaken either in multiple phases or multiple independent elements, provided that each phase or element can be completed independently and will serve to make the transportation system more resilient. If funding is not available for an entire project, FTA may consider awarding funds for one or more scalable project phases or elements. Applicants should identify the proposed scope and reduced funding amount for each scalable alternative, and must complete a separate HMCE analysis for each alternative.

Answer:

There are four cases where amendments may be considered:
Recipients can create a “zero dollar” amendment to TEAM awards to move funds between existing scope codes, including adding new ALIs to existing scope codes, provided it does not increase the scope of work that requires a new DOL certification. The amendment may include zeroing out funds from existing scope codes as long as no additional funds (local or federal) increase the overall award budget and the matching requirement does not change.  
Recipients can create amendments to deobligate funds from TEAM grants.
Recipients can create close-out amendments. 
In limited cases, recipients can create amendments to obligate additional funds (see below questions).

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.

Answer:

For the FTA Employment Practice Assessment for veteran hiring and promotions (Circular Section 2.2.6), use the Department of Labor definition for "eligible veteran" found at 38 U.S.C. Section 4211(4). It reads:

(4) The term ‘‘eligible veteran’’ means a person who—

(A) served on active duty for a period of more than 180 days and was discharged or released therefrom with other than a dishonorable discharge;

(B) was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability;

(C) as a member of a reserve component under an order to active duty pursuant to section 12301(a), (d), or (g), 12302, or 12304 of title 10, served on active duty during a period of war or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge is authorized and was discharged or released from such duty with other than a dishonorable discharge; or

(D) was discharged or released from active duty by reason of a sole survivorship discharge (as that term is defined in section 1174(i) of title 10).

Answer:

FTA decided to set aside $50 million of the overall $330 million appropriation for latent damages and other emergency-related expenses from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria that may arise in the future.

Answer:

No. When a State DOT or a transit agency is counting transit-related employees, it does not count subrecipients or contractors for purposes of whether it meets the 50–99 or 100+ employees threshold. However, since subrecipients and contractors who meet the threshold are required to submit EEO Programs to the direct recipient transit agency, when a subrecipient or contractor counts transit-related employees for the threshold, it would include all transit-related employees who work for the subrecipient or contractor.

Answer:

Recipients, except in several limited cases outlined below, must initiate new grants in TrAMS rather than amending TEAM grants to add additional funding.  When in doubt as to whether an amendment to an award meets the limitations below, please contact your FTA point of contact for additional direction. FTA limits amendments to add funds to TEAM awards as follows: 
Recipients can create amendments to TEAM awards to add funds associated with existing Full Funding Grant Agreements or larger capital investments covered under a similar Project Construction Grant Agreement. Funds may include prior year and FY 2016 and beyond funding necessary to satisfy the agreement.  
For recipients that were only able to obligate a portion of their FY 2015 funding in TEAM, they may create amendments to those TEAM awards to complete the activity by adding their final portion of FY 2015 funding.  These actions must use existing scope codes and existing ALIs. For example, amendments may be used where the activity was previously identified as a non-add scope or other budget activity. No new scope codes and no new ALIs may be added to increase the award budget or scope of work of a TEAM award.  FY 2016 funds must be used in a new grant.

Answer:

For the next EEO Program submission, because the submission schedule has been reset to accommodate the new four-year submission cycle, recipients will be submitting EEO Programs at differing amounts of time from the last EEO Program submission. To accommodate the various lengths of time since the previous EEO Program submissions, the Employment Practices tables should be for either the time since the last program submission, or the previous four years, whichever is shorter. For example, if a recipient submitted its last program in 2015, and FTA assigns its next submission date in 2018, it would submit for the period from 2015–2018. If the recipient submitted its last program in 2015 and FTA assigns its next submission date in 2020, it would submit for 2016–2020. After the 2018 and 2020 submission dates have passed, each recipient will follow a four-year submission cycle, and the Employment Practices tables will cover the full four years of the EEO Program period.