Overview

Discretionary & Competitive Federal Grant Program

• Authorized up to $4.6 billion per year, subject to Congressional appropriations
• Funds light rail, heavy rail, commuter rail, streetcar, and bus rapid transit projects

BIL outlines: Multi-year, multi-step process projects must follow to receive funds

• Points during process when FTA must evaluate and rate projects
• Evaluation criteria that must be used
• 5 point scale from low to high for ratings
• Annual Report to Congress that must include ratings for each project and the Administration’s funding recommendations

BIL Eligible Projects

New Starts

• Total project cost is equal to or greater than $400 million or total New Starts funding sought equals or exceeds $150 million
• New fixed guideway system (light rail, commuter rail, etc.)
• Extension to existing system
• Fixed guideway BRT system

Small Starts

• Total project cost is less than $400 million and total Small Starts funding sought is less than $150 million
• New fixed guideway systems (light rail, commuter rail, etc.)
• Extension to existing system
• Fixed guideway BRT system
• Corridor-based BRT system

Core Capacity

• Substantial corridor-based investment in existing fixed guideway system
• Project must:
  • Be located in a corridor that is at or over capacity or will be in ten years
  • Increase capacity by 10%
  • "not include project elements designated to maintain a state of good repair"

Bundling

• BIL establishes a process for bundling of projects to allow sponsors to move multiple projects through the CIG pipeline simultaneously.