Overview

FTA’s Emergency Relief program, established under MAP-21 legislation, enables FTA to provide assistance to public transit operators in the aftermath of an emergency or major disaster. The program helps states and public transportation systems pay for protecting, repairing, and/or replacing equipment and facilities that may suffer or have suffered serious damage as a result of an emergency, including natural disasters such as floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes. The program can fund capital projects to protect, repair, or replace facilities or equipment that are in danger of suffering serious damage, or have suffered serious damage as a result of an emergency. The program can also fund the operating costs of evacuation, rescue operations, temporary public transportation service, or reestablishing, expanding, or relocating service before, during or after an emergency.

Funding

Congress appropriates funding for FTA's Emergency Relief Program based on estimates of the funding needed to assist public transportation providers with capital projects to repair and rebuild after a disaster and to reimburse them for operating expenses incurred while preparing for and responding to disasters. A list of previous appropriations and the allocations is available on FTA's website.