Transit Worker and Rider Safety Best Practices Research Project Notice of Funding

Details: December 15, 2022. Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO): Solicitation of project proposals for the Transit Worker and Rider Safety Best Practices (TWRS) Research Project. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announces the availability of $500,000 to fund a research project to help transit agencies address worker and rider assaults. FTA intends to award one project under this announcement. The full announcement and synopses are posted on Grants.gov site as opportunity FTA-2023-005-TRI-TWRS. Proposals must be submitted electronically through the Grants.gov website by midnight Eastern Time on February 13, 2023.

Summary: FTA will competitively award up to $500,000 in Public Transportation Innovation Program funds (49 U.S.C. 5312) for a single cooperative agreement for a research project to help transit agencies address worker and rider assaults. The goals of the project are to identify public safety risks for transit workers and riders, determine the most effective mitigation strategies to minimize those risks, and promote the implementation of those strategies. 

The TWRS Research Project will be carried out in two phases, including the generation of the report in phase one and overseeing a safety pilot demonstration project for a potential phase two.

This notice will provide funding only for Phase I; thus, applicants should submit proposals to address only Phase I. Eligibility for Phase II is subject to the availability of future funding, quality of the materials developed in Phase I, and merit of the proposed pilot demonstration project developed during Phase I. 

Eligible Applicants: Eligible applicants under this notice include:

• providers of public transportation, including public transportation agencies, state or local government departments of transportation, and federally recognized Native American tribes; 
• private for-profit and not-for-profit organizations, consultants, research consortia, and industry organizations;
• state, city or local government entities, including multi-jurisdictional partnerships, and organizations such as metropolitan planning organizations; or
• institutions of higher education including large research universities, and technical and community colleges, particularly those with minority serving institution status.

Link and Instructions for attaching the supplemental form to the SF-424: All applicants must complete the supplemental form specific to the TWRS project and attach it to their submission in Grants.gov. Applicants should refer to section D of the NOFO for further information about required application contents. 

Webinar: FTA plans to hold a webinar on this funding opportunity in the near future. The webinar will provide an overview of the program, describe eligible applicants and projects, and provide an opportunity for attendees to obtain answers to questions.

Check the TWRS project page for further details coming soon.

Due Date: Proposals must be submitted electronically by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on February 13, 2023. Applicants must first register at Grants.gov prior to submitting the application. 

For Further Information Contact: Roy Chen, FTA Office of Research, Demonstration, and Innovation at (202) 366-0462.