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U.S. Department of Transportation U.S. Department of Transportation Icon United States Department of Transportation United States Department of Transportation

FY 2026 Notice of Funding Opportunity: Innovative Coordinated Access and Mobility Pilot Program

Date Posted:
Date Closed:
Opportunity ID: FTA-2026-012-TPM-ICAM
Grant Program:
Innovative Coordinated Access and Mobility Pilot Program
Opportunity Announcement PDF:
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-07-09/pdf/2026-13907.pdf
Opportunity Announcement TXT:
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-07-09/html/2026-13907.htm

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Table of Contents:

  1. Basic Information
  2. Eligibility
  3. Program Descriptions
  4. Application Contents and Format
  5. Submission Requirements and Deadlines
  6. Application Review Information
  7. Award Notices
  8. Post-Award Requirements and Administration

1. Basic Information

Agency: Federal Transit Administration (FTA) 
Program: Innovative Coordinated Access and Mobility Pilot Program (ICAM Pilot Program)
Fiscal Year (FY): FY 2026
Assistance Listing Number: 20.537
Available Funding: $11,959,671 is available in FY 2024, 2025, and 2026 for the ICAM Pilot Program as authorized under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Pub. L. 117-58 (IIJA).

  • The IIJA authorized $4,923,624 for FY 2025 and $5,048,792 for FY 2026 for the ICAM Pilot Program. When added to the remaining FY 2024 funding ($1,987,255) a total of $11,959,671 is available under this NOFO.
  • If more funding becomes available for the program before projects are selected, FTA may add it to the total funding amount under this NOFO.
  • To the extent permitted by law, FTA may consider applications that are not selected for award for funding that may become available in the future. 
     
TopicDescription
Prior Awards
  • In FY 2024, the program received applications for 24 eligible projects requesting a total of $10.1 million.
  • FTA selected 17 projects in 15 States totaling $7.8 million.
  • The selected projects ranged from $73,600 – to $1,824,640.
Application Deadline
  • Due by 11:59 pm Eastern time on September 9, 2026. 
  • Submit electronically through the Grants.gov “APPLY” function.
Eligible Activities
Application Instructions
For Further Information, Contact:

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2. Eligibility

TopicDescription
Eligible Applicant Type
  • Eligible direct, designated, and sub recipients under FTA’s Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities Formula Program (49 U.S.C. 5310), including:
    • State departments of transportation (State DOTs)
    • Designated recipients of Section 5310 funds
    • Local government authorities that operate a public transportation service
    • Private non-profit organization
    • Operators of public transportation
    • Private for-profit entities that provide shared-ride on-demand service to the general public on a regular basis
Additional Applicant Eligibility Requirements
  • You must have sufficient legal, financial, and technical capabilities to receive and administer federal funds under this program.
  • Private for-profit entities must document that they regularly offer shared-ride on-demand service to the public. Failure to demonstrate eligible service will result in the organization being deemed ineligible for funding. Examples of documentation may include a link to the booking site or information on how to request a ride.
  • FTA strongly recommends that interested applicants that are not already direct recipients of FTA funding ask a current direct or designated recipient to apply on their behalf for funding.
  • On average it takes an organization approximately 12 months to complete all steps required to become an FTA direct recipient.
Eligible Activities
  • Public transportation capital projects as defined in 49 U.S.C 5302(4) that are innovative and improve the coordination of transportation and NEMT services including:
    • Mobility management projects;
    • Deployment of coordination technology; and
    • Projects that create or increase access to one-call/one-click centers.
    • Vehicles for shared or coordinated transportation services
Additional Project Eligibility Information
  • Planning and operating expenses are NOT eligible.
    • Examples of operating expenses include fuel, driver salaries, and insurance.
  • Mobility management does not include operating public transport services.
  • Projects must be identified as local, regional, or statewide. See Section 6 for information on regional and statewide project prioritization.
    • Definition of local: Projects that are not statewide or regional
    • Definition of regional: Projects that cover more than one community or area such as multiple cities, counties or tribal areas
  • The ICAM Program differs from FTA’s Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities Program in the following ways:
    • The operating cost of acquiring services is not considered a capital expense under ICAM.
    • Other federal funds can only be used as a local match for the ICAM Program if the other Federal Program permits their funds to be used as match for other Federal projects.
Cost Sharing
  • In general, the maximum federal share is 80 percent. There are two exceptions:
    • 85 percent for vehicles that comply with the Clean Air Act (CAA) or Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
    • 90 percent for equipment and facilities that comply with the CAA or ADA. Applicants must itemize the cost of specific, discrete equipment or facility components that perform these functions to be eligible for this higher federal share.
  • More information about eligible sources of local match can be found in FTA Circular 9070.1H.

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3. Program Descriptions

TopicDescription
PurposeTo improve the coordination of transportation and NEMT services for transportation disadvantaged populations (i.e., older adults, people with disabilities, and people of low income).
Program Goals and Objectives

Funding innovative capital projects that:

  • Improve access to coordinated transportation services;
  • Reduce duplication of services; and
  • Enhance efficiency of the 132 federal programs that may fund human services transportation.
Legislative Authority

 Allowable and Unallowable Costs

  • Refer to the table in Section 2, Eligibility, for activities that are allowable.
  • There is no minimum or maximum grant award amount.
  • Projects may be awarded less than the amount applied for.
  • Allowable direct and indirect expenses that are consistent with the Government-wide Uniform Administrative Requirements and Cost Principles (2 CFR 200) and FTA Circular 5010.1F.

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4. Application Contents and Format

A complete proposal submission includes two forms and any supporting attachments.

1) SF‑424 Application for Federal Assistance
  • Available at Grants.gov.
  • You must complete all sections of the SF-424 unless the form states a section is optional.
2) Supplemental Form for the FY 2026 ICAM Pilot Program
  • Available at Grants.gov or the FTA website on the ICAM webpage.
  • You must attach the Supplemental Form and any supporting documents to the “Attachments” section of the SF-424.
    • You must describe and reference supporting documentation by file name in the Supplemental Form, or FTA may not review it.
    • FTA’s system cannot accept Supplemental Forms that are:
    • scanned,
    • a “print” to PDF,
    • a converted version using another text editor, etc., or
    • from prior years
  • Use this year’s form and fill it out on your computer.
  • FTA will use the information in the Supplemental Form to evaluate the project and determine whether the proposal will be funded according to the selection criteria described in Section 6 (Application Review Information) below.
  • Applicants must complete all sections of the Supplemental Form unless the form states a section is optional.
  • Failure to submit the information as requested can delay review or disqualify the application.

Information required on the SF-424 and Supplemental Form, as indicated on each form, includes:

TopicDescription
NameName of Agency applying for funding.
UEIUnique Entity ID (UEI) assigned by SAM.gov.
ContactContact information, including contact name, title, address, phone number, and email address.
DistrictCongressional district(s) where project will take place.

The Supplemental Form also requires the following information:

TopicDescription
Description of Transit Service Provided and Area ServedDescribe the transit service and coverage area
Project TitleA brief descriptive title of the project.
Project Executive SummaryA short paragraph describing the proposed project.
Project TypeSelect project type (e.g., mobility management, vehicle, facility, and/or equipment).
Evaluation Review CriteriaApplicants must address each of the evaluation review criteria. See Section 6 (Application Review Information) below.

Additional details on completing the SF-424 and Supplemental Form are available at Grants.gov.

FTA may share application information within the Department of Transportation or with other Federal agencies if the Department determines that sharing is relevant to the respective program’s objectives.

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5. Submission Requirements and Deadlines

How to Obtain Forms

Application Deadline and How to Submit

You must complete registration in Grants.gov and SAM.gov before submitting proposals. Because registration may require several weeks, you are strongly advised to initiate the process immediately to avoid delays.

TopicDescription
Proposal Deadline DateSeptember 9, 2026
Submission Method and TimeSubmit via Grants.gov by 11:59 pm Eastern time
Accepted FormatsElectronic submissions only (no mail, email, and fax submissions)
Late SubmissionsApplications are time and date stamped by Grants.gov upon successful submission. Late submissions will only be considered under extraordinary circumstances, not under the applicant’s control.

Additional Requirements for Submission

FTA strongly recommends you submit your application at least 72 hours before the due date. This allows time to correct any submission problems.

TopicDescription
UEI and SAM.gov
  • Be registered in SAM.gov before applying (registration takes about 3-5 business days but may take several weeks with unexpected delays).
  • Provide a valid UEI in the application (for information on obtaining a UEI, visit SAM.gov).
  • Maintain an active SAM registration with current information throughout the life of any federal award.
Grants.gov
  • Grants.gov registration is a multi-step process that may take several weeks to complete.
  • Applicants who have already registered in Grants.gov may still need to update their registration before they can apply.
  • More information on how to navigate Grants.gov can be found on the DOT Navigator.
Submission Confirmation
  • Within 48 hours after submitting an electronic application, you should receive an email from Grants.gov saying the application has been received by Grants.gov and sent to FTA, the “receiving agency.”
  • If you receive a notice from Grants.gov or FTA that the application is incomplete, then you must fix the application and resubmit it before the submission deadline. FTA’s rejection email will come from the email address “noreplyFACES.”
  • To avoid processing errors when re-submitting, you must include all original attachments (even if only some of them were updated) and you must check the resubmission box on the updated Supplemental Form.
Intergovernmental Review

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6. Application Review Information

Review Criteria

FTA will evaluate applications using the criteria below, rating projects based on the information provided in the supplemental form.

  • Additional information may be provided as attachments to support the responses in the supplemental form.
  •  Any additional documentation must be directly referenced on the supplemental form, including the file name and page number where the additional information can be found.
Evaluation
Criteria		To address each criterion, applicants should describe:
Demonstration of Need
  • How there exists a need to improve the coordination of transportation services for older adults, people with disabilities, or people of low-income.  Examples include:
    • Transportation services exist that serve the same area or populations but do not share passengers or vehicles and therefore have excess vehicle capacity
    • Programs, services, or activities exist that serve similar populations or purposes but are not co-located
Demonstration of Benefits
(Address the first bullet and at least one of the two remaining bullets. Applications that address all bullets will be rated higher than applications that only address two bullets.)
  • How the project will improve community access to coordinated transportation services; AND
  • How the project will reduce duplication of services; OR
  • How the project will increase access to NEMT services.
Planning, Partnerships, and Statewide or Regional Prioritization (Address all bullets)
  • Project partners and their role. Applicants should provide evidence of strong commitment from partners such as letters of support. Partners may include:
    • Agencies or entities that receive funding from another CCAM agency
    • Transportation providers
    • Private and/or non-profit entities involved in the coordination of NEMT
  • How the project aligns with local government priorities including:
    • Locally developed coordinated public transit-human services transportation plans
    • Local or regional long range planning documents
  • How the project was developed, incorporating meaningful involvement from key stakeholders including:
    • Consumer representatives of the target groups
    • Providers from the healthcare, transportation, and human services sectors, among others
  • Significant ongoing involvement of the project’s target population.
Local Financial Commitment (Address all bullets)
  • The amount and source of the local funds. Note if the funds are available now or will need to be secured later. If funds will be secured later, describe the likelihood of securing the funds. Provide supporting documentation for available funds.
  • Any other federal funds being used for the project.
Project Implementation Strategy (Address all bullets)
  • Describe how you will implement your project
  • If the funding can be obligated in the Transit Award Management System (TrAMS) within 12 months of the project selection announcement, which will result in a higher rating.
    • Subrecipients intending to become a direct recipient must mark “no” here.
  • If the project is ready for implementation.
  • A detailed and reasonable schedule for the project including time periods for procurements. For example, describe when procurement and construction phases are planned to be started and completed.
  • Short-term, mid-term, and long-term goals for the project.
  • Specific performance measures showing the project’s ability to provide meaningful data during and after the pilot project (e.g., performance measures that demonstrate the impact of a vehicle one year after its purchase). The performance measures must be related to the ICAM Pilot Program goals and objectives identified in Section 3 (Program Description).
  • Whether the project meets the criteria for a Categorical Exclusion under the National Environmental Protection Act, or the current status and anticipated completion of required permitting and environmental work (if applicable).
  • If the Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) and Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) includes the proposed project or needs to be amended.
Technical, Legal, and Financial Capacity
  • Your technical, legal, and financial capacity to undertake the project.
  • Your ability to carry out the proposed project successfully (for example, state that staffing levels are adequate, or discuss similar projects that have been carried out successfully).
  • For applicants who are current FTA recipients:
    • Any outstanding legal, technical, or financial compliance issues from an FTA compliance review or FTA grant-related Single Audit finding;
    • How corrective actions taken will mitigate negative impacts on the proposed project.
  • For applicants who are not current FTA recipients:
    • How your organization coordinates transportation services for older adults, people with disabilities, or people of low income.
    • Note whether your organization has experience with reimbursement grants. 
       

Review and Selection Process

An evaluation committee will rate applications based on how well they respond to the evaluation criteria above. See Section 6 (Application Review Information).

  • FTA may contact you for additional information or clarification about your application.
  • Applications will be rated as Highly Recommended, Recommended, Not Recommended, or Ineligible.
  • After considering the findings of the evaluation committee, the FTA Administrator will determine the final selection and amount of funding for each project.

As part of the selection process:

  • The Administrator may also consider:
    • Geographic diversity;
    • Variety in the size of the transit systems or communities receiving funding;
    • If the applicant has received other Federal transit funds and the management of those funds, to include completing the proposed scope of prior competitive grant program selections;
    • Applicants that best reflect the prioritization of reducing vagrancy as detailed in Executive Order 14321 “Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets.”
  • Among applications for the procurement of vehicles, FTA will consider propulsion type during the selection process, to include prioritizing standard propulsion
    vehicles (diesel, gasoline, etc.).
  • The Department intends to apply principles from DOT Order 2100.7 (Ensuring Reliance Upon Sound Economic Analysis in DOT’s Policies, Programs and Activities) and DOT Order 2100.9 (Ensuring Nondiscrimination and Equal Opportunity in Department of Transportation Policies, Programs, and Activities) when evaluating applications and making award selections. To the maximum extent permitted by law, DOT will prioritize projects that are in alignment with the principles outlined in DOT Orders 2100.7 and 2100.9.FTA intends to prioritize projects that are regional or statewide, over local-level projects, as regional and statewide coordination projects tend to lead to greater positive benefits.
  • Some applicants may receive less than the amount requested. In those cases, applicants must show that the proposed project or a subset of proposed activities can still be completed with the amount awarded.

Additional considerations include the following and should be addressed in the Supplemental Form:

TopicDescription
Opportunity Zone

To receive credit, you must:

  • Identify whether the project is located in or supports public transportation service in a qualified opportunity zone designated pursuant to 26 U.S.C. 1400Z-1; and
  • Identify the Census Tract Number(s) of the opportunity zone(s) at the time of designation (Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Notice 2018-48). The 2020 Census did not impact the boundaries of opportunity zones. More information and a link to a map of Opportunity Zones can be found on the IRS Opportunity Zone website; and
  • Describe how the proposed project will impact the opportunity zone(s).
Benefits for Families and Communities of People with Disabilities

To receive credit, you must:

  • Describe how the project will improve the accessibility of transportation for families of people with disabilities including improved access to jobs, healthcare facilities, recreational activities, and commercial activity.
  • Describe how the project will improve the quality of life, raise the standard of living, or enable fuller participation in the economy by families.
     
Safety

To receive credit, you must describe how the project includes elements that:

  • Reduce fare evasion OR
  • Reduce crime other than fare evasion

You must include the applicable elements as separate line items in the project budget.

Risk Review

  • FTA analyzes risk for all recipients through the Technical, Legal, and Financial Capacity evaluation criterion described in Section 6 (Application Review Information) above.
  • Before making a federal award with a total amount of federal share greater than the simplified acquisition threshold, FTA must review and consider any information about the applicant that is in the Responsibility/Qualification records available in SAM.gov (see 41 U.S.C. 2313).
    • You can review and comment on any information in the Responsibility/Qualification records available in SAM.gov.
  • Before making decisions in the risk review required by 2 CFR 200.206, FTA will consider any comments by the applicant, along with information available in the Responsibility/Qualification records in SAM.gov.
     

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7. Award Notices

TopicDescription
How Project Selections Are Announced

FTA will publish a list of the selected projects, including federal dollar amounts, recipients, and discretionary IDs associated with the projects on FTA’s website on the ICAM Pilot Program webpage.

  • Discretionary IDs are used to track competitive awards in FTA’s grant management system.
  • FTA does not notify unsuccessful applicants separately. See the Implementation Guidance document published on FTA’s webpage after selections are announced for details.
Pre-award CostsUnless authorized by FTA in writing after announcement of the FY 2026 ICAM awards, any costs incurred prior to FTA’s obligation of funds for a project (“pre-award costs”) are ineligible for reimbursement and cost share requirements. Pre-award costs are costs incurred after the award announcement, but directly pursuant to the negotiation of a grant agreement, where such costs are necessary for efficient and timely performance of the scope of work, as determined by FTA.
How Funds Are Obligated

If selected, you will apply for a grant through TrAMS. The appropriate FTA Regional Office will award the grant in TrAMS, obligating the funds.

Selected applicants, who are not currently a direct or designated recipient of FTA funds, will need to either:

  • Work with their FTA Regional Office to become a direct recipient of ICAM funds. It may take as long as 12 months to become a new direct recipient of FTA. For additional information on how to become a direct recipient of FTA funds visit FTA’s website (TrAMS Guidance & Training); or
  • Partner with a current direct or designated recipient. The direct or designated recipient would submit a grant to FTA and manage the ICAM funds on your behalf. You would implement the project as a subrecipient. FTA encourages new recipients to partner with a current direct or designated recipient such as the State DOT in order to speed project implementation.
Applicant Certification

The applicant certifies the following:

  • Except where prohibited by court order, pursuant to Executive Order 14173, Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity, as a condition of grant award, each Recipient must agree that its and its regulations’ compliance in all respects with the equal protection principles of the U.S. Constitution and all applicable Federal anti-discrimination laws and regulations is material to the government’s payment decisions for purposes of section 3729(b)(4) of title 31, United States Code.
  • Except where prohibited by court order, pursuant to Executive Order 14173, Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity, as a condition of grant award, each Recipient must certify that it does not operate any programs promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives that violate the U.S. Constitution or any applicable Federal anti-discrimination laws.
  • The applicant assures and certifies, with respect to any application and awarded Project under this NOFO, that it will comply with all applicable Federal laws, regulations, executive orders, policies, guidelines, and requirements as they relate to the application, acceptance, and use of Federal funds.
  • To the extent a court order bars the implementation or enforcement of one or more of these conditions with respect to a particular applicant or recipient, the Department will not implement or enforce the relevant condition(s) against that applicant or recipient for as long as the order remains in place.

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8. Post-Award Requirements and Administration

TopicDescription
Administrative and National Policy Requirements
  • Except as otherwise provided in this NOFO, ICAM Pilot Program grants are subject to the following requirements:
  • Funds will be available for obligation for two federal fiscal years after the fiscal year in which funds are allocated to a project.
  • A project funded under this NOFO must comply with FTA’s Buy America (49 U.S.C. 5323(j)) and the Build America, Buy America Act’s domestic preference requirements for infrastructure projects (§§ 70901–70927 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Pub. L. 117–58), which together require that all iron, steel, manufactured goods, and construction materials used in the project be produced in the United States and set minimum domestic content and final assembly requirements for rolling stock. Any proposal that will require a waiver of any domestic preference standard must identify the items for which a waiver will be sought in the application. Applicants should not proceed with the expectation that waivers will be granted.
FTA Reporting Requirements

Post-award reporting requirements include submitting:

  • Federal Financial Reports (FFR) and Milestone Progress Reports (MPR) in TrAMS
  • Final report at project closeout that includes:
    • An Executive Summary with project goals, targets, and indicators referenced in your application
    • An evaluation of your performance measures and the success or failure of your projects
  • Monthly updates of project performance measure data
    • FTA will provide successful applicants with technical assistance on performance measures

FTA may request data and reports to support:

  • FTA’s Annual ICAM performance measure report to Congress.
  •  An independent evaluation of the ICAM Pilot Program.

As part of completing the annual certifications and assurances required of FTA grant recipients, you must report on the suspension or debarment status of your organization and principals. If your organization’s active grants, cooperative agreements, and procurement contracts from all federal awarding agencies exceed $10,000,000 for any period of time during the period of performance of an award made pursuant to this Notice, you must ensure the information available in the responsibility/qualification records through SAM.gov, about civil, criminal, or administrative proceedings is current and complete. This requirement is in addition to the requirement that an applicant maintain an active SAM registration.

For more information on these reporting requirements, please see 2 CFR Part 200, Appendix XII).

Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience

It is the policy of the United States to strengthen the security and resilience of its critical infrastructure against both physical and cyber threats. FTA intends to prioritize applicants who voluntarily participate with the following TSA issued Security Directive 1582-21-01, “Enhancing Public Transportation and Passenger Railroad Cybersecurity” on December 31, 2021. The Security Directive, which applies to all public passenger rail owners and operators identified in 49 CFR 1582.101, requires four critical actions:

  1. Designate a cybersecurity coordinator who is required to be available to TSA and the DHS's CISA at all times (all hours/all days) to coordinate implementation of cybersecurity practices, and management of security incidents, and serve as a principal point of contact with TSA and CISA for cybersecurity-related matters;
  2. Report cybersecurity incidents to CISA;
  3. Develop a Cybersecurity Incident Response Plan to reduce the risk of operational disruption should their Information and/or operational technology systems be affected by a cybersecurity incident; and
  4. Conduct a cybersecurity vulnerability assessment using the form provided by TSA and submit the form to TSA. The vulnerability assessment will include an assessment of current practices and activities to address cyber risks to information and operational technology systems, identify gaps in current cybersecurity measures, and identify remediation measures and a plan for the owner/operator to implement the remediation measures to address any vulnerabilities and gaps.


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