Federal Transit Administration Guide For Rural Programs

Federal Transit Administration

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) provides over $7 billion in financial assistance to help communities build, improve, maintain and operate public transportation systems. Public transportation includes buses, subways, light rail, commuter rail, monorail, passenger ferryboats, trolley, inclined railways and people movers.

The Federal Transit Administration is one of 10 operating administrations within the U.S. Department of Transportation. FTA has 10 Regional Offices, each headed by a Regional Administrator, forming a local presence to provide assistance in the development of transit projects, the review of grant applications, and the monitoring of grants awarded by FTA. FTA oversees thousands of grants to hundreds of State and local transit providers, primarily through its 10 Regional Offices.

A list of Regional Offices, State Contacts and telephone numbers can be found at the end of this guidebook.

Overview of This Guidebook

We realize that Federal program requirements can be complex, so FTA prepared this guidebook to help State agencies, small communities (populations of under 50,000), rural providers and others understand Federal funding programs.

Section 1 summarizes the program options and kinds of funds available to small communities and rural providers. It also gives an overview of the grants process. Sections 2 and 3 provide greater detail about each program. They describe who is eligible for the program, the State's role, the application content, and other specifics. Regardless of the specific program, all grantees must comply with FTA requirements described in Section 4. Finally, Section 5 details post-grant approval procedures and regulations.

Where to Learn More

If you need more information about specific programs, please consult the FTA circulars, referenced throughout this guidebook. The FTA website (http://www.fta.dot.gov/) also contains general information about FTA, all of the program Circulars, and additional information on programs. FTA's Regional Offices and State Contacts, listed at the back of this guidebook, will welcome any additional questions you may have.