2020-17970. Announcement of Fiscal Year 2020 Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities Program Project Selections

AGENCY:

Federal Transit Administration (FTA), DOT.

ACTION:

Notice; Announcement of Project Selections. Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities Program.

SUMMARY:

The U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announces the allocation of $463,848,929 to projects under the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities Program (Bus and Bus Facilities Program) and provides administrative guidance on project implementation.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Successful applicants should contact the appropriate FTA Regional Office for information regarding applying for the funds or program-specific information. A list of Regional Offices can be found at www.transit.dot.gov/​. Unsuccessful applicants may contact Mark G. Bathrick, Office of Program Management at [phone], email: [e-mail], within 30 days of this announcement to arrange a proposal debriefing. A TDD is available at 1-800-877-8339 (TDD/FIRS).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Federal public transportation law (49 U.S.C. 5339(b)) authorizes FTA to make competitive grants for buses and bus facilities. Federal public transportation law (49 U.S.C. 5338) authorized $289,044,179 for competitive allocations in FY 2020. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 (Pub. L. 116-94) appropriated an additional $170 million for the Buses and Bus Facilities Program for FY 2020. An additional $20,401 of unawarded FY 2019 and $9,273,773 in FY 2016 funding was also made available. After the statutory set, aside for oversight, $463,920,522 was available for competitive grants under the Buses and Bus Facilities Program.

On January 30, 2020, FTA published a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) (85 FR 5538) announcing the availability of $454,626,348 in competitive funding under the Buses and Bus Facilities Program, with the option to award additional funds if they are made available to the program prior to the announcement of project selections. These funds will provide financial assistance to states and eligible public entities to replace, rehabilitate, purchase, or lease buses, vans, and related equipment, and for capital projects to rehabilitate, purchase, construct, or lease bus-related facilities. In response to the NOFO, FTA received 282 eligible project proposals from 48 States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico requesting approximately $1.846 billion in Federal funds. Project proposals were evaluated based on each applicant's responsiveness to the program evaluation criteria outlined in the NOFO.

Based on the criteria in the NOFO, FTA is funding 96 projects, as shown in Table 1, for a total of $463,848,929. Recipients selected for competitive funding are required to work with their FTA Regional Office to submit a grant application in FTA's Transit Award Management System (TrAMS) for the projects identified in the attached table to quickly obligate funds. Grant applications must only include eligible activities applied for in the original project application. Funds must be used consistent with the competitive proposal and for the eligible capital purposes described in the NOFO.

In cases where the allocation amount is less than the proposer's total requested amount, recipients are required to fund the scalable project option as described in the application. If the award amount does not correspond to the scalable option, the recipient should work with the Regional Office to reduce scope or scale the project such that a complete phase or project is accomplished. Recipients may also provide additional local funds to complete a proposed project. A discretionary project identification number has been assigned to each project for tracking purposes and must be used in the TrAMS application.

Selected projects are eligible to incur costs under pre-award authority no earlier than the date projects were publicly announced. Pre-award authority does not guarantee that project expenses incurred prior to the award of a grant will be eligible for reimbursement, as eligibility for reimbursement is contingent upon other requirements, such as planning and environmental requirements, having been met. For more about FTA's policy on pre-award authority, please see the current FTA Apportionments, Allocations, and Program Information and Interim Guidance at https://www.transit.dot.gov/​funding/​apportionments. Post-award reporting requirements include submission of Federal Financial Reports and Milestone Progress Reports in TrAMS (see FTA Circular 5010.1E, https://www.transit.dot.gov/​regulations-and-guidance/​fta-circulars/​award-management-requirements-circular-50101e). Recipients must comply with all applicable Federal statutes, regulations, executive orders, FTA circulars, and other Federal requirements in carrying out the project supported by the FTA grant. FTA emphasizes that recipients must follow all third-party procurement requirements set forth in Federal public transportation law (49 U.S.C. 5325(a)) and described in the FTA Third Party Contracting Guidance Circular (FTA Circular 4220.1, https://www.transit.dot.gov/​regulations-and-guidance/​fta-circulars/​third-party-contracting-guidance). Funds allocated in this announcement must be obligated in a grant by September 30, 2023.

Technical Review and Evaluation Summary: The FTA assessed all project proposals that were submitted under the FY 2020 Bus and Bus Facilities Program competition according to the following evaluation criteria. The specific metrics for each criterion were described in the January 30, 2020, NOFO:

1. Demonstration of Need

2. Demonstration of Benefits

3. Planning/Local Prioritization

4. Local Financial Commitment

5. Project Implementation Strategy

6. Technical, Legal, and Financial Capacity

For each project, a technical review panel assigned a rating of Highly Recommended, Recommended, or Not Recommended for each of the six criteria. The technical review panel then assigned an overall rating of Highly Recommended, Recommended, Not Recommended, or Ineligible to the project proposal.

Projects were assigned a final overall rating of Highly Recommended if they were rated Highly Recommended in at least four categories overall, with no Not Recommended ratings. Projects not rated Highly Recommended, were assigned a final overall rating of Recommended if the projects had no Not Recommended ratings. Projects were assigned a rating of Not Recommended if they received a Not Recommended rating in any criteria. The final overall ratings are summarized for 282 eligible project proposals in the table below.

Overall Project Ratings

[Eligible submissions]

Highly Recommended	174
Recommended	68
Not Recommended	40
Total	282

As outlined in the NOFO, FTA made the final selections based on the technical ratings as well as geographic diversity, projects that support the FTA Accelerating Innovative Mobility and/or United States Department of Transportation Rural Opportunities to Use Transportation for Economic Success Initiatives, percentage of local cost share, location in or support of an opportunity zone, and/or receipt of other recent competitive awards.

As further outlined in the NOFO, in some cases, due to funding limitations, proposers that were selected for funding received less than the amount originally requested.

K. Jane Williams,

Deputy Administrator.

Table 1—FY 20 Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities Project Selections

State	Recipient	Project ID	Project description	Allocation
AK	Fairbanks North Star Borough	D2020-BUSC-096	Transit Facility Phase 2	$10,403,343
AK	Ketchikan Indian Community (KIC)	D2020-BUSC-097	Vehicle Procurement	93,000
AL	City of Huntsville, Alabama	D2020-BUSC-098	Multimodal Transfer Station Construction and Operating Facility Re-design and Renovation	12,541,782
AZ	City of Phoenix Public Transit Department	D2020-BUSC-099	Bus Replacement	6,948,750
CA	California Department of Transportation on behalf of Kern Regional Transit	D2020-BUSC-100	Construction of Kern Transit Bus Maintenance Facility	1,400,000
CA	Solano County Transit	D2020-BUSC-101	Solano County Transit Electrical Infrastructure for Charging All-Electric Buses	1,850,000
CA	Butte County Association of Governments	D2020-BUSC-102	Purchase electric buses and associated charging equipment	1,767,769
CA	City of Davis	D2020-BUSC-103	Bus Replacement Program—Battery Electric Buses	3,760,000
CA	Monterey-Salinas Transit	D2020-BUSC-104	Transit System Improvement Project of Monterey County	2,521,984
CO	Colorado Department of Transportation on behalf of Roaring Fork Transportation Authority	D2020-BUSC-105	Roaring Fork Transportation Authority Regional Transit Center Renovation and Expansion	11,475,000
CO	Colorado Department of Transportation on behalf of Durango Transit	D2020-BUSC-106	Durango Transit Replacement Vehicles	479,444
CO	Colorado Department of Transportation on behalf of ECO Transit	D2020-BUSC-107	ECO Transit Bus Replacement Project	800,000
CO	Colorado Department of Transportation on behalf of Estes Park	D2020-BUSC-108	Electric Trolley Facility and Electric Trolley Charger for Estes Park	300,800
CO	Colorado Department of Transportation on behalf of Archuleta County	D2020-BUSC-109	Archuleta County Bus Center and Bus Purchase	1,812,000
CT	Connecticut Department of Transportation	D2020-BUSC-110	CTtransit Stamford Facility Upgrades to Deploy Battery Electric Buses (BEB)	6,730,532
DC	District Department of Transportation	D2020-BUSC-111	DC Circulator South Capitol Street Facility Modernization and Expansion Initiative	5,984,319
DE	Delaware Transit Corporation	D2020-BUSC-112	Dover Operations Solar Power	2,480,000
FL	Collier, County of	D2020-BUSC-113	Collier Area Transit Maintenance Facility Enhancement and Bus Replacement	9,020,000
FL	Hillsborough Transit Authority	D2020-BUSC-114	Electric Buses and Infrastructure	2,742,675
FL	Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority	D2020-BUSC-115	Electric Bus Expansion	1,239,710
FL	Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority, dba LYNX	D2020-BUSC-116	Battery Electric Bus Replacements	2,840,000
FL	Jacksonville Transportation Authority	D2020-BUSC-117	Replacing, Rehabilitating and Overhauling JTA's Facilities and Buses	11,986,230
GA	Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA)	D2020-BUSC-118	Clayton County Multipurpose Operations and Maintenance Facility	13,000,000
GU	Guam Regional Transit Authority	D2020-BUSC-119	Guam Regional Transit Authority's (GRTA) purchase of Electric Buses, Electric Cars, Charging Stations and new Park and Ride Facility Phase1	9,558,120
HI	Hawaii Department of Transportation	D2020-BUSC-120	Purchase Hybrid Buses for Hawaii, Kauai, and Maui	9,596,669
IA	Iowa Department of Transportation	D2020-BUSC-121	Iowa Bus Replacement Project	5,541,710
IA	City of Dubuque	D2020-BUSC-122	Fleet Replacement, Improvements and New Facility Amenities	1,073,000
ID	Valley Regional Transit	D2020-BUSC-123	Compressed Natural Gas Fueling Island System Renovation and Parking Lot Rehabilitation and Expansion	2,140,000
IL	Bloomington-Normal Public Transit System (DBA Connect Transit)	D2020-BUSC-124	Downtown Bloomington Transportation Center	8,000,000
IL	Pace Suburban Bus Division of the Regional Transportation Authority	D2020-BUSC-125	Lease of Bus Facility Supporting I-90 Service Expansion	850,464
IL	Greater Peoria Mass Transit District	D2020-BUSC-126	Construction of a New Facility and Rehabilitation of Existing Maintenance & Operations Building	10,000,000
IN	Bloomington Public Transportation Corporation	D2020-BUSC-127	Bus Replacement, Fleet Transition to Low-No Emission Vehicles	3,200,000
IN	Greater Lafayette Public Transportation Corporation	D2020-BUSC-128	Compressed Natural Gas Fueling Station Expansion Project	1,200,000
KS	Topeka Metropolitan Transit Authority	D2020-BUSC-129	Bus System Reliability and Resiliency Improvements	4,987,500
KY	Kentucky Transportation Cabinet	D2020-BUSC-130	Statewide Vehicle Procurement	3,070,671
KY	Transit Authority of Central Kentucky	D2020-BUSC-131	TACK Fleet Replacement	2,037,920
LA	New Orleans Regional Transit Authority	D2020-BUSC-132	Bus Replacement	13,916,000
MA	Montachusett Regional Transit Authority	D2020-BUSC-133	Procure Innovative Automated Fare Collection System	1,000,000
MA	Lowell Regional Transit Authority	D2020-BUSC-134	Bus and Lift Replacements	4,620,000
MA	Worcester Regional Transit Authority	D2020-BUSC-135	Account-Based Mobile Fare Payment System	722,606
MA	Pioneer Valley Transit Authority	D2020-BUSC-136	New Bus Wash Systems for PVTA Bus Maintenance Garages in Northampton and at UMass Amherst	1,536,000
MA	Berkshire Regional Transit Authority	D2020-BUSC-137	Bus Replacement	333,732
MD	MDOT Maryland Transit Administration on behalf of The County Commissioners of Carroll County	D2020-BUSC-138	Carroll County, MD Light Duty Bus Replacement	118,174
MD	MDOT Maryland Transit Administration on behalf of Harford County Maryland	D2020-BUSC-139	CNG Bus Procurement	3,437,370
MD	MDOT Maryland Transit Administration on behalf of Howard County, Maryland	D2020-BUSC-140	Replacement Buses and Automated Bus Stop Announcements	1,239,024
ME	Greater Portland Transit District	D2020-BUSC-141	Bus Replacement Project	821,526
ME	Maine Department of Transportation	D2020-BUSC-142	Acadia Gateway Center Phase 2 Completion	9,000,000
ME	City of Bangor	D2020-BUSC-143	Bus Stops and Shelters	396,800
MI	Michigan Department of Transportation	D2020-BUSC-144	Bus facility rehabilitation and expansion for rural transit agencies	2,365,600
MI	Michigan Department of Transportation	D2020-BUSC-145	Vehicle replacements and expansions for rural public transit agencies	4,924,382
MI	Michigan Department of Transportation	D2020-BUSC-146	New construction of a Bay Area Transportation Authority headquarters facility and transfer station	13,380,000
MI	Battle Creek, City of Battle Creek Transit	D2020-BUSC-147	Bus Replacement	5,340,000
MI	Capital Area Transportation Authority	D2020-BUSC-148	Rehabilitation and Repairs to Downtown Bus Terminal Building	1,824,416
MN	Minnesota State Department of Transportation	D2020-BUSC-149	Rural Transit Bus Replacement Project	4,412,890
MN	Metropolitan Council/Metro Transit on behalf of Minnesota Valley Transit Authority	D2020-BUSC-150	Burnsville Bus Garage Modernization	2,800,000
MO	Kansas City Area Transportation Authority	D2020-BUSC-151	Operations Center Improvements	7,980,000
MS	City of Hattiesburg	D2020-BUSC-152	Hub City Transit Bus Stop Improvements	1,831,200
MT	Montana Department of Transportation on behalf of Opportunity Link, Inc	D2020-BUSC-153	Bus Replacement Project	201,549
NC	Town of Chapel Hill	D2020-BUSC-154	Electric Buses and Infrastructure	5,600,000
NC	City of Asheville	D2020-BUSC-155	Bus Stop Enhancement and Improvement Project	1,000,000
NC	City of Fayetteville	D2020-BUSC-156	Bus Replacement	1,734,000
ND	North Dakota Department of Transportation	D2020-BUSC-157	Statewide Bus Purchases	15,000,000
NE	The Transit Authority of the City of Omaha	D2020-BUSC-158	Bus Procurement	13,558,199
NH	City of Nashua	D2020-BUSC-159	Safety, Security and Passenger Technology Enhancements	821,500
NJ	New Jersey Transit Corporation	D2020-BUSC-160	Wayne Bus Garage Modernization	14,672,995
NM	Ohkay Owingeh	D2020-BUSC-161	PoPay Messenger Transit Service Facility	582,664
NV	Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County	D2020-BUSC-162	Hybrid Electric Replacement Buses	4,080,000
NY	New York City Department of Transportation	D2020-BUSC-163	South Bronx Bx6 Select Bus Service	10,000,000
NY	County of Suffolk	D2020-BUSC-164	Battery Electric Transit Bus Purchase	1,600,000
OH	Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority	D2020-BUSC-165	Bus Replacement	4,324,608
OH	Butler County Regional Transit Authority	D2020-BUSC-166	Chestnut Street Multimodal Station and Shared Services Facility	2,000,000
OH	Portage Area Regional Transportation Authority	D2020-BUSC-167	CNG Bus Replacement	446,742
OK	Oklahoma Department of Transportation	D2020-BUSC-168	Rural Transportation Operations and Maintenance Facility—Phase 2 & 3	9,120,000
OK	Oklahoma Department of Transportation	D2020-BUSC-169	Ki Bois Area Transit System—Oklahoma's Rural and Tribal Connection	1,452,544
OK	Metropolitan Tulsa Transit Authority	D2020-BUSC-170	Bus Replacement and Service Modernization	3,175,604
OR	Rogue Valley Transportation District	D2020-BUSC-171	Bus Procurement	2,687,000
OR	Lane Transit District	D2020-BUSC-172	Electric Bus Procurement	3,952,851
PA	City of Hazleton	D2020-BUSC-173	Bus Maintenance and Storage Facility	10,000,000
PA	Erie Metropolitan Transit Authority	D2020-BUSC-174	CNG Bus Procurement	1,466,250
PR	Municipio de Carolina	D2020-BUSC-175	Bus Procurement	2,482,880
RI	Rhode Island Public Transit Authority	D2020-BUSC-176	RIPTA Bus Procurement Program	8,913,508
SC	Berkeley Charleston Dorchester Council of Governments	D2020-BUSC-177	Hospitality on Peninsula (HOP) Park & Ride Lot and Multimodal Transit Hub	2,777,211
SD	South Dakota Department of Transportation	D2020-BUSC-178	Rural Transit Vehicles Procurement	1,636,000
TX	Texas Department of Transportation	D2020-BUSC-179	Rural Transit Facility Development Project	10,210,000
TX	Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County	D2020-BUSC-180	Fare Collection System	14,770,058
TX	City of Conroe	D2020-BUSC-181	Conroe Connection Transit Bus Expansion and Replacement	896,000
UT	Cache Valley Transit District	D2020-BUSC-182	Cache Valley Transit District Bus Storage and Maintenance Facility	18,000,000
VT	Vermont Agency of Transportation	D2020-BUSC-183	Statewide Small Bus and Sprinter Replacement Project	836,355
WA	Washington State Department of Transportation	D2020-BUSC-184	Rural Buses and Bus Facilities	4,871,549
WA	Intercity Transit	D2020-BUSC-185/D2020-BUSC-186/D2020-BUSC-187	Maintenance Facility Renovation, Expansion, and Modernization Project	11,345,700
WA	Spokane Transit Authority	D2020-BUSC-188	Double Decker Bus Procurement	2,950,000
WA	Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority (Sound Transit)	D2020-BUSC-189	Bus Procurement	4,800,000
WA	King County Metro Transit	D2020-BUSC-190	HVAC Systems Replacement	4,532,400
WI	City of Madison	D2020-BUSC-191	Articulated Bus Procurement	4,676,760
WI	Milwaukee County	D2020-BUSC-192	Fleet Maintenance Facility Roof Replacement	3,003,628
WY	Wyoming Department of Transportation on behalf of the University of Wyoming	D2020-BUSC-193	Transit Maintenance and Storage Facility	4,237,262
Total:				463,848,929