What’s New and Other Program Highlights

a. Special Rule for Operating Assistance in Large Urbanized Areas

The FAST Act amended the special rule at 49 U.S.C. 5307(a)(2) to add demand response

service. The special rule allows recipients in urbanized areas with populations of 200,000 or above and those that operate 100 or fewer buses in fixed route service or demand response, excluding ADA complementary paratransit service, during peak hours, to receive a grant for operating assistance subject to a maximum amount per system as explained below:

i. Public transportation systems that operate a minimum of 76 buses and a maximum of 100 buses in fixed route service or demand response, excluding ADA complementary

paratransit service, during peak service hours may receive operating assistance in an amount not to exceed 50 percent of the share of the apportionment that is attributable to such systems within the urbanized area, as measured by vehicle revenue hours.

ii. Public transportation systems that operate 75 or fewer buses in fixed route service or demand response, excluding ADA complementary paratransit service, during peak service hours may receive operating assistance in an amount not to exceed 75 percent of the share of the apportionment that is attributable to such systems within the urbanized area, as measured by vehicle revenue hours.

iii. A list of eligible recipients and their maximum operating assistance amounts for FY 2016 is shown in Table 3-A. FTA identified the systems eligible to use this provision and their maximum amounts for FY 2016 using data from the NTD for reporting year 2014. Operating assistance requires a 50 percent local match.

In accordance with section 5307(a)(2), FTA has calculated a fixed annual cap on operating assistance for each eligible agency that provides service in a large UZA. The cap is determined by dividing the UZA’s apportionment by the total number of vehicle revenue hours reported from all public transportation operators and from all transit modes in the UZA, and then by multiplying this quotient by the number of bus vehicle revenue hours operated in the UZA by the eligible system. The result is the proportional share of the apportionment that is attributable to the qualifying system, as measured by vehicle revenue hours. This cap is calculated based on the FY 2016 apportionment for an eligible provider’s UZA. Eligible systems operating in more than one UZA over 200,000 in population will receive separate operating caps from each UZA in which the system operates. The FY 2016 Apportionment Table 3A includes all eligible general public demand response operators.

In determining the amount of operating assistance available for specific systems in urbanized areas under the Special Rule, public transportation systems may execute a written agreement with one or more other public transportation systems within the urbanized area to allocate funds by a method other than by measuring vehicle revenue hours. Systems within the urbanized area may combine their individual operating assistance caps and allocate the combined funds using a method that is agreed upon by all of the systems. The method used should be documented in a written agreement, signed by all parties, and transmitted to FTA as a part of the split letter.

b. Equipment and Facilities Maintenance

Section 5307(c) is amended to require recipients to maintain equipment and facilities in accordance with the recipient’s transit asset management plan.

Designated recipients in UZAs with populations of 200,000 or more are no longer required to expend not less than one percent of the section 5307 funds apportioned to the UZA be set aside for associated transit improvements. Designated recipients must still submit an annual report listing projects carried out in the preceding year with these funds as part of the Federal fiscal year's final quarterly progress report in TrAMS. The report should include the following

elements: (1) grantee name; (2) UZA name and number; (3) FTA project number; (4) associated transit improvement category; (5) brief description of improvement and progress towards project implementation; (6) activity line item code from the approved budget; and (7) amount awarded by FTA for the project. The list of associated transit improvement categories and activity line item (ALI) codes may be found in the table of Scope and ALI codes in TrAMS.

It is the responsibility of the recipients in a UZA to identify associated transit improvement projects that will receive funding from the Urbanized Area Formula Program.

d. Increased Cap on Spending for ADA Paratransit Service

As under previous authorizations, recipients that are in compliance with the requirements of the ADA may use 10 percent of their annual formula apportionment for ADA paratransit service, funded at an 80 percent Federal share. The FAST Act increases the spending cap for ADA paratransit service to 20 percent of a recipient’s annual formula apportionment under certain conditions. See sections III.D. and V.D for more information on this provision.

e. Eligibility for Safety Certification Training

Effective May 2015, FTA established an Interim Safety Certification Training Program. Recipients of section 5307 funds are permitted to use not more than 0.5 percent of their formula funds under the Urbanized Area Formula Program to pay not more than eighty percent of the cost of participation for an employee who is directly responsible for safety oversight to

participate in public transportation safety certification training. The interim program will remain in place until the effective date of the final rule. FTA published a Notice of Proposed

Rulemaking (NPRM) for this program on December 3, 2015. Comments were due on February 1, 2016.