FY 2022 Competitive Funding Opportunity: Public Transportation on Indian Reservations Program; Tribal Transit Program | FTA 2022 003 TPM TRTR

Opportunity Information: Apply for FTA 2022 003 TPM TRTR

The FY 2022 Competitive Funding Opportunity: Public Transportation on Indian Reservations Program, also known as the Tribal Transit Program, is a discretionary grant competition run by the U.S. Department of Transportation through the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). For FY 2022, FTA set aside $8.75 million to support public transportation projects serving tribal communities, specifically focusing on transit in rural areas on or near Indian reservations. The program is structured to strengthen, expand, or start tribal public transit services by helping cover the real costs of planning a service, buying or improving equipment and facilities, and operating transit service once it is running.

Funding under this opportunity is awarded competitively rather than automatically by formula. While this is a tribal-specific program, the kinds of projects that can be funded track the purposes allowed under FTA's Formula Grants for Rural Areas Program (commonly referred to as Section 5311). In practical terms, that means tribes can seek support for planning activities (like transit studies, service design, coordination planning, and readiness work), capital needs (such as purchasing vehicles, communications equipment, shelters, maintenance tools, or other transit-related assets), and operating assistance (covering eligible day-to-day costs of providing rides, staffing, fuel, maintenance, and related operations). The intent is to give tribes flexibility to apply for the type of help that best matches their local transit gaps, whether the need is to build a program from scratch or to stabilize and improve an existing service.

The eligible applicants are federally recognized Native American tribal governments. The opportunity is listed under CFDA number 20.509 and is categorized under the transportation funding activity area. The funding instrument is a grant, and the overall opportunity is classified as discretionary. The notice anticipated making around 60 awards, and it also noted that FTA could increase the total amount available if additional funds became available before project selections were announced. The posting was created on February 16, 2022, with an original application deadline of May 25, 2022. The opportunity number associated with this announcement is FTA 2022 003 TPM TRTR.

One notable detail in the listing is that the "Award Ceiling" is shown as 0, which typically indicates that a maximum per-award amount was not specified in the summary fields and that award sizes would instead depend on the competitive selection process, program priorities, and the funding available. Overall, this grant opportunity is designed to improve mobility and access in rural tribal areas by supporting a wide range of eligible transit investments, from early-stage planning to the vehicles and operating support needed to deliver actual service.

• The Department of Transportation, DOT/Federal Transit Administration in the transportation sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY 2022 Competitive Funding Opportunity: Public Transportation on Indian Reservations Program; Tribal Transit Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 20.509.
• This funding opportunity was created on Feb 16, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by May 25, 2022. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 60 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized).

Apply for FTA 2022 003 TPM TRTR

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