Federal Transit Administration – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is soliciting proposals under FTA's Technical Assistance and Workforce Development Program to select an entity to administer the National Center for Mobility Management (NCMM) and provide funding for the entity's activities through the NCMM. The NCMM will carry out activities to improve and enhance the coordination of Federal resources for human service transportation, especially transportation for people with disabilities, older adults, and people with low incomes. Primary activities will include supporting partners in adopting proven, sustainable, replicable, customer-centered mobility strategies that promote good health, economic vitality, self-sufficiency, and community unity. The FTA intends to fund the NCMM at up to $1,900,000 for the first year. The FTA may extend funding for this center for up to five (5) years; however, subsequent funding will depend upon: (1) Future authorization and appropriations; (2) decisions and program priorities established by the Secretary of Transportation related to the implementation of provisions set forth in 49 U.S.C. 5314; and (3) annual performance reviews.

This notice announces final environmental actions taken by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) for the Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County's (RTC's) Virginia Street Bus RAPID Transit Extension project in Washoe County, Nevada. The project includes construction of a 1.8-mile extension to its existing bus rapid transit service (the RAPID) operating in the Virginia Street corridor from its existing northern terminus at the 4th Street Station transfer terminal in Downtown Reno to the University of Nevada, Reno campus. The purpose of the project is to increase transit ridership and connectivity, enhance pedestrian safety, and improve accessibility to transit in the Virginia Street corridor. The purpose of this notice is to announce publicly the environmental decisions by FTA on the subject project and to activate the limitation on any claims that may challenge this final environmental action.

The Federal Transit Administration is issuing a final rule for the Public Transportation Safety Certification Training Program to provide revised minimum training requirements for Federal and State personnel and contractors who conduct safety audits and examinations of transit systems and for transit agency personnel and contractors who are directly responsible for safety oversight. The revised requirements reduce the number of training hours required by the interim training program.

This notice provides priorities for programs in fiscal year (FY) 2018, announces the full-year apportionments and allocations for grant programs, provides contract authority, and describes plans for several competitive programs.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announces the selection of projects with $226,473,000 of Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 and $37,973,775 of FY 2018 appropriations for the Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities Infrastructure Investment Program (Bus and Bus Infrastructure Program).

This notice announces final environmental actions taken by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) for a project extending the METRO Green Line from downtown Minneapolis through the communities of St. Louis Park, Hopkins, Minnetonka, and Eden Prairie, passing near Edina, Minnesota. The purpose of this notice is to announce publicly the environmental decisions by FTA on the subject project and to activate the limitation on any claims that may challenge this final environmental action.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announces the allocation of $277.5 million under the Public Transportation Emergency Relief Program (Emergency Relief Program) to States, Territories, and public transportation agencies affected by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria. Within the $277.5 million announced in this notice, FTA is allocating $233.3 million for response, recovery, and rebuilding projects and $44.2 million for project elements or stand-alone projects that increase the resilience of the affected transit systems to future disasters. Such resilience investments shall be subject to specific conditions cited in this notice.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announces the opportunity to apply for approximately $25.79 million of funding under the Pilot Program for Transit-Oriented Development Planning (Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance #20.500). As required by federal transit law and subject to funding availability, funds will be awarded competitively to support comprehensive planning associated with new fixed guideway and core capacity improvement projects.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announces the opportunity to apply for $84,450,000 in competitive grants under the fiscal year (FY) 2018 Low or No Emission Grant Program (Low-No Program; Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number: 20.526). In addition to $55 million authorized by federal transit law, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 authorizes an additional $29,450,000 for the Low-No Program for FY 2018. As required by Federal transit law, funds will be awarded competitively for the purchase or lease of low or no emission vehicles that use advanced technologies for transit revenue operations, including related equipment or facilities. Projects may include costs incidental to the acquisition of buses or to the construction of facilities, such as the costs of related workforce development and training activities, and project administration expenses. FTA may award additional funding that is made available to the program prior to the announcement of project selections.

This notice announces final environmental actions taken by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) for a project between the Town of Dyer and the City of Hammond, both located in Lake County, Indiana. The purpose of this notice is to announce publicly the environmental decisions by FTA on the subject project and to activate the limitation on any claims that may challenge this final environmental action.

The U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announces the selection of projects with Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 appropriations for the Low or No Emission Grants Program (Low-No Program). Federal transit law authorized $55 million for competitive allocations in FY 2017. On April 27, 2017, FTA published a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) announcing the availability of $55 million in competitive funding under the Low-No Program. These program funds will provide financial assistance to purchase or lease low or no emission vehicles that use advanced technologies, including related equipment or facilities, for transit revenue operations.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is issuing this notice to inform other Federal agencies that FTA intends to authorize Pierce Transit to convey certain property in Gig Harbor, Washington (Property) to the City of Gig Harbor to use as a community service facility if no Federal agency expresses an interest in acquiring the Property for a Federal government use.

This notice announces the intention of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve the revisions of the following information collection: Paul S. Sarbanes Transit in Parks Program.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) seeks public comment regarding the current and near-future status of automated transit buses and related technologies. FTA seeks comments in particular from parties involved in the development, demonstration, deployment, and evaluation of currently available or near-market ready automated buses; systems and components that support bus automation; and ancillary systems that support non-driving bus operator functions (e.g., wheelchair securement, occupant detection, passenger information assistance, fare payment, etc.). For purposes of this notice, ``bus'' is defined broadly to consider a range of sizes, vehicle platforms and configurations, and passenger capacities, and could include both traditional and novel vehicle designs (e.g., full-size city buses, articulated buses, small shuttles, etc.). ``Bus'' includes bus rapid transit.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the intention of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve the revisions of the following information collection: Clean Fuel Cell Grant Program.

This rulemaking rescinds certain transportation planning regulations pertaining to the establishment of the metropolitan planning area (MPA) boundaries, the designation of metropolitan planning organizations (MPO), and the coordination among MPOs. The amendments contained in this rule carry out the statutory mandate to rescind the final rule published on December 20, 2016, on this topic.

The U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) announce the selection of projects for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 Positive Train Control (PTC) Grant Program. A total of $197.01 million in the PTC grant funding, authorized under the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, will be provided to 17 projects in 13 states. On July 29, 2016, FTA and FRA published a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) announcing the availability of Federal funding for the PTC Grant Program. These funds will provide financial assistance to states, local governments, and public agencies for the implementation of positive train control systems to improve safety. Funds allocated in this announcement must be obligated in a grant by September 30, 2018.

This notice provides information on proposed changes and clarifications to the National Transit Database (NTD) reporting requirements. All proposed changes and clarifications are proposed to be effective for report year 2017 (beginning in September 2017).

This SNPRM provides interested parties the opportunity to comment on the proposed revisions to the FHWA and FTA joint regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Section 4(f) requirements. The FHWA, FRA, and FTA (hereafter referred to as ``the Agencies'') propose these revisions after the enactment of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, which requires a rulemaking to address programmatic approaches in environmental reviews and makes other changes to existing law that should be addressed in a rulemaking. In this SNPRM the Agencies also propose to add FRA to regulations governing environmental impact and related procedures and the parks, recreation areas, wildlife and waterfowl refuges, and historic site, making those regulations FRA's NEPA implementing procedures and FRA's Section 4(f) implementing regulations, respectively. This SNPRM proposes to modify the FHWA/FTA Environmental Impact and Related Procedures due to changes to the environmental review process made by the FAST Act and to modify the Parks, Recreation Areas, Wildlife and Waterfowl Refuges, and Historic Sites regulations due to new exceptions created by the FAST Act. Lastly, the Agencies request comments regarding the current FHWA and FTA definition of ``existing operational right-of-way'' in their respective categorical exclusion sections. The Agencies seek comments on the proposals in this document.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces that the Information Collection Requirements (ICRs) abstracted below have been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICR describe the nature of the information collection and their expected burdens. The Federal Register notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following collection of information was published on June 19, 2017.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announces the establishment of the Pilot Program for Nonprofit Cooperative Procurements (Pilot Program) and solicits expressions of interest from eligible nonprofit entities to participate. The Pilot Program is aimed at increasing innovation, promoting efficiency, and demonstrating the effectiveness of cooperative procurement contracts for rolling stock and related equipment administered by eligible nonprofit entities.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is proposing new, experimental procedures to encourage increased project management flexibility, more innovation in project funding, improved efficiency, timely project implementation, and new project revenue streams. A primary goal is to address impediments to the greater use of public- private partnerships (P3s) and private investment in public transportation capital projects (Private Investment Project Procedures or PIPP). FTA anticipates using the lessons learned from these experimental procedures to develop more effective approaches to including private participation and investment in project planning, project development, finance, design, construction, maintenance, and operations.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announces the opportunity to apply for approximately $226.5 million in Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 funds under Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities Infrastructure Investment Program (CFDA#20.526). As required by federal transit law and subject to funding availability, funds will be awarded competitively to assist in the financing of capital projects to replace, rehabilitate, purchase or lease buses and related equipment, and to rehabilitate, purchase, construct or lease bus-related facilities. Projects may include costs incidental to the acquisition of buses or to the construction of facilities, such as the costs of related workforce development and training activities, and project administration expenses. FTA may award additional funds if they are made available to the program prior to the announcement of project selections.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) has initiated the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the West Santa Ana Branch (WSAB) Transit Corridor Project (Project) pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The Project is a proposed light rail transit (LRT) line that would extend approximately 20 miles and connect downtown Los Angeles to southeast Los Angeles County, serving the cities and communities of Arts District, Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, unincorporated Florence-Graham community of Los Angeles County, Vernon, Huntington Park, Bell, Cudahy, South Gate, Downey, Paramount, Bellflower, Cerritos, and Artesia.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the intention of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve the revisions of the following information collection: Survey of FTA Stakeholders.