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The Transit Award Management System (TrAMS)

Metro Train in Chicago

TrAMS Overview

The Transit Award Management System (TrAMS) is FTA’s web-based grant management tool that allows recipients to apply for federal funds, manage their programs in accordance with federal requirements, and enable FTA to review, approve, control, and oversee how funds are used.

Operating Status: Open.

Have a TrAMS account? Log in

What’s New

On December 5, 2024, FTA introduced enhancements to the Transit Award Management System (TrAMS) to improve how recipient documents are labeled and organized. Enhancements include additional instructional text and added search functionality. This correspondence informs recipients about the system enhancements and asks them to review and confirm that their required documents are correctly uploaded and labeled in TrAMS.

TrAMS Enhancements

On May 17, FTA introduced enhancements to the Transit Award Management System (TrAMS).

The enhancements included changes to the layout, appearance, and terminology specific to the records page and do not change the workflow or data within the system. These changes are necessary for FTA to stay on pace with current technology while streamlining users’ experience and enhancing clarity.

FTA hosted a webinar on May 22, 2024 to discuss and demonstrate the enhancements.

2020 Census Changes

In 2022, the U.S. Census Bureau released new urban area boundaries that correspond with the 2020 Census. As a result, all urbanized area (UZA) boundaries, or urban areas with a population of at least 50,000, have changed to some extent between 2010 and 2020. UZAs have:

  • contracted, 
  • grown,
  • traded territory,
  • been eliminated and are now completely rural,
  • been eliminated and are now part of another UZA, or
  • exceeded or fell below the critical threshold of 200,000 inhabitants.

TrAMS has been updated to reflect the appropriate changes to FTA’s accounting structure for formula apportionments to UZAs and grant obligations that can be made with apportioned funds.

FTA will apportion Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 formula funding based on the 2020 Census data, and all formula funding from FY23 and prior years will continue to be obligated and used according to the program, UZA size, and place of performance applicable at the time funds were apportioned (pre-2020 Census). View the current and archived apportionment notices.

To learn more about the 2020 Census and which UZAs were impacted, see:

TrAMS Application Award Descriptions

To satisfy Office of Management and Budget (OMB) requirements, the award descriptions for new awards and amendments to existing awards must include information for the following categories:

  • Purpose of the award
  • Activities to be performed
  • Expected outcomes
  • Intended beneficiaries
  • Subrecipient activities

View a sampling of award descriptions presented in the required format. Recipients should contact their regional office for any questions regarding the updated Award Description fields in TrAMS.

Apportionments

View the reference tables that list the apportionment amounts loaded into TrAMS for award and obligation.

Certifications & Assurances

Contact the TrAMS Help Desk with any questions.
 

Last updated: Monday, December 9, 2024