FTA Van Pool Policy - FAQs
- What is the definition of a ‘private provider of public transportation by vanpool’?
- What is a commuter highway/van pool vehicle?
- Farebox revenue is normally not allowed to be counted as match for transit. How will it be allowed for vanpools?
- How do you calculate the credit to be used as local match?
- What information must be provided if a grantee is seeking credit towards its local share with the use of Federal funds?
- What information must be provided if a grantee is seeking credit towards its local share without the use of Federal funds?
- How would a grantee record the credit to be used as local match?
- Where should the grantee maintain documents justifying the use of credit as local match?
- If there is any residual local match from the vanpool fares after vanpool subsidies and related costs are met, can the remaining match be used for other programs?
- FTA’s new vanpool policy states that the credit should be handled in a similar manner as Transportation Development Credits (formerly known as toll revenue credits). What does this mean?
- Where should grantees enter vanpool credit amounts in FTA’s EAMS (e.g. TEAM/TrAMS) to track the vanpool credit to be used as local match?
- How will this new vanpool policy affect leased vans?
- How do I calculate the value of a van I acquired before joining the vanpool program?
What is the definition of a ‘private provider of public transportation by vanpool’?
The term ‘private provider of public transportation by vanpool’ means a private entity providing vanpool services in the service area of a recipient of assistance under Chapter 53 using a commuter highway vehicle or vanpool vehicle.
What is a commuter highway/van pool vehicle?
Commuter highway vehicle and vanpool vehicle are vehicles with seating capacity for at least six (6) adults (not including the driver); and at least 80 percent of the mileage use can be reasonably expected to be for the purposes of transporting commuters in connection with travel between their residences and their places of employment.
Farebox revenue is normally not allowed to be counted as match for transit. How will it be allowed for vanpools?
MAP-21 included a new provision specific to vanpool services. The law allows a vanpool provider to use revenues in excess of its operating expenses to acquire rolling stock as long as the private provider and the grantee enter into an agreement that specifies the private provider will use the rolling stock in the grantee’s service area. Therefore, the amount in excess revenues and other capital, less operating expenses and any governmental assistance could be used by the grantee as a credit toward the local match.
How do you calculate the credit to be used as local match?
The credit to be used as local match is calculated as follows: cost of the vans minus any Federal, state or local government assistance received.
What information must be provided if a grantee is seeking credit towards its local share with the use of Federal funds?
If a grantee is seeking credit towards its local share with the use of Federal funds, they must provide the following information:
- Year of Purchase
- Vehicle Identification Number
- (A) Cost of Van
- (B) Amount of federal financial assistance
- (C) Required local match
- (D) Amount of state or local assistance beyond the match requirement
- (E) Amount to be used as credit for this grant A-B-C-D
- Certified Statement to verify van is being used in grantee’s service area
What information must be provided if a grantee is seeking credit towards its local share without the use of Federal funds?
If a grantee is seeking credit towards its local share without the use of Federal funds, they must provide the following information:
- Year of Purchase
- Vehicle Identification Number
- (A) Cost of Van
- (B) Amount of state or local financial assistance
- (C) Amount available as credit (A-B)
- (D) Amount used as credit for previous grants
- (E) Amount to be used as credit for this grant (C-D)
- Certified statement to verify van is being used in grantee’s service area
How would a grantee record the credit to be used as local match?
The information requested in the charts above can be attached in FTA’s Electronic Award Management System (EAMS), (e.g. TEAM or TrAMS).
Where should the grantee maintain documents justifying the use of credit as local match?
This information should be included in the grantee’s file and available for review upon request by FTA regional staff.
If there is any residual local match from the vanpool fares after vanpool subsidies and related costs are met, can the remaining match be used for other programs?
Yes, the local match resulting from private providers’ rolling stock investments qualifies as match for any Chapter 53 grant in the grantee’s area.
FTA’s new vanpool policy states that the credit should be handled in a similar manner as Transportation Development Credits (formerly known as toll revenue credits). What does this mean?
FTA’s new vanpool policy and Transportation Development Credits (TDC) are similar in that they both apply to the local share of a grant and permit the non-federal share of a project’s cost to be met through a credit or “soft match”. The outcome of using TDC or this vanpool policy means that FTA, in essence, provides 100 percent of the total net project cost.
Where should grantees enter vanpool credit amounts in FTA’s EAMS (e.g. TEAM/TrAMS) to track the vanpool credit to be used as local match?
The vanpool policy states that vanpool credits should be treated in the same manner as TDC, therefore, grantees should use the TDC line in the EAMS to record the vanpool credits to be used as local match. Whenever a grantee proposes to use vanpool credits as local match, FTA regional staff should notify headquarters staff (TPM-30) by email, of the grantee’s name and project number. TPM-30 will retrieve documentation of the identified grantee from FTA’s EAMS, and maintain a spreadsheet for tracking the vanpool credit used as local match. This is an interim process until FTA creates a permanent reporting field for tracking vanpool credits during the next enhancement of TrAMS.
How will this new vanpool policy affect leased vans?
If the amounts expended for acquisition of a van is undertaken through a third party leased van, the third party should follow FTA’s Capital Cost of Contracting guidance found in chapter IV, pages 11-13 of FTA circular 9030.1E to determine the amount that can be treated as local match.
How do I calculate the value of a van I acquired before joining the vanpool program?
If a participant acquired a van before joining the vanpool program, the value of the van should be calculated by applying straight-line depreciation beginning on the date the van was first used in the program and subtracting any federal, state or local participation, as cited in FTA circular 5010.1D.