Action
Notice of funding opportunity.
Summary
The Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) Integrated Mobility Innovation (IMI) Demonstration program's primary purpose is to fund projects that demonstrate innovative, effective approaches, practices, partnerships, and technologies to enhance public transportation effectiveness, increase efficiency, expand quality, promote safety, and improve the traveler's experience. This notice announces the availability of up to $15 million in Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 and FY 2018 FTA research funds in the form of cooperative agreements for eligible projects. FTA may award additional funds, if available. This IMI Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) brings together three distinct areas of inquiry: Mobility on Demand (MOD) Sandbox demonstrations; FTA's Strategic Transit Automation Research (STAR); and Mobility Payment Integration (MPI). These areas are integrated in this NOFO to allow applicants to comprehensively plan multiple areas of mobility research. FTA requests that all applicants identify the specific area(s) for which they are applying. The Integrated Mobility Innovation Demonstration program will also leverage FTA's leadership of the Accessible Transportation Technologies Research Initiative (ATTRI) to ensure that all activities conducted under this NOFO advance the vision of a Complete Trip for All. The Complete Trip concept reflects the understanding that a person's travel comprises a chain of steps beginning with an often-spontaneous decision to make a trip, through to planning an itinerary, traversing the built environment and its transportation networks (with or without a vehicle); navigating streets, intersections, facilities, stations, and stops to their destination--safely, efficiently, and carefree. The Complete Trip is the realization that if any part of the trip-making chain is broken, the trip cannot be completed, and an opportunity is lost.