Action
Notice of availability of funds; solicitation of grant applications.
Summary
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announces the availability of funds for the Over- the-road Bus (OTRB) Accessibility Program, authorized by Section 3038 of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21). The OTRB Accessibility Program makes funds available to private operators of over-the-road buses to finance the incremental capital and training costs of complying with DOT's over-the-road bus accessibility final rule, published in a Federal Register Notice on September 24, 1998. The OTRB Accessibility Program calls for national solicitation of applications, with grantees to be selected on a competitive basis. Federal funds are available for up to 50 percent of the project cost. A total of $24.3 million is available for the program over the life of TEA-21. The guaranteed level of funding available for intercity fixed-route service is $2 million in fiscal year (FY) 1999 and FY 2000, $3 million in FY 2001, and $5.3 million in FY 2002 and FY 2003, for a total of $17.5 million. The guaranteed level of funding for other over- the-road bus services, including charter and tour bus, is $1.7 million per year from FY 2000 to FY 2003, for a total of $6.8 million. For FY 1999, $2 million was appropriated for intercity fixed-route service providers. This announcement describes application procedures for the OTRB Accessibility Program and the procedures FTA will use to determine which projects it will fund. It includes all of the information needed to apply for an OTRB Accessibility Program grant. This announcement is available on the Internet on the FTA website at http://www.fta.dot.gov/library/legal/otrbap.htm. This website will also have commonly asked questions and answers. FTA will announce final project selections on the website and in the Federal Register.