[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 160 (Tuesday, August 18, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50880-50884]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-17970]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration


Announcement of Fiscal Year 2020 Grants for Buses and Bus 
Facilities Program Project Selections

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration (FTA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice; Announcement of Project Selections. Grants for Buses 
and Bus Facilities Program.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Federal Transit 
Administration (FTA) announces the allocation of $463,848,929 to 
projects under the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 Grants for Buses and Bus 
Facilities Program (Bus and Bus Facilities Program) and provides 
administrative guidance on project implementation.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Successful applicants should contact 
the appropriate FTA Regional Office for information regarding applying 
for the funds or program-specific information. A list of Regional 
Offices can be found at www.transit.dot.gov/. Unsuccessful applicants 
may contact Mark G. Bathrick, Office of Program Management at (202) 
366-9955, email: [email protected], within 30 days of this 
announcement to arrange a proposal debriefing. A TDD is available at 1-
800-877-8339 (TDD/FIRS).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Federal public transportation law (49 U.S.C. 
5339(b)) authorizes FTA to make competitive grants for buses and bus 
facilities. Federal public transportation law (49 U.S.C. 5338) 
authorized $289,044,179 for competitive allocations in FY 2020. The 
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 (Pub. L. 116-94) appropriated an 
additional $170 million for the Buses and Bus Facilities Program for FY 
2020. An additional $20,401 of unawarded FY 2019 and $9,273,773 in FY 
2016 funding was also made available. After the statutory set, aside 
for oversight, $463,920,522 was available for competitive grants under 
the Buses and Bus Facilities Program.
    On January 30, 2020, FTA published a Notice of Funding Opportunity 
(NOFO) (85 FR 5538) announcing the availability of $454,626,348 in 
competitive funding under the Buses and Bus Facilities Program, with 
the option to award additional funds if they are made available to the 
program prior to the announcement of project selections. These funds 
will provide financial assistance to states and eligible public 
entities to replace, rehabilitate, purchase, or lease buses, vans, and 
related equipment, and for capital projects to rehabilitate, purchase, 
construct, or lease bus-related facilities. In response to the NOFO, 
FTA received 282 eligible project proposals from 48 States, the 
District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico requesting approximately 
$1.846 billion in Federal funds. Project proposals were evaluated based 
on each applicant's responsiveness to the program evaluation criteria 
outlined in the NOFO.
    Based on the criteria in the NOFO, FTA is funding 96 projects, as 
shown in Table 1, for a total of $463,848,929. Recipients selected for 
competitive funding are required to work with their FTA Regional Office 
to submit a grant application in FTA's Transit Award Management System 
(TrAMS) for the projects identified in the attached table to quickly 
obligate funds. Grant applications must only include eligible 
activities applied for in the original project application. Funds must 
be used consistent with the competitive proposal and for the eligible 
capital purposes described in the NOFO.
    In cases where the allocation amount is less than the proposer's 
total requested amount, recipients are required to fund the scalable 
project option as described in the application. If the award amount 
does not correspond to the scalable option, the recipient should work 
with the Regional Office to reduce scope or scale the project such that 
a complete phase or project is accomplished. Recipients may also 
provide additional local funds to complete a proposed project. A 
discretionary project identification number has been assigned to each 
project for tracking purposes and must be used in the TrAMS 
application.
    Selected projects are eligible to incur costs under pre-award 
authority no earlier than the date projects were publicly announced. 
Pre-award authority does not guarantee that project expenses incurred 
prior to the award of a grant will be eligible for reimbursement, as 
eligibility for reimbursement is contingent upon other requirements, 
such as planning and environmental requirements, having been met. For 
more about FTA's policy on pre-award authority, please see the current 
FTA Apportionments, Allocations, and Program Information and Interim 
Guidance at https://www.transit.dot.gov/funding/apportionments. Post-
award reporting requirements include submission of Federal Financial 
Reports and Milestone Progress Reports in TrAMS (see FTA Circular 
5010.1E, https://www.transit.dot.gov/regulations-and-guidance/fta-circulars/award-management-requirements-circular-50101e). Recipients 
must comply with all applicable Federal statutes, regulations, 
executive orders, FTA circulars, and other Federal requirements in 
carrying out the project supported by the FTA grant. FTA emphasizes 
that recipients must follow all third-party procurement requirements 
set forth in Federal public transportation law (49 U.S.C. 5325(a)) and 
described in the FTA Third Party Contracting Guidance Circular (FTA 
Circular 4220.1, https://www.transit.dot.gov/regulations-and-guidance/fta-circulars/third-party-contracting-guidance). Funds allocated in 
this announcement must be obligated in a grant by September 30, 2023.
    Technical Review and Evaluation Summary: The FTA assessed all 
project proposals that were submitted under the FY 2020 Bus and Bus 
Facilities Program competition according to the following evaluation 
criteria. The specific metrics for each criterion were described in the 
January 30, 2020, NOFO:

1. Demonstration of Need
2. Demonstration of Benefits
3. Planning/Local Prioritization
4. Local Financial Commitment
5. Project Implementation Strategy
6. Technical, Legal, and Financial Capacity

    For each project, a technical review panel assigned a rating of 
Highly Recommended, Recommended, or Not

[[Page 50881]]

Recommended for each of the six criteria. The technical review panel 
then assigned an overall rating of Highly Recommended, Recommended, Not 
Recommended, or Ineligible to the project proposal.
    Projects were assigned a final overall rating of Highly Recommended 
if they were rated Highly Recommended in at least four categories 
overall, with no Not Recommended ratings. Projects not rated Highly 
Recommended, were assigned a final overall rating of Recommended if the 
projects had no Not Recommended ratings. Projects were assigned a 
rating of Not Recommended if they received a Not Recommended rating in 
any criteria. The final overall ratings are summarized for 282 eligible 
project proposals in the table below.

                         Overall Project Ratings
                         [Eligible submissions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Highly Recommended......................................             174
Recommended.............................................              68
Not Recommended.........................................              40
                                                         ---------------
    Total...............................................             282
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As outlined in the NOFO, FTA made the final selections based on the 
technical ratings as well as geographic diversity, projects that 
support the FTA Accelerating Innovative Mobility and/or United States 
Department of Transportation Rural Opportunities to Use Transportation 
for Economic Success Initiatives, percentage of local cost share, 
location in or support of an opportunity zone, and/or receipt of other 
recent competitive awards.
    As further outlined in the NOFO, in some cases, due to funding 
limitations, proposers that were selected for funding received less 
than the amount originally requested.

K. Jane Williams,
Deputy Administrator.

                      Table 1--FY 20 Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities Project Selections
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
            State                    Recipient           Project ID      Project description       Allocation
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AK...........................  Fairbanks North Star   D2020-BUSC-096..  Transit Facility             $10,403,343
                                Borough.                                 Phase 2.
AK...........................  Ketchikan Indian       D2020-BUSC-097..  Vehicle Procurement..             93,000
                                Community (KIC).
AL...........................  City of Huntsville,    D2020-BUSC-098..  Multimodal Transfer           12,541,782
                                Alabama.                                 Station Construction
                                                                         and Operating
                                                                         Facility Re-design
                                                                         and Renovation.
AZ...........................  City of Phoenix        D2020-BUSC-099..  Bus Replacement......          6,948,750
                                Public Transit
                                Department.
CA...........................  California Department  D2020-BUSC-100..  Construction of Kern           1,400,000
                                of Transportation on                     Transit Bus
                                behalf of Kern                           Maintenance Facility.
                                Regional Transit.
CA...........................  Solano County Transit  D2020-BUSC-101..  Solano County Transit          1,850,000
                                                                         Electrical
                                                                         Infrastructure for
                                                                         Charging All-
                                                                         Electric Buses.
CA...........................  Butte County           D2020-BUSC-102..  Purchase electric              1,767,769
                                Association of                           buses and associated
                                Governments.                             charging equipment.
CA...........................  City of Davis........  D2020-BUSC-103..  Bus Replacement                3,760,000
                                                                         Program--Battery
                                                                         Electric Buses.
CA...........................  Monterey-Salinas       D2020-BUSC-104..  Transit System                 2,521,984
                                Transit.                                 Improvement Project
                                                                         of Monterey County.
CO...........................  Colorado Department    D2020-BUSC-105..  Roaring Fork                  11,475,000
                                of Transportation on                     Transportation
                                behalf of Roaring                        Authority Regional
                                Fork Transportation                      Transit Center
                                Authority.                               Renovation and
                                                                         Expansion.
CO...........................  Colorado Department    D2020-BUSC-106..  Durango Transit                  479,444
                                of Transportation on                     Replacement Vehicles.
                                behalf of Durango
                                Transit.
CO...........................  Colorado Department    D2020-BUSC-107..  ECO Transit Bus                  800,000
                                of Transportation on                     Replacement Project.
                                behalf of ECO
                                Transit.
CO...........................  Colorado Department    D2020-BUSC-108..  Electric Trolley                 300,800
                                of Transportation on                     Facility and
                                behalf of Estes Park.                    Electric Trolley
                                                                         Charger for Estes
                                                                         Park.
CO...........................  Colorado Department    D2020-BUSC-109..  Archuleta County Bus           1,812,000
                                of Transportation on                     Center and Bus
                                behalf of Archuleta                      Purchase.
                                County.
CT...........................  Connecticut            D2020-BUSC-110..  CTtransit Stamford             6,730,532
                                Department of                            Facility Upgrades to
                                Transportation.                          Deploy Battery
                                                                         Electric Buses (BEB).
DC...........................  District Department    D2020-BUSC-111..  DC Circulator South            5,984,319
                                of Transportation.                       Capitol Street
                                                                         Facility
                                                                         Modernization and
                                                                         Expansion Initiative.
DE...........................  Delaware Transit       D2020-BUSC-112..  Dover Operations               2,480,000
                                Corporation.                             Solar Power.
FL...........................  Collier, County of...  D2020-BUSC-113..  Collier Area Transit           9,020,000
                                                                         Maintenance Facility
                                                                         Enhancement and Bus
                                                                         Replacement.
FL...........................  Hillsborough Transit   D2020-BUSC-114..  Electric Buses and             2,742,675
                                Authority.                               Infrastructure.
FL...........................  Pinellas Suncoast      D2020-BUSC-115..  Electric Bus                   1,239,710
                                Transit Authority.                       Expansion.
FL...........................  Central Florida        D2020-BUSC-116..  Battery Electric Bus           2,840,000
                                Regional                                 Replacements.
                                Transportation
                                Authority, dba LYNX.
FL...........................  Jacksonville           D2020-BUSC-117..  Replacing,                    11,986,230
                                Transportation                           Rehabilitating and
                                Authority.                               Overhauling JTA's
                                                                         Facilities and Buses.
GA...........................  Metropolitan Atlanta   D2020-BUSC-118..  Clayton County                13,000,000
                                Rapid Transit                            Multipurpose
                                Authority (MARTA).                       Operations and
                                                                         Maintenance Facility.

[[Page 50882]]

 
GU...........................  Guam Regional Transit  D2020-BUSC-119..  Guam Regional Transit          9,558,120
                                Authority.                               Authority's (GRTA)
                                                                         purchase of Electric
                                                                         Buses, Electric
                                                                         Cars, Charging
                                                                         Stations and new
                                                                         Park and Ride
                                                                         Facility Phase1.
HI...........................  Hawaii Department of   D2020-BUSC-120..  Purchase Hybrid Buses          9,596,669
                                Transportation.                          for Hawaii, Kauai,
                                                                         and Maui.
IA...........................  Iowa Department of     D2020-BUSC-121..  Iowa Bus Replacement           5,541,710
                                Transportation.                          Project.
IA...........................  City of Dubuque......  D2020-BUSC-122..  Fleet Replacement,             1,073,000
                                                                         Improvements and New
                                                                         Facility Amenities.
ID...........................  Valley Regional        D2020-BUSC-123..  Compressed Natural             2,140,000
                                Transit.                                 Gas Fueling Island
                                                                         System Renovation
                                                                         and Parking Lot
                                                                         Rehabilitation and
                                                                         Expansion.
IL...........................  Bloomington-Normal     D2020-BUSC-124..  Downtown Bloomington           8,000,000
                                Public Transit                           Transportation
                                System (DBA Connect                      Center.
                                Transit).
IL...........................  Pace Suburban Bus      D2020-BUSC-125..  Lease of Bus Facility            850,464
                                Division of the                          Supporting I-90
                                Regional                                 Service Expansion.
                                Transportation
                                Authority.
IL...........................  Greater Peoria Mass    D2020-BUSC-126..  Construction of a New         10,000,000
                                Transit District.                        Facility and
                                                                         Rehabilitation of
                                                                         Existing Maintenance
                                                                         & Operations
                                                                         Building.
IN...........................  Bloomington Public     D2020-BUSC-127..  Bus Replacement,               3,200,000
                                Transportation                           Fleet Transition to
                                Corporation.                             Low-No Emission
                                                                         Vehicles.
IN...........................  Greater Lafayette      D2020-BUSC-128..  Compressed Natural             1,200,000
                                Public                                   Gas Fueling Station
                                Transportation                           Expansion Project.
                                Corporation.
KS...........................  Topeka Metropolitan    D2020-BUSC-129..  Bus System                     4,987,500
                                Transit Authority.                       Reliability and
                                                                         Resiliency
                                                                         Improvements.
KY...........................  Kentucky               D2020-BUSC-130..  Statewide Vehicle              3,070,671
                                Transportation                           Procurement.
                                Cabinet.
KY...........................  Transit Authority of   D2020-BUSC-131..  TACK Fleet                     2,037,920
                                Central Kentucky.                        Replacement.
LA...........................  New Orleans Regional   D2020-BUSC-132..  Bus Replacement......         13,916,000
                                Transit Authority.
MA...........................  Montachusett Regional  D2020-BUSC-133..  Procure Innovative             1,000,000
                                Transit Authority.                       Automated Fare
                                                                         Collection System.
MA...........................  Lowell Regional        D2020-BUSC-134..  Bus and Lift                   4,620,000
                                Transit Authority.                       Replacements.
MA...........................  Worcester Regional     D2020-BUSC-135..  Account-Based Mobile             722,606
                                Transit Authority.                       Fare Payment System.
MA...........................  Pioneer Valley         D2020-BUSC-136..  New Bus Wash Systems           1,536,000
                                Transit Authority.                       for PVTA Bus
                                                                         Maintenance Garages
                                                                         in Northampton and
                                                                         at UMass Amherst.
MA...........................  Berkshire Regional     D2020-BUSC-137..  Bus Replacement......            333,732
                                Transit Authority.
MD...........................  MDOT Maryland Transit  D2020-BUSC-138..  Carroll County, MD               118,174
                                Administration on                        Light Duty Bus
                                behalf of The County                     Replacement.
                                Commissioners of
                                Carroll County.
MD...........................  MDOT Maryland Transit  D2020-BUSC-139..  CNG Bus Procurement..          3,437,370
                                Administration on
                                behalf of Harford
                                County Maryland.
MD...........................  MDOT Maryland Transit  D2020-BUSC-140..  Replacement Buses and          1,239,024
                                Administration on                        Automated Bus Stop
                                behalf of Howard                         Announcements.
                                County, Maryland.
ME...........................  Greater Portland       D2020-BUSC-141..  Bus Replacement                  821,526
                                Transit District.                        Project.
ME...........................  Maine Department of    D2020-BUSC-142..  Acadia Gateway Center          9,000,000
                                Transportation.                          Phase 2 Completion.
ME...........................  City of Bangor.......  D2020-BUSC-143..  Bus Stops and                    396,800
                                                                         Shelters.
MI...........................  Michigan Department    D2020-BUSC-144..  Bus facility                   2,365,600
                                of Transportation.                       rehabilitation and
                                                                         expansion for rural
                                                                         transit agencies.
MI...........................  Michigan Department    D2020-BUSC-145..  Vehicle replacements           4,924,382
                                of Transportation.                       and expansions for
                                                                         rural public transit
                                                                         agencies.
MI...........................  Michigan Department    D2020-BUSC-146..  New construction of a         13,380,000
                                of Transportation.                       Bay Area
                                                                         Transportation
                                                                         Authority
                                                                         headquarters
                                                                         facility and
                                                                         transfer station.
MI...........................  Battle Creek, City of  D2020-BUSC-147..  Bus Replacement......          5,340,000
                                Battle Creek Transit.
MI...........................  Capital Area           D2020-BUSC-148..  Rehabilitation and             1,824,416
                                Transportation                           Repairs to Downtown
                                Authority.                               Bus Terminal
                                                                         Building.
MN...........................  Minnesota State        D2020-BUSC-149..  Rural Transit Bus              4,412,890
                                Department of                            Replacement Project.
                                Transportation.
MN...........................  Metropolitan Council/  D2020-BUSC-150..  Burnsville Bus Garage          2,800,000
                                Metro Transit on                         Modernization.
                                behalf of Minnesota
                                Valley Transit
                                Authority.
MO...........................  Kansas City Area       D2020-BUSC-151..  Operations Center              7,980,000
                                Transportation                           Improvements.
                                Authority.

[[Page 50883]]

 
MS...........................  City of Hattiesburg..  D2020-BUSC-152..  Hub City Transit Bus           1,831,200
                                                                         Stop Improvements.
MT...........................  Montana Department of  D2020-BUSC-153..  Bus Replacement                  201,549
                                Transportation on                        Project.
                                behalf of
                                Opportunity Link,
                                Inc.
NC...........................  Town of Chapel Hill..  D2020-BUSC-154..  Electric Buses and             5,600,000
                                                                         Infrastructure.
NC...........................  City of Asheville....  D2020-BUSC-155..  Bus Stop Enhancement           1,000,000
                                                                         and Improvement
                                                                         Project.
NC...........................  City of Fayetteville.  D2020-BUSC-156..  Bus Replacement......          1,734,000
ND...........................  North Dakota           D2020-BUSC-157..  Statewide Bus                 15,000,000
                                Department of                            Purchases.
                                Transportation.
NE...........................  The Transit Authority  D2020-BUSC-158..  Bus Procurement......         13,558,199
                                of the City of Omaha.
NH...........................  City of Nashua.......  D2020-BUSC-159..  Safety, Security and             821,500
                                                                         Passenger Technology
                                                                         Enhancements.
NJ...........................  New Jersey Transit     D2020-BUSC-160..  Wayne Bus Garage              14,672,995
                                Corporation.                             Modernization.
NM...........................  Ohkay Owingeh........  D2020-BUSC-161..  PoPay Messenger                  582,664
                                                                         Transit Service
                                                                         Facility.
NV...........................  Regional               D2020-BUSC-162..  Hybrid Electric                4,080,000
                                Transportation                           Replacement Buses.
                                Commission of Washoe
                                County.
NY...........................  New York City          D2020-BUSC-163..  South Bronx Bx6               10,000,000
                                Department of                            Select Bus Service.
                                Transportation.
NY...........................  County of Suffolk....  D2020-BUSC-164..  Battery Electric               1,600,000
                                                                         Transit Bus Purchase.
OH...........................  Greater Dayton         D2020-BUSC-165..  Bus Replacement......          4,324,608
                                Regional Transit
                                Authority.
OH...........................  Butler County          D2020-BUSC-166..  Chestnut Street                2,000,000
                                Regional Transit                         Multimodal Station
                                Authority.                               and Shared Services
                                                                         Facility.
OH...........................  Portage Area Regional  D2020-BUSC-167..  CNG Bus Replacement..            446,742
                                Transportation
                                Authority.
OK...........................  Oklahoma Department    D2020-BUSC-168..  Rural Transportation           9,120,000
                                of Transportation.                       Operations and
                                                                         Maintenance
                                                                         Facility--Phase 2 &
                                                                         3.
OK...........................  Oklahoma Department    D2020-BUSC-169..  Ki Bois Area Transit           1,452,544
                                of Transportation.                       System--Oklahoma's
                                                                         Rural and Tribal
                                                                         Connection.
OK...........................  Metropolitan Tulsa     D2020-BUSC-170..  Bus Replacement and            3,175,604
                                Transit Authority.                       Service
                                                                         Modernization.
OR...........................  Rogue Valley           D2020-BUSC-171..  Bus Procurement......          2,687,000
                                Transportation
                                District.
OR...........................  Lane Transit District  D2020-BUSC-172..  Electric Bus                   3,952,851
                                                                         Procurement.
PA...........................  City of Hazleton.....  D2020-BUSC-173..  Bus Maintenance and           10,000,000
                                                                         Storage Facility.
PA...........................  Erie Metropolitan      D2020-BUSC-174..  CNG Bus Procurement..          1,466,250
                                Transit Authority.
PR...........................  Municipio de Carolina  D2020-BUSC-175..  Bus Procurement......          2,482,880
RI...........................  Rhode Island Public    D2020-BUSC-176..  RIPTA Bus Procurement          8,913,508
                                Transit Authority.                       Program.
SC...........................  Berkeley Charleston    D2020-BUSC-177..  Hospitality on                 2,777,211
                                Dorchester Council                       Peninsula (HOP) Park
                                of Governments.                          & Ride Lot and
                                                                         Multimodal Transit
                                                                         Hub.
SD...........................  South Dakota           D2020-BUSC-178..  Rural Transit                  1,636,000
                                Department of                            Vehicles Procurement.
                                Transportation.
TX...........................  Texas Department of    D2020-BUSC-179..  Rural Transit                 10,210,000
                                Transportation.                          Facility Development
                                                                         Project.
TX...........................  Metropolitan Transit   D2020-BUSC-180..  Fare Collection               14,770,058
                                Authority of Harris                      System.
                                County.
TX...........................  City of Conroe.......  D2020-BUSC-181..  Conroe Connection                896,000
                                                                         Transit Bus
                                                                         Expansion and
                                                                         Replacement.
UT...........................  Cache Valley Transit   D2020-BUSC-182..  Cache Valley Transit          18,000,000
                                District.                                District Bus Storage
                                                                         and Maintenance
                                                                         Facility.
VT...........................  Vermont Agency of      D2020-BUSC-183..  Statewide Small Bus              836,355
                                Transportation.                          and Sprinter
                                                                         Replacement Project.
WA...........................  Washington State       D2020-BUSC-184..  Rural Buses and Bus            4,871,549
                                Department of                            Facilities.
                                Transportation.
WA...........................  Intercity Transit....  D2020-BUSC-185/   Maintenance Facility          11,345,700
                                                       D2020-BUSC-186/   Renovation,
                                                       D2020-BUSC-187.   Expansion, and
                                                                         Modernization
                                                                         Project.
WA...........................  Spokane Transit        D2020-BUSC-188..  Double Decker Bus              2,950,000
                                Authority.                               Procurement.
WA...........................  Central Puget Sound    D2020-BUSC-189..  Bus Procurement......          4,800,000
                                Regional Transit
                                Authority (Sound
                                Transit).
WA...........................  King County Metro      D2020-BUSC-190..  HVAC Systems                   4,532,400
                                Transit.                                 Replacement.
WI...........................  City of Madison......  D2020-BUSC-191..  Articulated Bus                4,676,760
                                                                         Procurement.
WI...........................  Milwaukee County.....  D2020-BUSC-192..  Fleet Maintenance              3,003,628
                                                                         Facility Roof
                                                                         Replacement.
WY...........................  Wyoming Department of  D2020-BUSC-193..  Transit Maintenance            4,237,262
                                Transportation on                        and Storage Facility.
                                behalf of the
                                University of
                                Wyoming.
                                                                                              ------------------

[[Page 50884]]

 
    Total:...................  .....................  ................  .....................        463,848,929
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


[FR Doc. 2020-17970 Filed 8-17-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P