FTA Planning $20B Investment in U.S. Transit Systems

April 8, 2022

The Federal Transit Administration has announced a plan to invest more than $20 billion in U.S. transit systems, thanks to increased funding provided by the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act or IIJA enacted in November 2021.

[Above photo by the Denver RTD]

That investment plan, detailed by FTA in apportionment tables for each of FTA’s 30 programs for fiscal year 2022, provides 58 percent more funding compared to previous years – enabling transit agencies to modernize and expand services for residents in communities large and small.

Full-year funding is now available following Congressional passage of an FY 2022 appropriations bill in March, FTA noted in a statement.

Those new funding tables also reflect funding increases authorized by the IIJA, allowing thousands of transit agencies to buy new buses and railcars, address their repair backlogs, modernize their fleets, and transition to new climate-focused technologies.

The FY 2022 full-year apportionment, which supports all of FTA’s competitive grant and formula programs, supersede partial-year tables posted in February. The full-year amounts significantly increase funding for many programs, the agency added, including:

  • $6.9 billion for the Urbanized Area Formula Program, which supports transit agencies in large U.S. cities and suburbs; 29 percent more than the FY 2021 funding level.
  • $4.1 billion for the State of Good Repair Formula Program; 52 percent more than the FY 2021 funding level.
  • $893 million for Rural Area Formula grants, which support transit programs in rural areas; 23 percent more than the FY 2021 level.
  • $422 million for the Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities program; 44 percent more than the FY 2021 level.
  • $45 million to support to transit programs run by tribal governments through formula and competitive grants; 25 percent more than the FY 2021 funding level.
  • $49 million for State Safety Oversight; 69 percent more than FY 2021 funding level.

FTA has already issued notices of funding opportunity or NOFOs for its FY 2022 Tribal Transit Competitive program, the Buses and Bus Facilities Competitive Program, and Low or No Emission Grant Program. It plans to publish NOFOs for other programs later this spring and summer.

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