AASHTO Journal - Illinois DOT Funding to Spur Transit Access for Students

The Illinois Department of Transportation and the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) recently issued a formal notice of funding availability for eligible agencies to establish programs that encourage and support public school students to use transit outside of the Chicago area.

[Above photo by Illinois DOT]

A total of $35 million is available via two new competitive grant programs – the Downstate Reduced Fare Grant Program and the Downstate Cooperative Transportation Grant Program, created by legislation passed by the General Assembly this year – and applications for that funding are due by October 15. Awards will be announced in early 2027, Illinois DOT said in a statement.

Available to transit agencies outside the territory covered by the Northern Illinois Transit Authority, those two grant programs are designed to provide additional and affordable transportation options for students enrolled in public schools and increase access to transportation for school, extracurricular activities, and other events.

The Downstate Reduced Fare Grant Program is open to public transit agencies to establish, continue or expand their own free or reduced fare programs for eligible students in public elementary, middle and high schools or enrolled at career centers and public technical education centers administered by ISBE. The program is intended to supplement existing transportation options for students by making transit more affordable, while reimbursing transit agencies for providing free or reduced fares. A total of $20 million through Illinois DOT will be awarded to successful applicants, with those grants administered in five-year cycles, the agency said.
The Downstate Cooperative Transportation Grant is offered to transit agencies to establish, expand or coordinate student transportation services in partnership with public schools and regional offices of education as well as career centers and public technical education centers administered by ISBE. Eligible activities include transportation planning, scheduling, service coordination, and eligible equipment and other costs associated with providing student transportation services. A total of $15 million is available, with those grants also administered in five-year cycles.

Across the country, state departments of transportation provide support to transit services in a variety of ways.

For example, NC By Train – the official brand name used by the North Carolina Department of Transportation for state-supported passenger rail services – recently introduced the “Rail & Ride” pass to make it easier for passengers traveling between Raleigh and Charlotte to connect to public transit services at rail stops.

Meanwhile, the Connecticut Department of Transportation and the City of Hartford recently completed the installation of 21 new bus shelters across the city via the agency’s Bus Stop Enhancement Program. An additional 47 bus stops in Hartford are currently in the design process for future improvements, Connecticut DOT said.

The agency also said those additional 21 stops – built at a cost of $26,000 per unit – serve an average of approximately 360 passenger boardings each weekday, meaning more than 131,000 passenger boardings will benefit from the new shelters annually.

And the Nevada Department of Transportation is seeking public feedback through September 30 on the agency’s draft of an updated Statewide Rural Transit Funding Plan that will define how federal transit funding is administered statewide for transit operators to provide much-needed services across rural areas of the state.