DALLAS -- The Federal Transit Administration said on Tuesday that it will distribute $266 million of competitive grants this year to transit systems for infrastructure upgrades and increased use of environmentally friendly buses.
The deadline for grant applications is May 13. The funding consists of $211 million for new or renovated buses and bus facilities, as well as $55 million dedicated specifically to the FTA's Low and No Emission (Lo-No) bus program, which promotes the deployment of technologically advanced and environmentally friendly buses.
Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said the grants will benefit riders who rely on transit fleets that are often old and unreliable.
"As demand for transit grows and our nation's population continues to expand, these much-needed funds will help bring communities the latest technologies to strengthen and improve their bus infrastructure," he said.
The latest FTA assessment found a deferred maintenance backlog for bus and rail transit systems totaling $86.6 billion, with the backlog growing by $2.5 billion each year from lack of funding.
FTA Acting Administrator Therese McMillan said the $211 million of infrastructure grants will provide some flexibility to underfunded transit agencies. McMillan was recently appointed chief planning officer at Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
"With a large and growing maintenance backlog throughout the public transportation industry, it is vital for local agencies to have additional resources to address their community's needs," she said.
The five-year Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, which was enacted in late 2015, provides $2.3 billion of transit capital investment grants per year from fiscal 2016 to 2020, a 21% increase from 2015's $1.9 billion.
New York's Regional Plan Association said in January that the maintenance backlogs on bus and rail transit systems serving the nation's nine largest metro areas total $102 billion.
The systems, which are also the oldest in the U.S., need an additional $30 billion per year for the next six years to get back on track after decades of heavy use, the RPA said.
"Many of their assets are now beyond their useful life and the agencies are approaching a tipping point at which unfunded capital needs will overwhelm their ability and capacity to operate high-quality transit service," the RPA said. "An inadequate level of federal funding for transit state-of-good-repair needs has significant consequences."
The infrastructure grants can be used to replace, rehabilitate, lease, or purchase buses as well as buy, rehabilitate, build or lease buildings for bus storage and maintenance, the FTA said.
The grants will be awarded on a competitive basis to transit agencies, state transportation departments, and Indian tribes. The FTA said it would evaluate the proposals based on the need for additional infrastructure investment, the economic benefits, and how they would increase the use of low- and no-emission technologies.
The $55 million of Lo-No grants were allocated last month to 10 projects aimed at putting non-polluting buses on the road. The FTA said the grants are a down payment on President Obama's proposed 10-year, $200 billion 21st Century Clean Transportation Plan.
Foxx said the 10 projects will help develop a new generation of advanced, non-polluting transit buses.
"The Obama administration is committed to investing in 21st century transportation solutions like these zero emission buses," he said. "These innovative, energy-efficient buses will help increase efficiency, improve air quality, and reduce our nation's dependence on oil."
Fifty project proposals totaling $200 million were submitted for the limited Lo-No funding, the FTA said. Priority was given to proposals that funded the incremental difference between a standard bus and a Lo-No vehicle as a way to stretch procurement dollars and demonstrated a long-term commitment to expanding green energy bus fleets.
