FTA Funds Awarded

[mrpete]

MARYLAND  Project: South County Circulator (Bus and Bus Livability)
Sponsor: Maryland Transit Authority (MTA), on behalf of Prince George's County
Amount: $4,126,227
Funds will be used to purchase additional buses for the Oxen Hill  and Branch Avenue circulator routes and demand service to meet the  ever-increasing needs of a growing community, and to reduce congestion  and over-crowding on the current system.

[79MetroExtraMD]

Will this be something seperate from TheBus or supplement those routes in Oxon Hill?

[aznboy4305]

Which grant is this?

[79MetroExtraMD]

Which grant is this?

Probably TIGER. Is there a link to this or something?

[aznboy4305]

No, it is the Urban Circulator/Bus and Bus Livability grant. TIGER I has been done with, TIGER II is in the application stage.

[Perry]

The drawback with TIGER II is it will only cover 80% of the project while TIGER I didn't require that.  For example, for us we received over $30 million for a Sahara Ave. BRT project that will cost a little over $40 million, but the only thing we have to make up is the difference.  With TIGER II, we are going after funds for a Flamingo Road project but if we're awarded the amount, we not only have to cover any difference but also come up with 20% local match.

[aznboy4305]

Yeah, TIGER grants are getting more competitive now with smaller pots. The total pot combined with the minimum award amount for TIGER II would only allow for a MAXIMUM of 60 awards this time around. Also, the 20% match is just the minimum, the proportion of local match an applicant is able put forward also adds competitiveness to that applicant's project. We're expecting very tight competition with this grant.

Also, the focus of the grants have changed from TIGER I to TIGER II, much less emphasis on job creation it seems like.

[mrpete]

Here's the link courtesy of Perry:

http://www.fta.dot.gov/news/news_events_11820.html