WASHINGTON — The Federal Transit Administration is offering $1.94 million in grants to fund research projects to improve customer convenience, such as finding easier ways to pay for rides or to enhance schedules based on rider demand.
The Enhancing Mobility Innovation program is open to transit agencies; state and local transportation departments; state and local governments, including metropolitan planning organizations; private and nonprofit organizations; Indian tribes; and colleges and universities.
The FTA says funding will be awarded in two categories:=
— Innovations focusing on new service delivery models, creative financing, novel partnerships, and integrated payment solutions.
— Solfeware solutions that improve ways to provide demand-response public transportation service.
“The Enhancing Mobility Innovation program supports transit agencies as they work to strengthen mobility, with a focus on how innovation can improve service delivery and make trains, buses, and ferries easier to use and more attractive to riders,” FTA Acting Administrator Veronica Vanterpool said in a press release. “This funding will help spur innovation so that people can get to their destinations more reliably, comfortably and conveniently.”
Eligibility and application information is available on the FTA website or at Grants.Gov.
This is the second round of funding for the program. Nine projects in six states were selected in 2022.
“…. creative financing ….”
“…. novel partnerships….”
There’s two red flags, ey? Ask Kathy Hochul about “creative financing”. We need to find a sustainable method to pay for transit, because we just saw in New York that gimmicks don’t fly.
A democracy needs to reject “creative financing”. Congress and the fifty state legislatures need to enact fiscal responsible budgets and governmental transparency.
Transit in this country is on the verge of financial collapse. FTA’s $1.94 Million in grants will do nothing except hire consultants.
Yes this FTA program is a “make work” effort for consultants, and local governments/transit agencies that apply this modest funding, and will do nothing to solve the larger issues of transit agencies’ looming financial insolvency or their institutional and organizational shortcomings.
Virtue signaling for – “— Innovations focusing on new service delivery models, creative financing, novel partnerships, and integrated payment solutions.” But will anything useful come out of this new FTA program other than consultant reports to “put on the shelf…” (?)
It will be very interesting to see what kind of “creative financing” Governor Kathy Hochul tries to conjure up to bail-out the failing and soon (?) bankrupt MTA transit. They’re in a real mess right now with no easy, or obvious answers to their looming fiscal crisis ….