Elderly and Disabled Specialized Transit Program (FTA 5310)

Cindy Chiaverini
Branch Chief
Phone: (916) 654-6990
Toll free: (888) 472-6816
Fax: (916) 654-9366

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Program Overview

This capital grants funding program was established by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA Section 5310) for meeting the transportation needs of elderly persons and persons with disabilities in areas where public mass transportation services are otherwise unavailable, insufficient, or inappropriate. It allows for the procurement of accessible vans and busses; communication equipment; mobility management activities; and computer hardware and software for eligible applicants.

The final FTA Circular, (FTA C 9070.1F, effective May 1, 2007) incorporates provisions of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). This requires projects selected for funding be derived from a locally developed, coordinated public transit-human services transportation plan and that the plan be developed through a process that includes representatives of a public, private, and non-profit transportation and human service providers and participation by members of the public.

The procurement element of this program works in partnership with the California Department of General Services, Procurement Division, to provide a State contract for the purchase of paratransit buses that will meet the transportation needs for successful grantees under Section 5310. In addition, public agencies are able to purchase off the contract and benefit from the economies of scale of a large group procurement. For questions and comments contact this office at 1-888-GRANT16/1-888-472-6816.

Eligible Applicants

Private nonprofit corporations or public agencies where no private nonprofits are readily available to provide the proposed service or that have been approved by the State of California to coordinate services for elderly persons and persons with disabilities.

Funding Availability

Approximately $12.6 million is available in the federal fiscal year 2009. Agencies receive up to 88.53% in federal funds and provide at least 11.47% in local match.

Program Requirements

Successful applicants enter into a project agreement with Caltrans that stipulates the terms and conditions under which the equipment must be procured and operated. The agreement remains in effect until the project is terminated and formal disposition of the equipment has been made with the approval of Caltrans in accordance with Federal grant standards. Section 5310 grantee agencies are required to furnish quarterly report on the use of their Section 5310 equipment. Caltrans also makes biennially inspections of local projects to verify the condition and appropriate use of the equipment.

Funding Selection Process

Projects are awarded through a competitive application process. Regional transportation planning agencies score projects from their region utilizing the California Transportation Commission (Commission) adopted project-scoring criteria and send a scored list of their projects to Caltrans. Caltrans forwards the regional lists to the statewide review committee which supplies a draft statewide prioritized list based on project scores calculated by the regions and determine a "cutoff point" (score) on the draft list based on the Commission's adopted criteria. The committee rescores any projects that are incorrectly scored by the regions and creates a statewide-prioritized list of projects representing 110% of the estimated available funds. The statewide review committee holds a staff level hearing for all stakeholders to discuss the statewide-prioritized list and hear any appeals on technical issue. The statewide evaluation committee submits a final statewide-prioritized list to the Commission. The Commission holds a public hearing to discuss the prioritized list, overall program policy and adopts the prioritized list.