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Greetings, everyone. Here at Region 1, we are excited to bring you this resource: a newsletter filled with all the latest news and updates from FTA. We will be sharing funding opportunities, distributing updated guidelines and guidance, celebrating grantees, and highlighting some of our amazing Region 1 employees. As always, if you have any questions or need assistance, the team and I are only an email or phone call away. Here’s to another excellent year in transit!
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According to a recent FTA report on transit trends, ridership in the United States continues to increase, growing by more than 17% nationwide from 2022 to 2023. The increase reflects more Americans choosing to take buses, subways, light rail, and other modes to travel to work, school, services, and weekend activities across the country and came as transit agencies better understood ridership needs following travel pattern changes during the pandemic. Learn more.
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The competitive grants through FTA’s Tribal Transit Program enable Tribes to buy transit vehicles, upgrade bus facilities, and expand or improve transit service. TInfrastructure Investment and Jobs Act includes nearly $46 million in competitive funding over five years for the Tribal Transit Program, an increase of nearly 83%. Learn more. |
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Congratulations to the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts, which will receive $200,000 from FTA to purchase a new tribal van that will support tribal residents in Barnstable County with greater access to jobs, school, healthcare, and economic opportunities. Learn more.
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The National Transit Institute (NTI), in partnership with Region 1, will host an environmental justice course at the Volpe Center January 27-28, 2025. The course will run from 8:30am to 5:00 p.m. each day. Though the course is full, we recommend interested individuals register for the wait list here. Learn more about NTI and the many courses, virtual and in-person, it offers here.
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In FY2025, the USDOT Project Initiation Accelerator (PIA) will host four in-person technical assistance workshops for limited-capacity USDOT grant recipients, one of which will take place in Region 1. The PIA workshop series are intended to help limited capacity, first-time grant recipients obtain a better understanding of the federal requirements and processes to meet grant and project goals and obligation deadlines. Workshop #2 will be hosted on April 8 & 9 in Boston, MA. There is no cost to attend.
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This year, the updated CIG Reporting Instructions, templates, and standard cost category worksheets are being released in January, reflecting the updated CIG Policy Guidance. This week, FTA will post updated CIG reporting instructions, templates, and standard cost category worksheets on FTA’s website. These documents are updated annually by FTA and should be used by:
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Project sponsors seeking a rating for advancement into the next phase of the CIG process (Engineering or a construction grant agreement);
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Project sponsors seeking a rating at any time other than a formal approval step in the CIG process; and
- Project sponsors who wish to have their project evaluated and rated for consideration as a funding recommendation in the upcoming FY 2027 Annual Report to Congress. The due date for submittal of complete information to FTA for the FY 2027 Annual Report is Friday August 22, 2025.
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Region 1 is excited to announce a restructuring of our office! Four employees have been elevated to “Team Lead” roles where they will take on additional responsibilities and have a broader reach across the Region. As part of the restructuring, state-by-state responsibilities for both OPPD and OPMO staff have changed. If you have any questions about your new points of contact, please reach out to Holly Trinh (holly.trinh@dot.gov) or Christi Apicella (christine.apicella@dot.gov).
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Congrats to Tri-Valley Transit in Middlebury, VT, which received close to $4.8 million in federal support through RAISE for its Addison Bus Storage Addition and Solar Array.
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The U.S. Department of Transportation's Build America Bureau recently announced a Notice of Funding Opportunity for the Rural and Tribal Assistance Pilot Program. Established by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the program offers $27 million in technical assistance grants for rural and tribal transportation project planning and design. No local funding match is required, and up to $10 million is allocated for Tribal applicants. Applications will be accepted starting Tuesday, March 4 and are due by April 3. |
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We strongly urge all grantees to upload their Authorizing Resolution and Opinion of Counsel before the March 5, 2025, deadline. On December 6, 2024, FTA’s Associate Administrator of Program Management issued a Dear Colleague letter highlighting that the following two documents must be uploaded to an agency’s profile to support verification of their legal capacity to carry out the project(s) included in federal assistance awards:
- Opinion of Counsel
- Authorizing Resolution
Beginning March 5, 2025, TrAMS will prevent any recipients that have not properly identified the Opinion of Counsel and Authorizing Resolution in their Recipient Document profile from transmitting or submitting new applications unless they have correctly labeled and/or uploaded their required legal documents.
Information on this enhancement and a short tutorial video are available on FTA’s TrAMS webpage.
Partial Year Apportionments
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Brandon Burns has been promoted to Transportation Program Specialist Team Lead for the FTA Region 1 Office.
Brandon joined FTA in 2018 and provides program management for all formula and discretionary grants. He has worked closely with many Region 1 recipients, Metropolitan Planning Organizations, State DOTs, and other federal partners to facilitate guidance and technical assistance. He has been an excellent mentor as new staff have joined the OPPD team and is always happy to share a smile as well as the valuable insight he has gained during his time in federal service.
In his spare time, Brandon enjoys spending time with his wife and three children.
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Contact Information:
220 Binney Street
Suite 940
Cambridge, MA 02142
United States
Region 1 | FTA
Business Hours:
8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. CT, M-F.
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