Transcript FTA SWAT Team: Status of Process Improvements and Project

Federal Transit Financing
The STIP and Flexible Funding in Virginia
Virginia Transit Association
Annual Meeting
May 21, 2008
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Topics
1. New STIP Memorandum of Agreement
2. Flexible funds for transit in Virginia
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STIP Memorandum of Agreement
• Agreement between VDOT, DRPT, FHWA and FTA
• Introduces grouping of projects in the STIP
– Helps organize STIP, more reader-friendly for public
– Allows many projects in the STIP to be processed more
efficiently, as STIP adjustments (aka Administrative
Modifications) rather than STIP amendments
• Two sides of the STIP in processing actions taken on the
STIP: FHWA and FTA. The procedures governing the
STIP are vastly different between FHWA and FTA
projects
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STIP Memorandum of Agreement
Projects eligible for grouping
FOR FTA ONLY:
Projects that are eligible for a Categorical Exclusion (CE)
and are in accordance with projects eligible under the
“exempt” project classification in EPA’s transportation
conformity regulation may be grouped for STIP
programming purposes in the categories:
• Transit System Preservation
Operating assistance, office, shop, and operating equipment for
existing facilities. Includes preventive maintenance and non-fixed
route ADA service
• Transit Rail ROW Improvements
Construction or renovation of power, signal, and communications
systems, rehab of track structures, track, trackbed in existing
rights-of-way, and railroad/highway crossing projects
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STIP Memorandum of Agreement
Projects eligible for grouping (adjustments)
• Transit Vehicles
Purchase/lease of new buses and rail cars to replace existing vehicles
or for minor expansions of the fleet; rehabilitation of transit vehicles;
and the purchase of support vehicles. Also includes the purchase of
operating equipment for vehicles (radios, fareboxes, etc.)
• Transit Amenities
Construction of small passenger shelters and information kiosks;
plantings, landscaping, fencing, lighting improvements, signage, etc.
• Transit Ridesharing
Continuation of ride-sharing and van-pooling promotion activities at
current levels
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STIP Memorandum of Agreement
Projects eligible for grouping (adjustments)
• Transit Access
Bicycle and pedestrian facilities
• Transit Engineering
Engineering to assess social, economic, and environmental effects of
proposed action or alternatives to that action
These groups allow projects to be added to the STIP as
adjustments, as the individual project is added to the larger project
grouping. This allows MPOs to add projects without a board vote,
and for projects to be added without individual FTA approval.
Although projects may be grouped, FTA would still like to see
projects with full project information listed out individually in an
appendix-type manner to the STIP.
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STIP Memorandum of Agreement
Projects not eligible for grouping/adjustments
Certain types of projects that are eligible under the “exempt”
category may not be grouped, and must be listed individually, thus
requiring an amendment for any additions/deletions Many of
these projects would fall under a Category (d) – documented CE
NEPA study. These projects include:
• Reconstruction or renovation of transit buildings and
structures
For example, rail or bus buildings, storage and maintenance facilities,
stations, terminals, and ancillary structures
• Construction of new bus or rail storage/maintenance
facilities
• Advance land acquisitions
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STIP Memorandum of Agreement
The sliding scale (different than FHWA/VDOT)
Regardless if a project can be grouped or not, a sliding scale
applies to all STIP amendments/adjustments
A STIP amendment is required for any project added/deleted
to/from the STIP that exceeds $1 million in rural areas and small
MPOs (areas under 200,000), and $2 million in Transportation
Management Areas (Hampton Roads, Richmond, and Northern
Virginia).
If added/deleted projects fall under the $1 million/$2 million
threshold, they may be grouped by category and processed as
STIP adjustments
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Federal Transportation Funding – The Big Picture
•
Federal transportation funds mostly come in two types:
•
Discretionary funds can be distributed “at the
discretion” of Federal agencies, and originate from the
General Fund of the U.S. Treasury
1)
2)
–
•
Discretionary
Formula
FTA programs funded by the General Fund include New Starts
and 5309 Bus program
Formula Funds are mostly funded by the Federal gas
tax, roughly 18 cents per gallon
–
This tax goes to the Highway Trust Fund, which then distributes
funds to States and local agencies by mathematical formula
based on population, lane miles, VMT, air quality, etc.
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Formula Funds
• The Highway Trust Fund is divided into two accounts:
1) Mass Transit account
2) Highway account
• For the 18 cent gas tax, roughly 16% goes towards the Mass
Transit account for FTA, and 84% for the Highway account
• The Mass Transit account funds FTA formula programs such
as: 5307 Urbanized Area, 5311 Non-urbanized area, JARC,
New Freedoms, 5310, etc.
Then there is Highway account of the HTF….
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Flexible Funds
Proportion of Highway funds flexed to transit, from 1992 to 2006
Source: U.S. General Accountability Office
Of the Highway account of the HTF, there is a portion of the funds that
can be “flexed” over to transit projects. Flexible funding is for both
highway or transit projects
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Flexible Funds
Proportion of flex funds flexed to transit,
from 1992 to 2006, by State
National
Average:13%
Virginia: 10 to
25%
Virginia State
law requires
7% of Flexible
STP, and 13%
of Equity
Bonus funds
to be
transferred to
transit
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Source: U.S. General Accountability Office
Flexible Funds
Proportion of Total FTA funding from Flexible funds,
from 1992 to 2006, by State
Virginia: Over 20%
Source: U.S. General Accountability Office
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Flexible Funds – CMAQ and STP
•
Flexible funds are divided into two main categories:
–
–
CMAQ (Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality)
STP (Surface Transportation Program)
CMAQ funds: apportioned to states based on the size of the
population residing in counties that do not meet, or have in the
past not met, federal air quality standards.
Usage of CMAQ funds are then decided at the regional level,
through MPOs
CMAQ can be used for pedestrian/bike facilities; transit (new
system or service expansion); alternative fuel projects; travel
demand management, etc.
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Flexible Funds - STP
STP funds: Apportioned to states based on number of lane miles,
VMT, population, etc.
STP funds can be used for construction, rehab, capital costs of
transit projects, pedestrian/bike facilities, buses, etc
Several types of STP funds (Virginia names):
• Project selection at State level:
–
Flexible STP (formerly known as “Statewide STP”): Regular
apportionment to states through STP program for distribution
throughout the state
– Equity Bonus (formerly known as “Minimum Guarantee”):
Estimates are made at the national level of the amount of taxes paid
by drivers as reported by State gas tax agencies. Highway users in
some States pay more in taxes than they receive back in FHWA
apportionments. In an effort to compensate for this, Equity Bonus is
used to distribute additional funds to States that contribute
significantly to the HTF (in other States, not just for STP)
• Project selection at the Regional level:
– Regional STP (RSTP): Apportioned to Urbanized Areas over
200,000 people, by percentage of population (Hampton Roads Area,
Northern Virginia, Richmond/Petersburg). Projects are selected by
MPOs.
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Flexible Funds – STP funding distribution
“Flexible STP”
“RSTP”
“Flexible STP”
“Flexible STP”
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Source: FHWA, “Financing Federal-Aid Highways”
So why
does the
process
take so
long?
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Source: U.S. General Accountability Office
Contact Info
Tony Cho
Community Planner
1760 Market St., Suite 500
Philadelphia, PA 19103
215-656-7250
[email protected]
www.fta.dot.gov
U.S. General Accountability Office, “Highway and Transit Investments: Flexible
Funding Supports State and Local Transportation Priorities and Multimodal
Planning,” July 2007
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d07772.pdf
FHWA, “Financing Federal-Aid Highways,”
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/reports/fifahiwy/index.htm
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