Transit Corridor Planning

Fixed Guideway Capital Investment Grants

State and local government agencies, including transit agencies, are eligible for this FTA program. MAP-21 modified the Capital Investment Program by expanding the eligibility to Core Capacity Improvement projects and streamlining the project development process. New Starts projects are defined as projects with a total capital cost of $250 million or greater or that are seeking $75 million or more in section 5309 funding. Eligible projects are new fixed guideway systems, such as rapid rail (heavy rail), commuter rail, light rail, hybrid rail, trolleybus (using overhead catenary), cable car, passenger ferries, and bus rapid transit, or an extension of any of these systems.

Small Starts projects are defined as projects with a total capital cost less than $250 million and that are seeking less than $75 million in section 5309 funding. Eligible purposes for the Small Starts program are those mentioned for the New Starts program, as well as corridor-based bus systems that do not operate on a separated right of way but include features that emulate the services provided by fixed guideway systems, including defined stations, traffic signal priority for public transit vehicles, and short headway bidirectional services for a substantial part of weekdays and weekend days.

MAP-21 also makes Core Capacity Improvement projects eligible for section 5309 funding. These are substantial corridor-based investments in existing fixed guideway systems that are at capacity today or will be in five years. A Core Capacity Improvement project must increase the capacity of the existing fixed guideway system in the transit corridor by at least 10 percent.

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