FY 2023 Competitive Funding Opportunity; Buses and Bus Facilities Program | FTA 2023 003 TPM BUS

Opportunity Information: Apply for FTA 2023 003 TPM BUS

The FY 2023 Competitive Funding Opportunity for the Buses and Bus Facilities Program is a discretionary grant program run by the U.S. Department of Transportation through the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). It makes roughly $469 million available nationwide on a competitive basis to help transit providers and public agencies pay for major capital investments related to bus service. The overall purpose is to strengthen public transportation by funding practical, asset-focused projects that replace aging vehicles, improve safety and reliability, and expand or modernize the facilities needed to operate and maintain bus fleets.

This funding is specifically aimed at bus and bus-facilities capital projects. On the vehicle side, the program supports replacing, rehabilitating, purchasing, or leasing buses, as well as buying related equipment tied to bus operations. On the facilities side, it supports rehabilitating, purchasing, constructing, or leasing bus-related facilities. In plain terms, the program is designed to cover the big-ticket items that keep bus systems functioning day-to-day, such as fleet replacement and the garages, maintenance buildings, and operational infrastructure that allow agencies to store, service, and dispatch buses.

The opportunity is identified on Grants.gov as FTA-2023-003-TPM-BUSC (Funding Opportunity Number: FTA 2023 003 TPM BUS). It is categorized as a discretionary grant (not a formula allocation) and falls under the Transportation funding activity category. The associated CFDA number is 20.526, which is commonly used for FTA bus and bus facilities assistance.

Eligible applicants include a range of public-sector entities that typically sponsor or manage transit capital projects, including state governments, county governments, and city or township governments. Federally recognized Native American tribal governments are also eligible. The notice also indicates there are additional eligible applicant types described in the full announcement (referenced as “Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification)”), meaning some additional entities may qualify depending on the detailed eligibility language in the official posting.

In terms of award size and scale, the notice lists an award ceiling of $46,944,542 per award, with an anticipated total of about 50 awards expected. That suggests FTA planned to spread funding across many projects, with individual awards potentially ranging from smaller targeted purchases (like bus replacements or equipment) up to large facility investments, depending on the applicant’s proposal and the program’s selection criteria in the full notice.

Key dates and submission requirements are straightforward. The opportunity was created on January 27, 2023, and the application deadline was April 13, 2023. Proposals had to be submitted electronically through Grants.gov by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on the closing date. The announcement also notes that a synopsis and the full funding notice would be posted on Grants.gov under the same opportunity number, and applicants were expected to rely on that posting for the complete requirements, evaluation approach, and any mandatory forms or attachments.

Overall, this FTA program is best understood as a competitive capital investment opportunity for agencies that operate or support bus transit. It is geared toward tangible improvements: buying or leasing buses and bus equipment, and upgrading, acquiring, or building the facilities needed to keep fleets in safe, state-of-good-repair condition and to deliver dependable service.

• The Department of Transportation, DOT/Federal Transit Administration in the transportation sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY 2023 Competitive Funding Opportunity; Buses and Bus Facilities Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 20.526.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jan 27, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 13, 2023. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $46,944,542.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 50 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for FTA 2023 003 TPM BUS

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: