There are a number of different funding mechanisms provided by the Federal Transit Administration that all start with the number 53, taken from 49 U.S.C. Chapter 53, but the two most important ones, financially speaking, are 5307 and 5309. 

FTA Section 5307 funds are non-discretionary funds, meaning they go out every year to eligible recipients and are distributed to regions on an urbanized area formula that depends on the size of the urban area.  90.68% of the 5307 funding goes to cities of 200,000 people or more; 33% of that is for fixed-guideway projects (trains, basically) and 66% goes to the bus tier which is broken down by non-incentive (90.8%) and incentive (9.2%) portions. 

Flow Chart of 5307 Funds

Non-incentive just means the formula is based on population and revenue miles (50% revenue miles, 25% population, 25% population multiplied by density).  26.61% of the non-incentive bus tier money goes to cities under one million people, the rest to larger bus-tier cities.  There remains the 9.2% of the 5307 funds that are incentive-based on a formula that multiplies passenger miles by itself, divided by operating cost.  It is a measure of performance and efficiency that provides a modest benefit to agencies that achieve higher levels of both.

In general, large urbanized-area-formula funds (the 90.68% chunk) can be used for transit capital purposes only, things like new rolling stock (bus or rail), vehicle rebuilding, laying track, and building facilities, but not for fuel or driver salaries (that is operating).  (Small urbanized area formula funds can be used for both transit capital and transit operations.)   Two percent of a recipient’s 5307 funding is obligated for use on safety and security (1%) and transit enhancements (1%); use them or lose them.  The available balance may be used at the discretion of the transit agency.  Section 5307 is the largest federal transit funding source; FY2010 appropriations and apportions total $4.1 billion.

In days gone by FTA Section 5309 funds were apportioned directly by FTA and getting money was a formality, a few papers to fill out, but today it is earmarked by Congress, competitive, and harder to get.  Earmarks are commonly known as pork and some famous projects like the bridge-to-nowhere in Alaska help to give earmarks a bad name; everyone hates them unless the earmark is for his or her own city.  Then they are good. 

5309 funds are for new and replacement buses and facilities, modernizing existing rail systems, and building new fixed-guideway (FG) systems and in 2010 the nationwide total funding for this program was more than $1.6 billion.  5309 FG funds, naturally, are for large urbanized areas only whereas the 5309 Bus Funds can go to any recipient.  Total 5309 funding for FY2010 is $2.6 billion.

The other 53s with 2010 funding amounts

Section 5303 Metropolitan Transportation Planning Program.  Funds are available for planning activities that support comprehensive planning for transportation investment decisions in metro areas.  Section 5304 (Statewide Transportation Planning Program) and Section 5305 (Planning Programs) are closely related to 5303.  $94 million.

Section 5308 Clean Fuels Program is a discretionary grant program for clean fuel buses in air quality non-attainment and maintenance areas, including supporting emerging clean fuel and advanced propulsion technologies for buses.  Up to 25 percent of the funds nationwide can be used for “Clean Diesel” buses.  $51 million.

Section 5310 Special Needs of Elderly Individuals and Individuals with Disabilities Program.  5310 provides grants to non-profit agencies that provide transportation services to the elderly and disabled.  134 million.

Section 5311 Nonurbanized Area Formula Program funds are distributed to the regions on non-urbanized area formula. These funds are used for transit capital and operating purposes in non-urbanized areas.  $438 million.

Section 5311(b)(3) Rural Transit Assistance Program (RTAP) $8 million.

Section 5311(c) Public Transportation on Indian Reservations $15 million.

Section 5316 (formerly 3037) Job Access and Reverse Commute Program (JARC) funds are directed to services that provide transportation to low-income individuals.  As cities have decentralized over the last 70 years or so jobs—particularly service jobs—have moved to suburban locations.  JARC is intended to get people from low-income neighborhoods to work on the periphery.  It can also be used to get those people back home again.  Service jobs are rarely 9 to 5, so JARC funds can be used for extending service later at night.  $175 million.

Section 5317 New Freedom is often mentioned in the same breath as JARC but instead of low-income people New Freedom focuses on the disabled.  It is a new formula grant program for capital and operating costs of services and facility improvements in excess of those required by the Americans with Disabilities Act.  $99 million.

Section 5320 Paul S. Sarbanes Transit in Parks Program is intended to address traffic congestion in our national parks and other federal properties.  It can be used for bus, rail, or other modes and may include sightseeing services.  5320 can also be used for pedestrian and bike trails and all these projects may incorporate communities and land surrounding federal properties.  $27 million.

Section 5339 Alternative Analysis Program is for studying “reasonable modal and multimodal alternatives and general alignment options for identified transportation needs in a particular, broadly defined travel corridor” (FTA).  $25 million.

Section 5340 Growing States and High Density States Formula is basically additionally 5307 funds available for urbanized areas in states with greater population densities than 370 people per square mile.  $464 million.

Section 5314 National Research Program.  It’s for research, development, demonstration, and deployment of technology that has a national significance for transit.  $66 million.