[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 233 (Tuesday, December 4, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71865-71871]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-29272]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Transit Administration
Over-the-Road Bus Accessibility Grant Program
AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration (FTA), DOT.
ACTION: Announcement of Project Selections.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Federal Transit
Administration (FTA) announces the selection of projects to be funded
under Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 appropriations for the Over-the-Road Bus
(OTRB) Accessibility Program, authorized by Section 3038 of the
Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21). The OTRB
Accessibility Program makes funds available to private operators of
over-the-road buses to help finance the incremental capital and
training costs of complying with DOT's over-the-road bus accessibility
rule, published in the Federal Register on September 24, 1998. Under
the rule, all new buses obtained by large fixed-route carriers after
October 30, 2000, must be accessible with wheelchair lifts and tie
downs that allow passengers to ride in their own wheelchairs. October
29, 2012 was the deadline whereby the fixed-route bus fleets of large
carriers must be 100 percent accessible.
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Successful applicants should contact
the appropriate FTA Regional Office for grant-specific issues; or
[Eacute]lan Flippin, Office of Program Management, 202-366-3800, for
general information about the OTRB Program. Contact information for FTA
Regional Offices can be found at http://www.fta.dot.gov/. For
information related to the OTRB accessibility rule, contact Peter
Chandler, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 202-366-5763.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A total of $8.8 million was made available
for the program in FY 2012: $6.6 million for intercity fixed-route
providers and $2.2 million for all other providers, such as commuter,
charter, and tour operators. A total of 114 applicants requested $34.5
million: $23.2 million was requested by intercity-fixed route
providers, and $11.3 million was requested by other providers. A total
of 77 projects were selected for funding. Project selections were made
on a discretionary basis, based on each applicant's responsiveness to
statutory project selection criteria published in the April 30, 2012
Notice of Funding Availability.
Project Implementation: Due to the high demand for the funds
available, most successful applicants received less funding than they
requested. The selected projects will provide funding for the
incremental cost of adding at least one new lift to vehicles,
retrofitting vehicles, and providing training not to exceed $2,250.
Training was only made available to providers of ``Other'' service and
is listed in Table II where approved.
Grantees selected for competitive discretionary funding should work
with their FTA regional office to finalize the electronic grant
application in FTA's Transportation Electronic Awards Management System
(TEAM) for the projects identified in Tables I and II. A discretionary
project identification number has been assigned to each project for
tracking purposes and must be used in the TEAM application. Awardees
who are new to FTA should contact their regional office immediately for
guidance about becoming an FTA grantee. Regional office contact
information can be found at http://www.fta.dot.gov/. The grant
applications will be sent to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) for
certification under labor protection requirements pursuant to 49 U.S.C.
5333(b). After referring applications to affected employees represented
by a labor organization, DOL will issue a certification to FTA. Terms
and conditions of the certification will be incorporated in the FTA
grant agreement under the Special Warranty Provisions of the Department
of Labor Guidelines ``Section 5333(b), Federal Transit Law'' at 29 CFR
215.7. The grantee must comply with all applicable Federal statutes,
regulations, executive orders, FTA circulars, and other Federal
requirements in carrying out the project supported by the FTA grant.
This is the final year for discretionary awards under the Over-the-Road
Bus program as the program was repealed under the Moving Ahead for
Progress in the 21st Century Act, signed by President Obama on July 6,
2012, and effective on October 1, 2012. Funds allocated in this
announcement must be obligated in a grant by September 30, 2015.
Issued in Washington, DC, this 29th day of November, 2012.
Peter Rogoff,
Administrator.
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[FR Doc. 2012-29272 Filed 12-3-12; 8:45 am]
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