The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announces the opportunity to apply for a total of up to $6.5 million for transit bus automation demonstration projects under the Public Transportation Innovation Program (49 U.S.C. § 5312 ).
Donor Name: Federal Transit Administration
State: All States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 11/21/2022
Size of the Grant: up to $1.5 million
Details:
The notice seeks to fund demonstrations in two areas: (1) up to $5 million for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) for Transit Buses and (2) up to $1.5 million for Automated Transit Bus Maintenance and Yard Operations. Selected projects will demonstrate transit bus automation technologies in real-world settings. The demonstrations will help establish the feasibility of ADAS and Automated Transit Bus Maintenance and Yard Operations use cases and improve understanding of the impacts.
These demonstrations are closely aligned with US DOT’s Strategic Goals and Innovation Principles. Examples include the following:
- Improve Safety—ADAS technologies can include lane-keeping, automatic emergency braking, pedestrian avoidance systems, and other collision avoidance capabilities; and automated maintenance and yard operations could reduce the number of conflicts between vehicles and maintenance staff, pedestrians, fixed objects, or other vehicles. Both demonstrations will help show the possible safety implications of these technologies.
- Serve Equity—ADAS includes precision docking technologies, which can make boarding and alighting easier and faster for all passengers, but particularly those with mobility challenges. Additionally, other ADAS technologies can help increase throughput, resulting in faster trips and improved reliability—generally, improvements in transit service have positive implications for equity outcomes.
- Reduce Climate Impacts—Certain automated vehicle technologies may have the potential to improve efficiency in ways that reduce overall fuel consumption, which accordingly result in a reduction in emissions. These demonstrations can provide valuable data to help quantify the possible fuel savings and emission reduction.
- Promote American Competitiveness and Economic Development—The transit industry benefits from Federal investment in new technologies, supporting domestic manufacturing as well as economic development through improvements to safety and mobility.
- Support Workers and Workforce— Safety improvements from ADAS could enhance operator safety. Automation of maintenance and yard operations can streamline the start and end of operator shifts, increasing safety and reducing the workload on operators. The participation of labor representatives in project design and implementation will enhance project learning with respect to safety and workforce impacts.
Eligibility Criteria
- Private institutions of higher education
- City or township governments
- Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
- County governments
- State governments
- Public and State controlled institutions of higher education.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
