TIP Grants

Grants listed are for transportation purposes and are funded through the Federal Highway Administration, Federal Railroad Administration, Federal Transit Administration and the U.S. Department of Transportation. Specific requirements for each grant including eligible project types and applicants, matching funds, and application submittal formats and deadlines are linked below along with additional helpful resources.

Current Grant Opportunities (updated August 3, 2026)

The Public Transportation on Indian Reservations Program, also referred to as Tribal Transit Program (TTP), provides funds for planning, public transportation capital projects, operating costs, job access reverse commute projects, and the acquisition of public transportation service to tribes located in rural areas (those with a population under 50,000). TTP is funded as a takedown from the Section 5311 program, and is a set-aside from the Formula Grants for Rural Areas program that includes a formula program and a competitive grant program.

  • NOFO
  • Minimum Award: No limit
  • Maximum Award: No limit; $50,000 (Planning)
  • Minimum Project Size: N/A
  • Matching Funds: N/A
  • Eligible Applicants: Federally recognized Indian tribes and Alaska Native Villages, groups, or communities as identified by the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). The list of federally Recognized tribes can be found on the Federal Register website.

Access and Mobility Partnership Grants seek to improve access to public transportation by building partnerships among health, transportation, and other service providers. This program provides competitive funding to support innovative projects for transportation-disadvantaged populations that improve the coordination of transportation services and non-emergency medical transportation services. A total of $11,959,671 is available across FY 2024, FY 2025, and FY 2026 for the ICAM Pilot Program, as authorized under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).

  • NOFO
  • Minimum Award: N/A
  • Maximum Award: N/A
  • Minimum Project Size: N/A
  • Matching Funds: Yes
  • Eligible Applicants: Eligible direct, designated, and subrecipients under FTA's Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities Formula Program (49 U.S.C. 5310), including: State departments of transportation (State DOTs); designated recipients of Section 5310 funds; local government authorities that operate public transportation services; private nonprofit organizations; operators of public transportation; and private for-profit entities that provide shared-ride, on-demand service to the general public on a regular basis.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announces the opportunity to apply for approximately $21 million in competitive grants for the fiscal year (FY) 2026 Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities Program (Bus Program) under Federal Assistance Listing Number 20.526 and approximately $589 million in competitive grants for the FY 2026 Low or No Emission Grant Program (Low-No Program) under Federal Assistance Listing Number 20.526.

FTA is publishing a joint NOFO because these two programs have overlapping eligibilities and must be implemented on the same timeline (49 U.S.C. 5339).

As required by Federal public transportation law:

  1. Bus Program funds will be awarded competitively to purchase, rehabilitate, or lease buses and related equipment, and to construct, purchase, rehabilitate, or lease bus-related facilities.
  2. Low-No Program funds will be awarded competitively for the purchase or lease of buses that use low- or no-emission propulsion technologies, including related equipment or facilities.
  3. Any zero-emission project or components of a zero-emission project must use 5 percent of Federal funds for workforce development, unless the applicant certifies less or no funding is needed for this purpose.

Per statute, FTA will make selections for these programs within 75 days of the application due date.

If more funding becomes available before projects are selected, FTA may award it under this NOFO.

To the extent permitted by law, FTA may consider applications that are not selected for award for future funding under the Bus Program or Low-No Program.

  • NOFO
  • Minimum Award: N/A
  • Maximum Award: N/A
  • Minimum Project Size: N/A
  • Matching Funds: Yes
  • Eligible Applicants: Bus Program: Eligible recipients are designated recipients, states (including territories and Washington, D.C.), local government entities, and federally recognized Indian tribes. Except for Indian tribes, eligible recipients must allocate funds to or operate fixed-route bus service; Eligible subrecipients are all otherwise eligible recipients and private nonprofit organizations engaged in public transportation. Eligible subrecipients are not required to allocate funds to or operate fixed route bus service. (See NOFO additional detail). Low-No Program: Eligible recipients and subrecipients are designated recipients, states (including territories and Washington, D.C.), local government entities, and federally recognized Indian tribes. (See NOFO additional detail)

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announces the opportunity to apply for competitive awards totaling up to $10 million in Public Transportation Innovation Program (49 U.S.C. 5312) funds for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Bus Safety, Accessibility, and Innovation Research Program under Assistance Listing Number 20.530. As required by Federal public transportation law, funds will be awarded competitively to up to two projects to develop and prototype innovative and widely deployable concepts that are intended to make existing and new buses safer for their operators and vulnerable road users, and safer and more accessible for their passengers.

  • NOFO
  • Minimum Award: N/A
  • Maximum Award: $10,000,000
  • Minimum Project Size: N/A
  • Matching Funds: Yes
  • Eligible Applicants: Transit Vehicle Manufacturers (TVMs) and transit vehicle component manufacturers; Departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the Government, including Federal laboratories; Providers of public transportation, including public transportation agencies, State or local government DOTs, and federally recognized Indian tribes; Private for-profit and not-for-profit organizations, or consultants; State, city, or local government entities, including multi-jurisdictional partnerships, and organizations such as Metropolitan Planning Organizations; Other organizations, including research consortia, not-for-profit industry organizations, and institutions of higher education, including large research universities, and technical and community colleges; To be eligible, applicants must have sufficient legal, financial, and technical capabilities to receive and administer Federal funds under this program; Teams must include a TVM in a prominent role.

USDOT provides a listing of upcoming Key Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFOs) related to the Bipartisan infrastructure Law (BIL) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) on their website.

Additional Resources

Frequently Asked Questions

Does my agency have to provide matching funds to be eligible for the grant?
In most cases, a local match or non-federal funding will be required; the NOFO for each grant opportunity will specify the minimum match. It is important to note that the federal grant programs are highly competitive, and the Grantor may consider the level of non-federal funding from the applicant as an evaluation criterion.

Letters of Support

Requests for letters of support must be received at least two weeks prior to the grant submission deadline to allow sufficient time to prepare the letter of support and have it signed.

NOTE: The application and project must be consistent with the approved MOMENTUM 2050 MAG Regional Transportation Plan (RTP).

Requests for letters of support:

Contacts
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