APTA Submits Comments on CIG Proposed Policy Guidance

APTA has submitted detailed comments to FTA in response to its Proposed Policy Guidance for the Capital Investments Grants (CIG) Program published April 5 for review and comment. Once adopted, the policy guidance will establish new measures and breakpoints that FTA will use to evaluate and rate candidate New Starts, Small Starts, and Core Capacity projects as an input to the agency’s decision to execute a CIG funding agreement.

The policy guidance also documents FTA’s requirements for advancing candidate major transit capital investments through the various steps of the New Starts, Small Starts, and Core Capacity project development processes. The proposed policy guidance incorporates many of the comments submitted by APTA in October of 2021 in response to an FTA Request-for-Information.

In developing the recently submitted comments, APTA surveyed it members and convened widely attended online meetings to gather input. APTA expressed appreciation to FTA for recognizing in the policy guidance the numerous changes in travel patterns that have occurred since guidance was last updated eight years ago. APTA applauded FTA’s ongoing efforts to expand upon issues of equity, access to opportunity, human health, and other ways that public transit can improve people’s lives.

APTA comments addressed numerous questions identified under project justification criteria and sub-criteria. This covered land use, cost effectiveness, mobility improvements, congestion relief, environmental benefits, and economic development factors established in statute. Open questions involving warrants, project bundling, and core capacity were also addressed, as were various proposed changes involving local financial commitment.

APTA’s Planning and Program Development Committee, chaired by Kammy Horne (Mpact), devoted significant time into the development of the comments. Gavin Poindexter (AECOM) was chief scribe, with assistance from Stephanie McVey (HDR), Andrew Brennan (HNTB), and Sean Libberton (HNTB). Leadership and input from Christy Haven (HNTB), Lindsey Sousa (AECOM), Deron Lozano (Austin Transit Partnership), Sandra Fann (Sound Transit), John Swartz (AECOM), and Jim Parsons (HNTB) helped assure an open, inclusive, substantive, and fair process.