H.R. 3449 — Stronger Communities through Better Transit Act

This section establishes a high quality transit operating support program in new section 5308 of title 49, United States Code, under which the Secretary of Transportation may make grants to eligible recipients (urbanized areas, states for section 5311 subrecipients, and Indian tribes) to fund operating costs of public transportation service improvements that enhance mobility, improve environmental sustainability, increase ridership among transit-dependent populations, and benefit underserved communities or areas of persistent poverty. (As background, chapter 53 programs generally fund capital investments for public transit, with operating assistance limited primarily to small urbanized and rural areas under sections 5307 and 5311.) The section requires apportionment of funds as follows: (1) each eligible recipient receives 50% of its average annual operating costs (per National Transit Database data) over the prior three fiscal years; (2) remaining funds are apportioned proportional to all such recipients' reported operating costs over the prior three years; and (3) with a cap of 80% of any recipient's average operating costs over the prior three years. Eligible projects include decreasing headways; expanding service area, hours, or days; improving reliability or travel time (e.g., transit prioritization); IT for customer information and safety; seamless trip enhancements (e.g., connectivity, wayfinding, fare coordination); service planning (e.g., network redesign with net service-hour increase); access measurement for non-drivers; safety and security measures (e.g., outreach to unhoused persons); cleaning initiatives; and workforce development. Such use of funds does not affect projects' eligibility for other chapter 53 or title 23 funding. The federal share is 50% generally (up to 80% for persistent poverty or underserved areas; 100% for Indian tribes), with 25% of non-federal share allowable as in-kind from related capital improvements; funds remain available for obligation for two years after apportionment.

This section increases the maximum federal share for operating assistance under the Formula Grants for Rural Areas program to 80 percent of net operating costs (from 50 percent). (The program provides formula funding to states for public transportation services in rural areas with populations of less than 50,000.)