The Federal Formula Grant Program for Urbanized Areas (also called “Section 5307”) is a federally funded grant program that assists transit systems in large communities (populations over 200,000) with capital expenditures, including bus replacement and capitalized maintenance. In Wisconsin, there are four transit systems serving these large urbanized areas: Green Bay Metro, Madison Metro, Milwaukee County Transit System, and Valley Transit (Appleton).
Transit systems in urban areas with populations between 50,000 and 200,000 may utilize the funds for capital or operating assistance. There are 24 systems currently operating in Wisconsin providing bus and shared-ride taxi services within urbanized areas of that size.
Annual Section 5307 grant amounts are determined directly by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) for large urban systems, while a distribution of a statewide FTA allocation is determined via formula for systems serving a population between 50,000 and 200,000 people.
These systems also receive funding through the State Urban Mass Transit Operating Assistance program. Approximately one-half of total annual operating expenses for Wisconsin transit systems are reimbursed through state and federal grants.
WisDOT awards Section 5307 grant amounts via the annual Public Transit Assistance Program (PTAP). This program’s application is made available online in WisDOT’s BlackCat® Grant Management System each fall.
Contacts:
Steve Hirshfeld
stephen.hirshfeld@dot.wi.gov
(608) 267-0209
Kevin Lange
kevin.lange@dot.wi.gov
(608) 266-2365