There are more than 20 different transit agencies in the Bay Area.
Our Transit Capital Priorities process helps ensure that the limited federal transit dollars available go to projects that are essential.
The process has three main goals:
- Fund basic capital requirements
- Maintain reasonable fairness to all operators
- Complement other MTC transit funding programs
A Wide Range of Investments
Transit operators use this process to compete for funds used for a wide range of investments, including:
- Vehicle replacement or rehab
- Rail system equipment replacement or rehab
- Replacement or rehab of ferry propulsion systems or other major ferry components
- Purchase or replacement of vehicle communications equipment
- Replacement of Clipper® fare collection equipment or other fare boxes
- Purchase and installation of emissions-reduction systems for diesel buses
- Safety projects
- Station and parking lot rehab
The Transit Capital Priorities process complements several MTC funding programs, including the Core Capacity Challenge Grant program — which focuses on Muni, BART and AC Transit — and the Transit Performance Initiative, which provides incentives for transit agencies to boost ridership and increase efficiency.
MTC uses the Transit Capital Priorities process to allocate federal funds through the:
- Federal Transit Administration’s Urbanized Area Formula - Section 5307
- State of Good Repair - Section 5337
- Bus and Bus Facilities - Section 5339
- Federal Surface Transportation Program
Use the nav bar on the left to navigate to another page with more information on these programs.
Our Transit Finance Working Group serves as the regional forum to discuss Transit Capital Priorities issues.
The Working Group consults with the Partnership Technical Advisory committee, which in turn provides funding recommendations to MTC’s Programming and Allocations committee.