Fiscal Year 2026 Competitive Funding Opportunity: Buses and Bus Facilities Program
Competitive grants fund capital projects for buses and bus-related facilities, including purchase, replacement, rehabilitation, leasing, and related equipment, for eligible transit operators and governments.
RESTRICTED TO: STATE LOCAL GOV · TRIBAL ENTITIES · NONPROFITS
⚑ Capital-only transit program; funds buses, equipment, and facilities rather than research or operations. · Public universities are not listed as eligible applicants; only designated recipients, states, local governmental entities operating fixed-route bus service, and Indian tribes may apply directly. · Private nonprofit organizations may apply only as eligible subrecipients. · Rural-area projects generally must be submitted by a State unless proposed by an Indian tribe.
Unit fits — one characterization, each unit's own rules
| Tom Love Innovation Hub | 25 weak | prototyping/demonstration stage; deep-tech content |
| IPPRA | 15 none | university cannot apply directly (ineligible) |
| Physical Sciences & Engineering (demo) | 15 none | university cannot apply directly (ineligible) |
Description
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announces the availability of approximately $21 million in competitive grants under the Buses and Bus Facilities Program to assist in the financing of buses and bus facilities capital projects, including replacing, rehabilitating, purchasing or leasing buses or related equipment, and rehabilitating, purchasing, constructing or leasing bus-related facilities. Synopses and full announcement will be posted on Grants.gov as opportunity FTA-2026-010-TPM-BUS. Proposals must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov website by 11:59 PM Eastern Time September 21, 2026.
Eligibility
Eligible applicants for the Buses and Bus Facilities Program include designated recipients that allocate funds to fixed route bus operators, States (including territories and Washington D.C.) or local governmental entities that operate fixed route bus service, and Indian tribes. Eligible subrecipients include all otherwise eligible applicants and also private nonprofit organizations engaged in public transportation. Except for projects proposed by Indian tribes, all proposals for projects in rural (non-urbanized) areas must be submitted by a State, either individually or as a part of a statewide application.
Apply
View on Grants.gov → CONTACT: Johnita S Glover Transportation Program Analyst <FTALowNoBusNOFO@dot.gov>
Proposal brief SEE AN EXAMPLE →
A one-page internal memo: fit assessment, submission requirements, document scaffold, and next steps dated back from the deadline — tailored to your project idea if you add one.
Proposal shell · Federal (generic) conventions SEE A FEDERAL EXAMPLE →
Funder-faithful document skeletons — Federal (generic)'s document set with section headings, page limits, reviewer guidance, and writing prompts; add a project idea to get [DRAFT] starter bullets. Download as .md for Word or Overleaf.