FY26 Bus Safety, Accessibility, and Innovation Research Program

FY26 Bus Safety, Accessibility, and Innovation Research Program is sponsored by U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) - Federal Transit Administration. Supports projects developing innovative concepts to enhance bus safety and accessibility for passengers and operators.

[](https://www. transit. dot.

gov/research-innovation/bus-safety-accessibility-and-innovation-research-program) ## Bus Safety, Accessibility and Innovation Research Program * On July 29, 2026, FTA announced the availability of $10 million in Fiscal Year 2026 competitive grant funding for organizations to research designs and create prototypes that will make buses safer for drivers, riders, and vulnerable road users, as well as more accessible for riders.

Applications are due by September 28, 2026. Please see the news release here.

* The Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) recently published TCRP Research Report 249: Bus Operator Barrier Design Guidelines and Considerationsthat provides information and guidance for North American public transportation agencies, standards committees, and government and non-government policymaking organizations on designing, procuring, and installing bus operator barriers to prioritize the health and safety of essential operators and the public they serve.

In keeping with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s focus on improving safety in the nation’s transportation systems, FTA’s Bus Safety, Accessibility and Innovation Research Program supports the development of standard designs and prototypes that will make existing and new buses safer for operators, riders and vulnerable road users, as well as more accessible for passengers.

FTA’s top priority remains to enhance the safety of America’s public transportation systems. Projects solicited by this funding opportunity must address bus operator health and safety; transit vehicle safety, and accessibility; and provide a foundation for transformative bus systems and designs that enhance safety. Project objectives include focusing on developing driver safety systems and passenger safety systems, including: 1.

Researching standard bus designs, innovations, and technologies to make existing and new buses safer for their operator and vulnerable road users, and safer and more accessible for their passengers. 2. Producing a prototype that is available as a retrofit on existing buses and for installation in new buses.

The strategic goal for this program is to make existing and new buses safer for their operators and vulnerable road users, and safer and more accessible for their passengers. The program objectives include research on bus designs, innovations, and technologies, as well as production of a prototype that is available through a retrofit on existing buses and for installation in new buses.

The program’s key focus areas are: * Driver Safety Systems – Transit vehicle and technology upgrades that protect the operator and enhance the safety of those outside of the vehicle including vulnerable road users. * Passenger Safety Systems – Transit vehicle and technology upgrades that protect and increase accessibility of the passengers. All applicants will also be expected to produce results that follow three major principles.

These principles represent the values on which FTA will judge whether objectives have been met.

* Recipients will collaborate across multiple industry sectors including all or some of these priority groups: * Transit Vehicle Manufacturers * Disability Organizations * Domestic and International Research Groups * Component Manufacturers * Proposals are encouraged to be innovative but must consider risks to implementation and interoperability to ensure nationwide relevancy and adoption.

Proposals should be able to be adopted quickly, on a wide scale. * Deliverables should be applicable to existing and new bus models.

* Proposed projects should support economic vitality at the national and regional level, including advancing domestic industry and promoting domestic development of intellectual property, by complying with Buy America and Executive Order 14005, “Ensuring the Future Is Made in All of America by All of America’s Workers” (86 FR 7475).

Applicants must note how they will incorporate the key focus areas, meet program objectives, and follow program principles. Applications should include performance standards and measures for ensuring the success of each key focus area with a specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound task plan. These measures should show minimum performance specifications and a quality assurance surveillance plan to ensure quality.

Applicants must show a detailed understanding of the needs and opportunities of this program.

* Eligible lead applicants include: * Transit Vehicle Manufacturers (TVMs) and transit vehicle component manufacturers * Departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the Government, including Federal laboratories * Providers of public transportation, including public transportation agencies, State or local government DOTs, and federally recognized Indian tribes * Private for-profit and not-for-profit organizations, or consultants * State, city, or local government entities, including multi-jurisdictional partnerships, and organizations such as Metropolitan Planning Organizations Other organizations, including research consortia, not-for-profit industry organizations, and institutions of higher education, including large research universities, and technical and community colleges.

Public Transportation Innovation (49 U.S.C. § 5312) The federal share of project costs under this program is limited to 80 percent. The applicant must identify the source of the non-Federal cost share and describe whether such funds are currently available for the program or will need to be secured if the program is selected for funding.

Additional consideration may be given to those programs with a higher non-Federal share of costs and for which non-Federal funds have already been made available or reserved. Bus Safety, Accessibility, and Innovation Research Program projects are funded under FTA’s Research, Development, Demonstration and Deployment Program (49 U.S.C. § 5312).