Rural Public Transportation Grants

Rural Public Transportation Grants is sponsored by Federal Transit Administration (FTA). Helps people in rural areas access health care, shopping, education, employment, and recreation through public transportation services.

Rural Transit Funding | National RTAP Mon. - Fri. : 9:00AM - 5:00PM ET RESOURCES > INFORMATION > TOPIC GUIDES For additional transportation-related grant resources, contact your state RTAP , who may even have state-specific information that will help hone the search for grants.

This section lists resources that provide information about funding, funding sources, and writing grant applications.

Administration for Community Living (ACL) awards grants to states and organizations that provide services and support for older adults and people with disabilities, 2024 American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Survey of State Funding for Public Transportation , 2024 American Public Transportation Association (APTA) Local Coalition Grants provide funding for strategies that improve transportation access, advancing advocacy, and promoting safe and resilient transportation policies Cigna Foundation World of Difference Grants help people overcome barriers to their health and well-being Community Heart & Soul Seed Grant Program provides startup funding for resident-driven groups in small cities and towns to implement the Community Heart & Soul model Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA) grant programs Coordinating Council on Access and Mobility Technical Assistance Center (CCAM-TAC) has a grants web page that lists their own and other mobility related grants Council on Foundations Foundation Locator is an interactive map of U.S. foundations that provide funding Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sometimes offers grants for transit related environmental initiatives Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provides funding through their Transit Security Grant Program Federal Transit Administration (FTA) distributes formula and discretionary funding to states, Tribes, and non-profit organizations through various funding programs.

Find more information about FTA’s grant programs , or contact your state RTAP/5311 Program Manager or FTA Regional Office . Also see FTA's and the Administration for Community Living's (ACL) 2026 Fact Sheet on Navigating Tribal Transportation Funding .

Ford Foundation grants support organizations that address the underlying drivers of inequality The Grant Portal provides a free grant alert newsletter and subscription access to their database GrantExec is an artificial intelligence (AI) grant portal with a search feature and personalized compatibility scores for grants GrantForward is a database where users can search by keyword, grant status, grant types, funding amounts, and other categories Grants.

gov displays all federal grants and allows users to apply to them (it's required to use this database to apply for federal grants) Grantsmanship Center provides general resources on grantmaking, grants available, consulting, and resources by state GrantStation lets users search by city, county, or region, type of support, and application deadline date GrantWatch lists grants for organizations to provide transportation to individuals in rural areas Housing and Urban Development (HUD) provides grants that may include a component for transportation improvement Instrumentl - grant finder with browse mode.

Note that this is a fee based product, but the website provides some free transportation grant opportunity links. National RTAP does not recommend or endorse any specific commercial products.

Joint Office of Energy and Transportation's Community Rides Grants for projects that address access to critical needs like employment, healthcare, education, healthy food, social services, regional coordination, recreation, and building technology capacity. The 2025 deadline to submit applications has passed.

Rural Funding lets users search by state and county for grants Rural Health Information Hub (RHIHub) lists transportation to support rural healthcare funding Tribal Funding Registry is a free searchable grants database for Tribes and Native-led nonprofits United Philanthropy Forum has a member directory with organizations that offer funding Universal Service Administrative Company Healthcare Connect Fund Program provides discounts on eligible broadband connectivity expenses.

USDA Rural Development provides grant assistance to rural communities, including some that may apply to the development of rural transit.

U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) offers grants to train and support workers U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) grants aim to support entrepreneurship through counseling and training programs Veteran's Administration (VA) Highly Rural Transportation Grants (HRTG) DISCLAIMER: The resources provided in each topic guide are not an exhaustive survey of every available resource on each topic.

If you would like to add a resource to a Topic Guide, please email info@nationalrtap. org . This document was prepared by National RTAP with the financial assistance of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The contents do not necessarily represent the opinions or policy of any agency of the U.S. Government, and the U.S. Government assumes no liability for the contents or use thereof. It does not have the force and effect of law and is not meant to bind the public in any way. National RTAP offers one-stop shopping for rural and tribal transit technical assistance products and services.

Call, email, or chat with us and if we can’t help with your request, we’ll connect you with someone who can! " National RTAP offers one-stop shopping for rural and tribal transit technical assistance products and services. Call, email, or chat with us and if we can’t help with your request, we’ll connect you with someone who can!

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Our university students really can't imagine transit without it, so I think it's very important for us in terms of attracting that particular demographic. " Michael Lachman, Transportation Services Manager HAPCAP - Athens Transit " In the past we used proprietary database software that was very challenging, very murky, and hard to update.

GTFS Builder is a great opportunity to make this more user-friendly, more readily updatable and it would enable us to show how to create a GTFS to more of the staff. " Jaime McKay, Former Manager of Direct Services Center for Mobility Equity " Collaboration is a buzz word these days in the industry. On behalf of our Tribal segment, I appreciate RTAP for making Tribes a partner in industry opportunities.

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