Grant Opportunities

H-GAC will post grant opportunities related to an ongoing call for projects for public transportation services in the Houston Urbanized Area. Check this site for updates.

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Job Access and Reverse Commute and New Freedom Grant Programs for the Houston, Texas Urbanized Area

The JARC and New Freedom grant programs are funded through the Federal Transit Administration and were authorized under SAFETEA-LU (2005). The JARC Program provides access to jobs and training opportunities for welfare recipients and eligible low-income individuals and improves access to suburban employment centers (regardless of income). The New Freedom Program provides new and improved transportation services for disabled persons, beyond the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The program requires coordination of Federally-assisted programs and services in order to make the most efficient use of Federal resources.

Overview

The Houston Urbanized Area (over 200,000 in population) includes most of Harris County and portions of Brazoria, Fort Bend, Montgomery and West Chambers counties. For transportation projects, the home end or origin end of the trip must be in the Houston UZA.

JARC program funds are available for capital, planning and operating expenses that support the development and maintenance of transportation services designed to transport low-income individuals to and from jobs, and activities related to their employment and to support reverse commute projects.

The two measures established for the JARC Program are:

Actual or estimated number of jobs that can be accessed as a result of geographic or temporal coverage of JARC projects implemented in the current reporting year.
Actual or estimated number of rides (as measured by one-way trips) provided as a result of the JARC projects implemented in the current reporting year.

New Freedom program funds are available for capital and operating expenses that support new public transportation services beyond those required by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and new public transportation alternatives beyond those required by the ADA designed to reduce barriers and assist individuals with disabilities with accessing transportation services, including transportation to and from jobs and employment support services.

The three measures established for the New Freedom Program are:

Increases or enhancements related to geographic coverage, service quality and/ or service times that impact availability of transportation services for individuals with disabilities as a result of the New Freedom projects implemented in the current reporting year.
Additions or changes to environmental infrastructure (e.g., transportation facilities, sidewalks, etc.), technology, and vehicles that impact availability of transportation services as a result of the New Freedom projects implemented in the current reporting year.
Actual or estimated number of rides (as measure by one-way trips) provided for individuals with disabilities as a result of the New Freedom projects implemented in the current reporting year.

JARC and New Freedom Grant Programs Call for Projects

H-GAC and the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO), is conducting the 2011 Call for Projects for Job Access/ Reverse Commute (JARC) and New Freedom grant programs. The purpose of these programs is to expand transportation services in the Houston Urbanized Area for low-income or disabled residents and commuters traveling to work sites outside the Central Business District. Private non-profit organizations, state or local governmental authority, and operators of public transportation services, including private operators of public transportation services, are eligible to apply to this competitive project selection process.

The 2012-2015 Open Call for Projects for the JARC and New Freedom Grant Programs is ongoing with two Review Cycles planned for each year during the Spring (April) and Fall (September); as long as funding is available.

APPLICATION PACKAGE

The Application Package and related documents are available to download below or from METRO at www.ridemetro.org/Opportunities/GrantPrograms.aspx.

For more information about the application process and these programs, email your questions to proposals@h-gac.com.

For more information, including the Pre-Application Workshop video, budgets and selection criteria, please see the following documents:

Downloadable Documents: