San Francisco County Transportation Authority
Moving the City

2010 Lifeline Transportation Program (LTP) Call for Projects

The Lifeline Transportation Program (LTP) was established by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) to improve mobility for low-income communities, and it is one of the few instances where the Authority has the ability to program funds for operating purposes.

The San Francisco County Transportation Authority (Authority) is pleased to announce a call for projects for approximately $1.69 million in Fiscal Year 2010/11 Lifeline Transportation Program (LTP) funds, available as of July 1, 2010.

• Background
  
• Schedule
• Eligible Project Types
• Eligible Project Sponsors
• Community-Based and Low-Income Transportation Plans
• Call for Projects, Application, and Supporting Material

Background

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) established the LTP to fund projects that result in improved mobility for low income residents residing in the Bay Area that:

• Evolve out of a collaborative and inclusive planning process
• Address gaps or barriers identified through community-based transportation plans, welfare-to-work plans or other documentation of need
• Improve a range of transportation choices for low-income persons

As the Congestion Management Agency for San Francisco, the Authority is responsible for establishing San Francisco's project priorities for the LTP.

Applications for the call are due to the Authority by Monday June 14, 2010 at 10 a.m.

We expect to present a staff recommendation to the Authority Board for approval on July 27, 2010. The project application itself is similar to what was used in the previous call for projects, and the supporting materials have been revised slightly to reflect the new schedule, funding amount, and fund source associated with the call.

MTC has made two significant changes to this LTP funding cycle to tailor the program to match the type of funds that are available:

• Only transit operators (i.e., those agencies eligible to receive State Transit Assistance (STA) funds) are eligible to apply.
• Assuming its proposed guidelines are adopted on June 23, MTC will make the LTP funds available for allocation immediately following the Authority Board action rather than requiring a second round of approval through the MTC process.

Schedule:

(* Meeting dates subject to change: check the Authority webpage for most recent schedule.)

Eligible Project Types

The available STA funds can fund both capital and operating projects. Eligible operating projects may include, but are not limited to, new or enhanced fixed route transit services, restoration of lifeline-related transit services, shuttle service, and mobility management. Examples of eligible capital projects include the purchase of transit vehicles and transit-related technologies, the provision of bus shelters, benches, lighting, sidewalk improvements, and other enhancements at or immediately around transit stops or stations.

Inter-county projects can be funded and are encouraged. Any applicant interested in jointly applying for LTP funds from San Francisco and another county's LTP program should contact the Authority as early as possible so we can coordinate with the applicant and other participating jurisdictions.

Additional detail on project eligibility is provided in the Attachments B and C of the Call for Projects memo.

Eligible Project Sponsors

Given its desire to program the newly-available STA funds as soon as possible and reduce the administrative burden of the program, MTC has stipulated that only transit operators are eligible to apply for this particular LTP call for projects. Non-profit entities, private entities, or non-transit-operator public agencies are not eligible to apply for LTP funds this cycle, but are encouraged to apply during the next cycle, expected in mid-2011. See Attachment C of the Call for Projects memo for additional project sponsor eligibility details.

Community-Based and Low-Income Transportation Plans

LTP projects should directly address transportation gaps and/or barriers identified through a CBTP, a countywide or regional Welfare-to-Work Transportation Plan, the low-income component of MTC's Coordinated Public Transit-Human Services Transportation Plan, or another documented assessment of needs within the designated Communities of Concern. Findings emerging from one or more CBTPs or other relevant planning efforts may also be applied to other low-income areas, or otherwise be directed to serve low-income constituencies within the county, as applicable.

Links to San Francisco's CBTPs (also known as Neighborhood Transportation Plans).

Link to MTC's Coordinated Public Transit-Human Services Transportation Plan.

Maps of the MTC's Communities of Concern in San Francisco:

• Bayview/Hunters Point (plan scheduled for adoption in July 2010)
• Tenderloin/Civic Center (see the completed Tenderloin Neighborhood Transportation Plan).
• Downtown/Chinatown/North Beach/Treasure Island
• Inner Mission/Potrero Hill
• South of Market
• Western Addition/Haight-Fillmore
• Outer Mission/Crocker-Amazon/Ocean View (see the completed Mission-Geneva Neighborhood Transportation Plan).

Call for Projects and Supporting Material

ACCESSIBILITY NOTE: The Word and/or Excel documents on this page are required by state and/or federal regulations but can be provided in an accessible form upon request.

Final guidelines and application materials are available below (updated 05/19/10). 

Call for projects memo (PDF)

LTP Application for San Francisco Projects:

• Part 1 of 2 (Word)
• Part 2 of 2 (Excel)
  

For More Information

We encourage project sponsors to contact us early in the application preparation process to discuss proposed project(s) and/or receive assistance with project planning and completion of the applications.

Authority Contact

Amber Crabbe, Principal Transportation Planner, at 415-522-4801 or via email.
Seon Joo Kim, Transportation Planner, at 415-522-4837 or via email.