State Transit Assistance County Block Grant

Overview
Program delivery
Sponsors
Reports and documents

Overview

Photo: freeside, flickr

Introduction

The State Transit Assistance (STA) program funds transit operating and capital projects with revenues from the state sales tax on diesel fuel. The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) established the STA Block Grant program by combining funds that were previously distributed via a regional paratransit program and a Lifeline Transportation Program. As the Congestion Management Agency (CMA) for San Francisco, the Transportation Authority is responsible for administering San Francisco’s share of these funds.

San Francisco’s STA Block Grant program funds projects that are typically consistent with our history of funding lifeline transportation projects that focus on Equity Priority Communities and improve mobility and accessibility in low-income communities.

Background

The STA County Block Grant program is a flexible transit funding program that can be used for a wide range of capital and operating purposes. It is also a volatile source of funding given the fluctuations in the price of diesel fuel and resulting sales tax revenues. In FY 2018/19, MTC began distributing a majority of the region’s STA population-based funds to CMAs through a transit-focused STA County Block Grant program. The program allows each county to determine how best to invest in paratransit and other transit operating and capital needs, including providing lifeline transit services. Funds are distributed among the nine Bay Area counties based on the percentage that each county would have received in FY 2018/19 under the former regional programs. MTC requires that by May 1 of each year, CMAs submit the proposed programming for STA population-based funds.