FTA opens $1.5 billion FY 2026 competition for bus and low-emission transit projects
The Federal Transit Administration opened a nationwide FY 2026 grant competition described as a $1.5 billion opportunity for bus replacement, bus facilities and low- or no-emission transit projects.
FTA posted the notice on July 27, 2026. Eligible public transportation entities and other qualifying applicants under federal transit law must submit applications electronically through Grants.gov by Sept. 21, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern time.
The opening of the competition gives transit agencies and other eligible applicants a chance to seek federal capital for vehicles, facilities and fleet modernization. It does not, however, award money to any particular state, transit system or project.
What the competition covers
The notice combines two federal programs: the Buses and Bus Facilities Competitive Program and the Low-No Emission Grant Program.
The programs support bus purchases, bus facilities and low- or no-emission transit investments. In practical terms, eligible applicants may use the competition to pursue funding connected to replacing buses, improving facilities or advancing transit fleets that use low- or no-emission technologies, subject to the federal requirements governing the programs.
The approved funding information does not expose the final competitive-program dollar split between the two programs. The $1.5 billion figure describes the overall opportunity in the source material, but applicants cannot use it to infer how much will be available under either program individually.
Individual award amounts and recipients will be known only after applications are reviewed. The notice therefore marks the start of a competition rather than the completion of a funding distribution.
Deadline and application route
The immediate deadline is Sept. 21, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern time. Applications must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov, the federal application route identified in the notice.
That deadline is the next concrete step for eligible organizations considering projects under either program. Applicants will need to determine whether they qualify under the applicable federal transit-law requirements and complete the required electronic submission before the window closes.
The source packet identifies eligible public transportation entities and other qualifying applicants under federal transit law, but it does not provide a more detailed list of eligible organizations. It also does not identify a particular transit agency, state or project as a recipient.
How the competition fits into FY 2026 transit funding
FTA’s FY 2026 current-apportionments page reports $20.6 billion in total public-transportation funding. Nearly $14.6 billion of that amount is formula funding allocated under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
Those figures provide broader context for the federal transit system, but they are not the same thing as awards under the July 27 competitive notice. Formula funding is allocated through the federal process described on FTA’s apportionments page, while the newly opened competition requires eligible applicants to compete for support through the two bus and low-emission programs.
FTA’s current-apportionments page also provides national and state-level funding tables. Those tables can show the broader FY 2026 public-transportation funding picture, but they do not establish which applicants will receive money through this competition or how much any applicant will receive.
What happens next
Transit applicants now have until the Sept. 21 deadline to prepare and file their proposals through Grants.gov. FTA will review the applications after submission, with award amounts and recipients to be determined through that process.
Until that review is complete, the verified development is an open nationwide application opportunity. No award recipients, individual award amounts or funded projects have been identified in the approved material.
Sources
- FY 2026 Notice of Funding Opportunity: Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities Infrastructure Programs, Federal Transit Administration
- Current Apportionments, Federal Transit Administration
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