Comprehensive Programmatic Oversight & Compliance

Since 1964, the U.S Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) has partnered with state and local governments to create and enhance public transportation systems, investing more than $20 billion annually (plus an additional $70 Billion in short-term COVID-19 response and recovery funding) to support and expand public rail, bus, trolley, ferry, and other transit services. That investment has helped modernize public transportation and extended service into small cities and rural communities that previously lacked transit options.

FTA funds public transportation throughout the United States through a variety of formula and discretionary grant funding programs. FTA’s 5307 program provides support to urbanized areas and states for transit capital and operating assistance in urbanized areas and for transportation-related planning. FTA’s 5310 program supports transportation services to meet the special transportation needs of seniors and individuals with disabilities in all areas: large urbanized (200,000 or more in population), small urbanized (50,000-199,999 in population), and rural (under 50,000 in population). FTA’s 5311 program provides capital, planning, and operating assistance to states and federally recognized Indian tribes to support public transportation in rural areas with populations less than 50,000, where many residents often rely on public transit to reach their destinations.

FTA requires recipients of FTA funds to comply with federal regulations and agency-specific program requirements promulgated in congressional authorizing legislation, the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, agency-level program circulars, and other instruments (e.g., Dear Colleague Letters). FTA is responsible for overseeing its grantees for compliance with the terms of its Master Agreement and grant funding agreements. Currently, FTA meets its oversight responsibilities in large part through its Comprehensive Oversight Review and Technical Assistance Program (CORTAP).

Since 1998, DMP has supported CORTAP through the conduct of Triennial Reviews and State Management Reviews of FTA recipients, providing FTA recipient programmatic technical assistance, and performing other FTA oversight program support special projects. In the conduct of CORTAP reviews, DMP evaluates recipient compliance across a broad spectrum of 23 topic areas, including Financial Management and Capacity, Award Management, Subrecipient Oversight, Maintenance, Procurement, Disadvantage Business Enterprise, Title VI, Americans with Disabilities Act, Equal Employment Opportunity, and others. DMP also provides training and technical assistance to recipients on FTA requirements and aids FTA in reporting to the Secretary, Congress, other oversight agencies, and the transit community on FTA programs. Since 2019, DMP has conducted 154 comprehensive Triennial Reviews and State Management Reviews of FTA recipients of various sizes including, New York MTA, Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority, New Orleans Regional Transit Authority, Connecticut Department of Transportation, New Jersey Department of Transportation, Massachusetts Department of Transportation, Delaware Department of Transportation, City of Bangor, Steel Valley Regional Transit Authority, City of Harford, Kalamazoo Metro Transit, and Gary Public Transportation Corporation.

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