14-73.001. Public Transportation

(1) Purpose. This rule sets forth requirements for the recipients of the Department’s public transit grant funds.

(2) Definitions.

(a) “Department” means the Florida Department of Transportation.

(b) “District Office” means any of the seven geographically defined districts as set forth in Section 20.23(4)(a), F.S.

(c) “Provider” means a transit agency or a community transportation coordinator as set forth in Section 341.052, F.S.

(d) “MPO” means the Metropolitan Planning Organization or similarly named organization responsible for the federally required transportation planning processes in metropolitan areas, jointly administered by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) as set forth in 49 U.S.C. 5303 and 23 U.S.C. 134.

(3) Transit Development Plans (TDPs). TDPs are required for grant program recipients in Section 341.052, F.S. A TDP shall be the provider’s planning, development, and operational guidance document, based on a ten-year planning horizon and covers the year for which funding is sought and the nine subsequent years. A TDP or an annual TDP Update shall be used in developing the Department’s five-year Work Program, the Transportation Improvement Program, and the Department’s Program and Resource Plan. A TDP shall be adopted by a provider’s governing body. Technical assistance in preparing TDPs is available from the Department. TDPs shall be updated every five years in coordination with the development of the local MPO’s Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) and the Metropolitan Transportation Planning process. The development of TDPs and MPO’s Long Range Transportation Plans (LRTPs) shall be coordinated using the comparable baseline year and future year data to identify the multimodal system deficiencies, considering land use, state and local transportation plans, other governmental actions and policies, and socioeconomic trends. Every five years TDPs (TDP Updates) shall include all the elements described below.

(a) Public Involvement Process. The TDP preparation process shall include opportunities for public involvement as outlined in a TDP public involvement plan, approved by the Department, or the local MPO adopted Public Involvement Plan (PIP), approved by both the FTA and the FHWA. The provider is authorized to establish time limits for receipt of comments. The TDP shall include a description of the process used and the public involvement activities undertaken. As required by Section 341.052, F.S., comments must be solicited from local and regional workforce boards established under Chapter 445, F.S. The Department, the local/regional workforce board, local government comprehensive planning departments, and the MPO shall be advised of all public meetings where the TDP is to be presented or discussed, and shall be given an opportunity to review and comment on the TDP during the development of the proposed public transportation projects and services, and a ten-year implementation program.

(b) Relationship Review to Other Plans. The TDP shall consider and be consistent with the Florida Transportation Plan, the local government comprehensive plans, the MPO long-range transportation plan, and regional transportation goals and objectives. The TDP shall discuss the relationship between the public transportation Ten-Year Operating and Capital Program and other local plans.

(c) Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process Coordination Program. The TDP shall include a detailed coordination program defining collaborative participation and consistency in developing and implementing both the TDP and LRTP with the local Metropolitan Planning Organization, as well as other related MPO multi-modal planning and programming including the Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP), the Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP), and Corridor Development Studies.

(d) Demand Estimation. An estimation of the community’s demand for transit service using the planning tools provided by the Department, or a Department approved transit demand ridership forecast software and/or estimation technique with supporting demographic, land use, transportation, and transit data. The result of the transit demand estimation process shall be a ten-year annual projection of transit ridership.

(e) Land Use and Corridor Development Assessment. An assessment of the extent to which the land use and urban design patterns in the provider’s service area support or hinder the efficient provision of existing and future transit services, including any efforts being undertaken by the provider or local land use authorities to foster a more multi-modal operating environment. This assessment will also address priority transit corridors developed in the TDP as well as in the LRTP for consistency and coordination.

(f) A Ten-Year Operating and Capital Program. This program shall include:

1. A ten-year schedule of projects that identifies the provider’s future operating and capital projects over a 10-year planning horizon. The ten-year schedule of projects shall include project descriptions, maps indicating areas to be served, a project timeline, associated costs, and the type and level of service and capital improvements to be provided.

2. A financial plan, which shall include a ten-year planning horizon that identifies each project’s operating and capital expenses for the schedule of projects.

3. A list of priority projects based on the 10-year schedule of projects, which shall include a ranking by each project’s importance, the description, type, location, and identification of funding availability. This list can include projects that exceed beyond the tenth year.

(4) Annual TDP Updates. The Annual TDP Update shall be an update of the ten-year operating and capital program. This update shall include a formatted table presenting the ten-year schedule of projects, financial plan, and list of priority projects, and any updated modifications to the previous year’s ten-year operating and capital program and extending this ten-year operating and capital program to a new tenth year. The Annual TDP Update shall include a brief narrative overview of the TDP process specifically addressing progress, and achievements of the Metropolitan Transportation Planning Process Coordination Program.

(5) Plan Submission and Approval.

(a) To be approved by the Department, a TDP must meet all applicable deadlines and address all requirements of this rule, including a public involvement plan that included opportunities for review and comment by interested agencies, and citizens or passengers during the development of the ten-year operating and capital program. The Annual TDP Update does not need to be adopted by the transit agencies governing board. The 5-year TDP must be approved by the transit agency’s governing board. All 5-year TDP and Annual TDP Updates must be presented to the local MPO governing board.

(b) TDPs must be submitted to the Department by March 1. Within 60 days of receiving an adopted TDP or Annual TDP Update, the Department will notify the provider as to whether or not the TDP or annual update is in compliance with the requirements of this rule, and, if not in compliance, a list of deficiencies will be cited to the provider for resubmittal. Within 30 days of any resubmitted TDP or annual update the Department will notify the provider as to whether or not the resubmission is in compliance with the requirements of this rule. TDPs filed late will be accepted if extenuating circumstances beyond the provider’s control exist, and the District Office is able to complete its review and approval process by June 30.

(6) Grant Administration. Public transit funds will be considered on the basis of public transit needs as identified in TDPs. The Department is authorized to fund up to such percentages as are designated for each type of public transportation project by Chapter 341, F.S., for the respective state and federal projects described therein. The Department shall, within statutory parameters, determine the level of funding participation for each project.

(a) State funding participation in public transit projects and services shall require a duly executed agreement, unless otherwise required by law.

(b) Eligibility to receive state public transit grants from the Department is limited to those providers specifically designated by law to receive such grants, and determined by statutory budgeting and programming requirements.

(c) Written requests for appropriated public transit grant funds by a provider are to be addressed to the District Office in which district the provider operates public transit service. The request shall include at a minimum the name and address of the provider, level of funding being requested, type of funding or program participation requested, and use to be made of the requested funds. Where a deadline for applications has been established, applications received after the deadline shall be returned. Deadlines for each program application may be obtained from the District Office.

(d) Federal funds for which the Department is the primary recipient may involve special application procedures or submittal format, imposed by the federal grantor agency as a condition of receiving federal funds. The provider will be notified by the District Office of special application requirements at the time of submission of a written request for funding if the District Office has not previously distributed such information to the provider.

(e) The Department will award public transit grant funds after July 1 of each state fiscal year, but will not award funds until a provider’s TDP has been found to be in compliance with this rule.

(f) Approved TDPs and Annual TDP Updates shall be on file at the appropriate District Office by the due date of June 30 for the next Department fiscal year in which funding is available. If a provider’s required annual TDP documentation has not been submitted and approved by the June 30 due date, the provider will be found in noncompliance with the rule  and will not receive any state public transit grant for the subject year of availability. Funds that may have been allocated for noncompliant providers will be allocated among the remaining eligible providers.

Rulemaking Authority 334.044(2), 341.041(12)(b) FS. Law Implemented 341.041, 341.051, 341.052, 341.071 FS. History–New 9-24-75, Formerly 14-73.01, Amended 12-8-92, 2-20-07, 7-9-24.