Consolidated Grant Projects
Background
The Public Transportation Consolidated Grant Program is a biennial program that provide funds for public transportation improvement projects within and between rural communities, tribal transportation, transportation services between cities, purchases of new buses and equipment, and public transportation services to seniors and people with disabilities. The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) manages the Consolidated Grant Program and is responsible for distributing state and federal grants to support public transportation programs.
These funding sources include:
- Federal Transit Administration funding:
- Section 5310 – Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities
- Section 5311 – Formula Grants for Rural Areas
- 5339(a) – Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities Formula Program
- Rural Mobility grants
- Paratransit/Special Needs grants
- Tribal Transit Mobility grants
Based on the type of project that is submitted, WSDOT determines which funding source(s) will be allocated to each project when funding is awarded.
Project Ranking
As part of the WSDOT Consolidated Grant process, MPOs/RTPOs evaluate and rank projects and then submit them to the state. All projects are ranked by the region as either A, B, or C categories. The number of allotted letter grades for each region is determined by criteria including its population, population density, rural population and numbers and percentages of those under 18 years, over 65, with disabilities, living in poverty and veterans.
RTC utilizes an evaluation committee to help evaluate and rank the projects utilizing a set of criteria that aligns with the strategies identified in the HSTP. The project evaluation scores are used to assign the A, B, and C project allotments in order of highest to lowest scored project. These rankings are then shared with the Regional Transportation Advisory Committee (RTAC), the Transportation Policy Committees (TPCs) and the RTC Board of Directors before being submitted to WSDOT through the state Grant Management System (GMS).
2025-2027 Evaluation Process
Based on the demographic analysis completed by WSDOT, the RTC region, which includes Clark, Klickitat and Skamania counties, was allocated 3 A’s; 5 B’s; 5 C’s. and an unlimited number of D’s for the 2025-2027 grant cycle. There are 4 projects that received a four-year grant award in the 2023-2025 Consolidated Grant Program biennium meaning there are only these 13 ranking spots available for the 2025-2027 biennium instead of 17 total allocations the region is assigned.
There were 11 applications eligible for the Consolidated Grant Program that were evaluated by the evaluation committee. The following table shows the project ranking letter category assignment that were submitted to WSDOT.
