Rural Eligibility
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Notes:
The definition of 'rural' vs 'non-rural' varies across the Department. There are at least a dozen programs at DOT that distinguish between ‘rural’ and ‘non-rural’ for prospective applicants. Questions about any of these programs can be sent to the respective program office or to rural@dot.gov.
| Modal Administration | Program | Definition of Rural |
|---|---|---|
| FTA | Passenger Ferry Program & Ferry Service for Rural Communities | Located outside of a U.S. Census-designated urban area with a population of 50,000 or more. |
| Low or No-Emission Grant Program | ||
| Innovative Coordinated Access and Mobility Pilot Program (ICAM) | ||
| Tribal Transit | ||
| Low or No-Emitting Ferry Pilot Program | ||
| Buses and Bus Facilities | ||
| FRA | Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) | Located outside of a U.S. Census-designated urban area with a population of 50,000 or more. |
| Railroad Crossing Elimination | ||
| FHWA | Advanced Transportation Technologies & Innovation (ATTAIN)* | Located outside of a U.S. Census-designated urban area with a population of 50,000 or more. |
| Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program | Located outside of a FHWA adjusted urban area with a population of 50,000 or more. | |
| Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-Saving Transportation (PROTECT) | Located outside of a U.S. Census-designated urban area with a population of 200,000 or more. | |
| MARAD | Port Infrastructure Development (PIDP) | Located outside of a U.S. Census-designated urbanized area with a population of 50,000 or more. This program currently uses the 2010 rural/urban boundaries. |
| OST | Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) | Located outside of a U.S. Census-designated urban area with a population of 50,000 or more. The SMART program also has a set-aside for midsize communities (between 50,000 & 400,000) |
| Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) | Located outside of a U.S. Census-designated urban area with a population of 150,000 or more. | |
| Rural and Tribal Assistance Pilot Program (RTA) | ||
| Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD)* | Located outside of a U.S. Census-designated urban area with a population of 200,000 or more. | |
| Safe Streets & Roads for All | ||
| Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA)* | ||
| Rural Surface Transportation Grant (Rural) |
Source:
Urban areas are defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, more information about their methodology can be found here.
*The ATTAIN program is also referred to as Advanced Transportation Technologies and Innovative Mobility Development (ATTIMD). This program was named Advanced Transportation and Congestion Management Technologies Deployment (ATCMTD) from FY16-FY21.
* The BUILD program was known as TIGER from FY09-FY17 and RAISE from FY21-FY25.
* The INFRA program was known as FASTLANE in FY16-FY17.