Enhanced Mobility

The Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities Program supports projects that serve the special needs of transit-dependent populations by providing transit alternatives that go beyond traditional public transportation services and requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) complementary paratransit services.  Statutory authority for this program is provided under 49 U.S.C. Section 5310. 

Eligible recipients for Section 5310 projects include:

State or local governmental agency;
Publicly owned operator of public transportation services;
Privately owned operator of public transportation services; or
Private non-profit organizations.

Eligible Activities
Refer to the Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities Program Guidance for a comprehensive list of eligible capital and operating projects. Capital projects include:

  • ADA-accessible buses or vans
  • Vehicle wheelchair lifts, ramps, and securement devices
  • Making accessibility improvements to bus stops, stations and other facilities
  • Improving signage or implementing way-finding technology
  • Computer hardware and software, scheduling and dispatching systems
  • Purchasing transportation services under a contract, lease, or other arrangement
  • Mobility Management activities

Operating projects include:

  • Expansion of paratransit services beyond ADA requirements
  • Feeder services to rail or bus service beyond ADA requirements
  • Incremental cost of providing same-day or door-to-door services
  • Vouchers can be purchased for individuals as part of volunteer driver programs, vanpool services, shared-ride taxi trips or human service agency projects

Matching Requirements
Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities Program funds may be used to finance capital and operating expenses. Federal match requirements are determined according to the type of expenditure funded:

For capital expenses, Section 5310 funds may provide up to 80 percent of the cost of the project.
For operating expenses, Section 5310 funds may provide up to 50 percent of the project’s net operating cost.

The local match share must be provided from sources other than federal Department of Transportation (DOT) funds. Some examples of potential sources of local match which may be used for any or all of the local share include: State or local apportionments; other non-DOT federal funds; dedicated tax revenues; private donations; revenue from human service contracts; and net income generated from advertising and concessions.

Other federal, non-DOT funds may be used for local match when transportation is an allowable expense under the given program. Examples of types of programs that are potential sources of local match include: employment training, aging, community services, and vocational rehabilitation services. To be eligible as match to FTA funds, the other federal funds must be used for activities included in the total net project costs of the FTA grant. Expenditures of other federal funds for transportation outside of the scope of the project cannot be applied as a credit for local match in the FTA grant.

Planning Requirements
Projects selected for funding under the Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities Program must be derived from a locally developed, coordinated public transit-human services transportation plan. The regional coordination plan, Access North Texas, identifies region-wide and county-wide strategies to address transportation needs. Project submittals must be consistent with strategies identified through the Access North Texas Plan. The complete plan can be found at www.accessnorthtexas.org.