The U.

S.

Department of Transportation (DOT) Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announces the availability of funds in Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 for the Over-the-Road Bus (OTRB) Accessibility Program, authorized by Section 3038 of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21).

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The OTRB Accessibility Program makes funds available to private operators of over-the-road buses to finance the incremental capital and training costs of complying with DOT's over-the-road bus accessibility regulation.

The authorizing legislation calls for national solicitation of applications with grantees to be selected on a competitive basis.

Federal transit funds are available to intercity fixed-route providers and other OTRB providers at up to 90 percent of the project cost.

A total of $8,800,000 has been appropriated for the program in FY 200 9.

FY 2006 funds have lapsed in the amount of $1,867,90 0.

The total amount available for allocation is $10,710,435 which includes FY 2009 appropriations and lapsed funds.

Complete applications for OTRB Program grants must be submitted to the appropriate FTA regional office by April 15, 2010, or submitted electronically through the Grants.Gov Web site by the same date.

Anyone intending to apply electronically should initiate the process of registering on the Grants.Gov site immediately to ensure completion of registration before the deadline for submission.

FTA will announce grant selections in the Federal Register when the competitive selection process is complete.