The Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff announced the Veterans Transportation and Community Living Initiative, a new initiative and funding opportunity led by the Coordinating Council on Access and Mobility, with a partnership between the Departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, Labor, Transportation, and Veterans Affairs.

The Veterans Transportation and Community Living Initiative will help ensure that the brave men and women who have served in the U.S. armed forces—including veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, student veterans, active-duty personnel, wounded veterans, military retirees, and others—have convenient and ready access to the full range of affordable transportation services available in their communities.

Through this initiative, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) will make $30 million in Section 5309 Bus and Bus Facilities funding available to local governmental agencies to finance the capital costs of implementing, expanding, or increasing access to local One-Call/One-Click Transportation Resource Centers—a proven approach to improve access and coordination of local transportation resources. These resources will be complemented by training, technical assistance, outreach and social media technology investments provided by FTA and other participating agencies, including the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Labor. The Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense are also lending critical support.

Find more information about the initiative and the funding opportunity at http://www.fta.dot.gov/veterans.

The website contains the Notice of Funding Availability as well as numerous resources for interested communities to begin their planning and application process. The FTA will hold an informational webinar about the funding opporunity in early August.