VA Transit Act

Pilot transit grants for veterans

This bill would require the Secretary of Transportation, with input from the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, to set up a pilot grant program within 1 year to improve public transit that helps veterans reach VA facilities and veteran-serving organizations. The pilot would run for 5 years after it starts and must fund grants at not fewer than five eligible locations in rural areas or urbanized areas with fewer than 200,000 people. Grants could pay for capital projects, service agreements with private providers, and related operating costs, and would follow existing urban (49 U.S.C. 5307) and rural (49 U.S.C. 5311) transit rules. Eligible applicants would be States, local governments, or Tribal governments and must describe routes, sites served, hours, and estimated veteran riders. Grant recipients would have to do targeted outreach to veterans and submit reports within 90 days after the pilot ends; the Secretary would give a consolidated report to Congress within 180 days after receiving those reports.