December 2023
The federal government thoroughly reviews INDOT’s Office of Transit every three years. In late November, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) presented INDOT its Achievement of Excellence certificate for earning a perfect score in the FTA’s Fiscal Year 2023 State Management Review. In particular, the FTA cited INDOT for “exemplary” completion and performance.
INDOT’s Office of Transit provides financial and technical assistance to public and specialized transportation systems throughout the state. The office functions as the grant administrator for federal and state transit programs. Among the grants are those for replacement transit vehicles and bus operating assistance. The office administers more than $100 million annually in state and federal funds to transportation providers around Indiana.
In the State Management Review, the FTA assesses each state DOT’s compliance with federal requirements by examining a sample of program implementation practices and management of federal funds awarded via the state DOT to in-state transit systems. The review investigates compliance in 23 areas.
Among the 23 categories are financial management; technical capacity for subrecipient oversight and project management; maintenance of federally funded vehicles, equipment, and facilities; procurement procedures; nondiscrimination; and more. The review also includes compliance regarding specialized federal funds such as the CARES Act and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
Two of the 23 categories were considered not applicable to INDOT’s program, but of the remaining 21 categories, INDOT received a perfect score. As part of the probe, the FTA even reviewed four transit services (subrecipients) that receive federal funds via INDOT.
In late November, the FTA Region V — which covers Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin — informed INDOT that it had achieved the Achievement of Excellence for exemplary completion of the review.
In its report, the FTA noted that INDOT’s Office of Transit has excelled at purchasing transit vehicles for rural and specialized providers and completing an intercity bus study. It also lauded INDOT’s plan to procure state vehicle and Rural Transit Assistance Program contracts in the next three to five years.
