Section 5339 isn't one grant — it's three, stacked on top of each other, each with its own cost share and its own application path. Agencies that only ever apply for the formula money are leaving the higher-reimbursement Low-No tier on the table. See how fleet records map to a 5339 application in a quick demo before your next funding cycle.
FTA Section 5339 Grant Program Guide for Bus Fleets
Section 5339 of federal transit law funds bus purchases, rehabilitation, and facilities through three distinct tracks — formula, competitive, and Low or No Emission. The track you apply through changes both how you compete and how much of the project gets reimbursed.
Formula & competitive
Bus purchase/lease
Equipment & facilities
Standard 5339(a)/(b) projects are reimbursed up to 80% federally. Low or No Emission bus purchases can reach 85%, and Low-No equipment or facilities up to 90% — the highest federal share in the bus program.
Three Programs Under One Section
49 U.S.C. § 5339 funds capital projects to replace, rehabilitate, and purchase buses and related equipment, and to construct bus facilities. It's delivered through three separate components, and most agencies qualify for more than one.
5339(a) — Formula
Annual apportionment to states and designated recipients: $1.75M per state and $500K per territory, plus a population- and service-based share using the Section 5307 urbanized area formula.
5339(b) — Competitive
Buses and Bus Facilities discretionary grants, awarded through an annual Notice of Funding Opportunity and weighted toward fleets with aging or poor-condition assets.
5339(c) — Low or No Emission
Competitive funding specifically for low- and zero-emission buses, charging/fueling infrastructure, and related facility upgrades — at the highest federal cost share in the program.
All three are capital-only, reimbursement-based programs governed by FTA Circular 5100.1. Organize your fleet's asset data ahead of your next NOFO.
Who Can Apply
- Designated recipients that operate, or allocate funds to, fixed-route bus service
- States, territories, and local governmental entities eligible for direct Section 5307 or 5311 grants
- Indian tribes providing public transportation service
- Subrecipients, including private nonprofit organizations engaged in public transportation
- For Low-No awards, applicants certifying the required workforce development spend — 5% of the award, unless financial need is certified otherwise
Talk through which track fits your agency's fleet before the next application window opens.
Which Track Fits Your Project
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Expert Review: Applying for One Track vs. Stacking All Three
Fleets that only track formula funding tend to apply the same way every year. Fleets with organized, current asset and maintenance data are the ones positioned to also compete for 5339(b) and layer in the higher 5339(c) share when a bus purchase qualifies.
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Content here is grounded in FTA's own 5339 Bus and Bus Facilities Fact Sheet and FTA Circular 5100.1 program guidance — award amounts and NOFO timing shift year to year, so treat specific dollar figures as the historical pattern rather than a guaranteed amount for any given cycle. Walk through your current fleet records to see what's application-ready today.
The Bottom Line
Section 5339 rewards agencies that can prove fleet condition, not just agencies that apply on time. Formula funding is worth claiming every year, but the competitive and Low-No tracks are where the real upside sits — and both are won with the same vehicle history and asset data your maintenance team is likely already logging, if it's organized enough to pull on demand.
