FTA Low or No Emission Grant Program FY 2026: Approximately $589 Million for Clean Transit Buses, Deadline September 21

FTA Low or No Emission Grant Program FY 2026: Approximately $589 Million for Clean Transit Buses, Deadline September 21

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has opened the FY 2026 Low or No Emission Grant Program, commonly called the Low-No Program, for public transportation capital projects in the United States. The program provides approximately $589 million for eligible applicants to purchase or lease low-emission and zero-emission transit buses, along with the charging, refueling, maintenance, and other supporting facilities and equipment needed to operate them.

The application deadline is September 21, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern time. Applications must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov under the Low-No opportunity identifier FTA-2026-011-TPM-LWNO. The FTA announced Low-No in the same notice as the FY 2026 Buses and Bus Facilities Competitive Program, but the programs have different project scopes. This guide focuses on Low-No requests rather than ordinary bus-replacement projects that do not use low- or zero-emission propulsion.

This is a major capital grant for transit agencies, state and local governments, tribal governments, and designated recipients. It is not a scholarship, small-business grant, or award for an individual vehicle owner. Applicants need an eligible public transportation project, a credible local funding share, a plan for implementation, and evidence that the proposed vehicles and facilities will produce the required energy, emissions, safety, access, or service benefits.

Key details

What the Low-No Program offers

Low-No funding is intended for capital projects that replace or expand transit service with buses that reduce energy consumption and harmful emissions. The FTA notice distinguishes low-emission buses, such as propane, compressed natural gas, and hybrid-electric buses, from zero-emission buses, such as battery-electric, hydrogen fuel-cell, and rubber-tire trolley buses powered by overhead catenaries. The list in the notice is not presented as a substitute for checking the statutory definitions and the full application instructions.

An eligible request can include the bus itself and the infrastructure needed to make the fleet useful. Examples include charging equipment for battery-electric buses, refueling equipment, maintenance facilities, and other public transportation facilities that accommodate low- or zero-emission buses. An applicant can request funds to purchase or lease buses. Facilities may be leased, constructed, or rehabilitated when they directly support the eligible fleet.

The notice also allows related workforce-development costs. For a zero-emission project, 5 percent of the federal request associated with the zero-emission portion must be used for workforce development unless the applicant certifies that a smaller amount, or no amount, is needed and explains the certification. Eligible examples include retraining an existing workforce, registered apprenticeships, and joint labor-management training programs. The notice says these costs should be budgeted in addition to other eligible project expenses, not silently taken out of the vehicle or facility budget.

There is no minimum grant amount and no stated maximum for an individual Low-No award. That does not mean an applicant should request an unrestricted amount. FTA may award less than the request, and a proposal should explain the minimum funding needed for a viable project if it can be scaled. The FY 2025 Low-No round shows how competitive the program can be: FTA reports 179 eligible projects requesting $3.1 billion, with 103 projects funded for a total of $1.6 billion and award sizes ranging from $256,281 to $121,125,000.

Who can apply

The eligible Low-No recipients and subrecipients are designated recipients, states, U.S. territories, Washington, D.C., local government entities, and federally recognized Indian tribes. The opportunity is therefore aimed at public transportation institutions and their governmental partners, not at private companies applying independently for commercial fleet purchases. A private vendor can be part of implementation or a named partnership, but the applicant must be an eligible recipient or subrecipient and the project must be a public transportation capital project.

Every applicant must have sufficient legal, financial, and technical capability to receive and administer federal funds. That includes the ability to manage procurement, local matching funds, reporting, civil-rights and other federal requirements, and the operation or oversight of the proposed assets. If a transit agency is relying on another entity to operate vehicles or facilities, the application should make that relationship explicit and explain each organization’s role.

Rural projects have an additional submission rule. Except for projects proposed by Indian tribes, a project in a rural area must be submitted by a state, either as an individual application or as part of a consolidated state application. States and other eligible applicants may also submit consolidated applications for projects in urbanized areas. The same project may not be submitted in multiple applications.

The project must relate to public transportation. Prototype vehicle development is not eligible under the notice, and new transit bus models must successfully complete the applicable FTA bus testing requirements. Buses must also be procured from certified transit vehicle manufacturers in accordance with the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise regulations. These requirements make the program a poor fit for an early-stage vehicle concept that is not ready for compliant transit procurement.

What a strong project needs to show

A strong Low-No proposal connects a specific fleet or facility problem to measurable public transportation benefits. For a vehicle replacement request, document the age, condition, reliability, maintenance burden, and performance of the vehicles that will be replaced. Replaced vehicles must have reached their minimum useful life by the time the project is complete. For a fleet-expansion request, explain the new service, the riders it will reach, and why the expansion is needed.

The Low-No review asks applicants to demonstrate how the project will reduce energy consumption, harmful emissions, and direct carbon emissions compared with standard buses and facilities or other low- or no-emission alternatives. Avoid relying on a generic claim that electric or alternative-fuel buses are cleaner. State the baseline, identify the proposed technology, and provide the operational assumptions behind the comparison. If the proposed fleet depends on a facility upgrade, explain how that facility is necessary to achieve the stated result.

The proposal should also address local and regional planning. FTA asks applicants to describe consistency with long-range transportation plans, asset-management priorities, and local government priorities. Useful support may include relevant pages from adopted planning documents, a board resolution, a letter from a state or local partner, or performance data already tracked by the agency. A letter is most useful when it confirms a real commitment, such as matching funds, land, service coordination, or implementation responsibility.

For a zero-emission request, the Zero-Emission Fleet Transition Plan is a central document, not an optional attachment to add at the last minute. The plan must be separate from other local or regional planning documents and must include the components required by law. It should provide a credible account of fleet sequencing, facilities, operations, maintenance, workforce needs, and the transition path. The FTA notice requires this plan for zero-emission projects, including tribal applications requesting less than $1 million.

Cost share and budget planning

The general maximum federal share is 80 percent. Two exceptions can increase the federal share for particular costs: up to 85 percent for transit buses compliant with the Clean Air Act or accessible to people with disabilities, and up to 90 percent for equipment and components of facilities related to low- or zero-emission buses or used to make a facility accessible to people with disabilities. Applicants must itemize the specific, discrete components that qualify for the higher share. Do not apply the higher percentage to an entire project without separating the eligible cost categories.

The local share should be identified by source and timing. FTA asks applicants to provide evidence of local funds commitment and when the funds will be available. That evidence may be a board resolution, a state letter of financial support, or a budget document highlighting the relevant commitment. If the local share still needs to be secured after selection, say so plainly and describe the plan and timing rather than presenting uncertain money as available cash.

The workforce-development requirement changes the arithmetic for a zero-emission request. FTA gives an example in which a $3 million vehicle and equipment request requires an additional federal request for workforce development, producing a total federal request of $3,157,895. The exact amount will depend on the zero-emission portion of the project and any certification that less funding is needed. Build the calculation into the budget early, then account for the local match associated with the workforce-development amount.

Application materials and submission process

The core submission has two parts. First, complete the SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance through Grants.gov. Second, complete and attach the FY 2026 Low-No and Bus Programs Supplemental Form. Attach the Supplemental Form and supporting documents in the SF-424 attachments section. There is a limit of 15 total attachments per application.

The Supplemental Form asks for the applicant’s name, UEI, contact information, congressional district or districts, transit service and area served, project title, executive summary, project type, and propulsion type. It also includes text boxes for the evaluation criteria. The budget must identify both the federal funding request and non-federal funds, if any. If a supporting document is referenced, name the file and page number in the Supplemental Form; FTA warns that it may not review an attachment that is not properly referenced.

If applying to both the Bus Program and Low-No Program, use the same Supplemental Form but submit the materials twice, once through each Grants.gov opportunity ID. A Low-No-only project should be submitted through FTA-2026-011-TPM-LWNO. Mail and fax submissions are not accepted.

The applicant must be registered in SAM before submitting, provide a valid UEI, and keep the SAM registration active while applying and while an award is active. FTA says SAM registration often takes three to five business days but recommends allowing several weeks because an employer identification number or other unexpected issue can delay registration. Grants.gov registration is also multi-step. Start those checks before the narrative is finished.

Timeline and deadline

The notice was posted July 27, 2026. The complete electronic application is due by 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on September 21, 2026. Grants.gov time-stamps a proposal when it is successfully submitted. FTA strongly recommends submitting at least 72 hours early so an incomplete package or transmission problem can be corrected before the deadline.

After submission, watch for confirmation within 48 hours that Grants.gov received the application and sent it to FTA. If Grants.gov or FTA sends a rejection or incomplete notice, fix the problem and resubmit before the deadline. A resubmission must include all original attachments, even if only some were updated, and the updated Supplemental Form must identify it as a resubmission.

FTA states that, by statute, it will make selections within 75 days of the application due date. The selected project then moves into grant development and obligation through the appropriate FTA Regional Office in TrAMS. Costs incurred before FTA obligates the funds are generally not reimbursable unless FTA later authorizes them in writing under the notice.

How applications are reviewed

FTA will reject applications from ineligible applicants or for ineligible projects before scoring the substantive case. For eligible proposals, reviewers rely on the information in the Supplemental Form and any properly referenced supporting documents. The application should therefore make each criterion easy to find rather than placing its best evidence in an unreferenced attachment.

The main review areas include demonstration of need, demonstration of benefits, planning and local or regional prioritization, local financial commitment, project implementation strategy, and technical, legal, and financial capacity. For a Low-No vehicle project, reviewers will want to understand the current fleet problem, the proposed emissions and energy benefits, the planning context, the match, and the agency’s ability to procure and operate the vehicles.

FTA also expects to consider geographic variety, different transit-system sizes, and a variety of propulsion types. Within the Low-No Program, FTA says it intends to prioritize low-emission projects over zero-emission projects to the maximum extent permitted by law, and intends to prioritize especially innovative zero-emission projects, particularly those using automated vehicle technology. An applicant should not force an automated-vehicle angle into a conventional fleet replacement. The better approach is to state clearly what the project actually does and support the relevant criterion with evidence.

Preparation strategy for applicants

Begin with a compliance map. Create one working page that lists the applicant type, project location, rural or urban status, opportunity ID, vehicle and facility eligibility, federal share, local match source, SAM status, required forms, attachment limit, and deadline. This catches administrative failures before the team spends time polishing prose.

Next, define a scalable capital package. Separate the vehicles, chargers or refueling equipment, facility work, workforce development, local match, and any optional components. Identify the smallest award that would still deliver a functioning phase of the project. If the project cannot operate without a larger amount, explain why; if it can be phased, show what each phase accomplishes.

Build the evidence around the baseline. Use fleet age and condition, breakdowns, maintenance costs, service interruptions, route demand, energy use, emissions estimates, facility constraints, and adopted plans where available. Connect each figure to a decision in the proposal. A long data list is less persuasive than a short chain showing the current problem, the proposed asset, the expected change, and how the agency will monitor it.

Finally, ask a procurement and operations reviewer to read the draft. The application should make sense to someone who understands buses but does not know the applicant’s internal abbreviations. Confirm that the technology is procurable, that the facility can support it, that workforce training is budgeted, that the match is credible, and that each attachment is referenced by name and page number.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Applying as a vendor or private fleet owner when the eligible applicant is a public or tribal transportation entity.
• Treating the opportunity as a general bus grant without showing low- or zero-emission eligibility.
• Describing a prototype or untested bus model instead of a compliant procurement.
• Omitting the Zero-Emission Fleet Transition Plan for a zero-emission project.
• Hiding local match uncertainty or failing to show when committed funds will be available.
• Using a prior-year Supplemental Form or submitting a scanned or converted form that FTA cannot accept.
• Exceeding the 15-attachment limit or failing to reference attachment file names and page numbers in the Supplemental Form.
• Waiting until the final day to discover that SAM, UEI, Grants.gov, or an agency authorization is incomplete.
• Making broad environmental claims without a baseline, comparison, or project-specific calculation.
• Starting work or spending money before FTA obligation without written authorization for pre-award costs.

Frequently asked questions

Can a private bus manufacturer apply directly?

No. The listed eligible recipients and subrecipients are designated recipients, states, territories, Washington, D.C., local government entities, and federally recognized Indian tribes. A manufacturer or technology company may participate as a vendor or named partner in an eligible public transportation project, subject to procurement and other requirements.

Is there a maximum Low-No award?

The notice states that there is no maximum award amount under the Low-No Program, although FTA may award less than requested and may cap amounts during selection. The request still needs to be reasonable, supported by a budget, and tied to a viable project.

Can a project include both low-emission and zero-emission buses?

Yes, the notice contemplates projects with low- and zero-emission components. The applicant must separate the relevant costs and address the requirements for the proposed components, including workforce development and the transition plan for zero-emission portions.

Do zero-emission projects need a transition plan even if the request is small?

Yes. The notice says all applicants proposing a zero-emission project must submit a Zero-Emission Fleet Transition Plan, including Indian tribes requesting less than $1 million.

Is the September 21 deadline local time?

The notice specifies 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on September 21, 2026. Submit early enough to receive and resolve any Grants.gov confirmation or rejection message.

Official links and contact

Read the FTA FY 2026 Notice of Funding Opportunity, including the eligibility, application, review, and post-award sections. The FTA’s Low or No Emission Grant Program page provides program context and links to current information. Apply through Grants.gov using the Low-No opportunity ID FTA-2026-011-TPM-LWNO. Questions about this joint notice can be sent to [email protected].