Planning Guidance

FTA issues guidance to assist grantees in meeting the requirements of federal law as expressed in regulations (e.g. 23 CFR 450) and statutes (e.g. 49 USC Chapter 53).  Since most federal transportation planning program requirements are common to FTA and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), most of the links provided here refer to joint guidance developed by both FTA and FHWA and link directly to the content on the FHWA website.

Note: Some guidance documents formerly posted here have been incorporated into and/or superseded by the FHWA/FTA Final Rule on statewide and metropolitan transportation planning and programming and congestion management processes/systems which was published in the Federal Register on February 14, 2007 and became effective on March 16, 2007. (For more information on the Final Rule, please click here.)

• SAFETEA-LU Planning: Illustrative Examples – presents examples of current practice from MPOs and state DOTs to illustrate a range of approaches for addressing several selected planning provisions.
• Interim Guidance for Implementing Key SAFETEA-LU Provisions on Planning, Environment, and Air Quality for Joint FHWA/FTA Authorities 
• Guidance for Transit Financial Plans This FTA guidance explains how to develop a financial plan that meets FTA requirements.
• Flexible Funding For Transit and Highway Improvements 
• Case Studies of State, MPO, and Tribal Coordination in Transportation Planning 
• Frequently Asked Questions Applying 2000 Census Data to Urbanized and Urban Areas 
• Limited English Proficiency Guidance 
• How to Engage Low-Literacy and Limited-English-Proficiency Populations in Transportation Decisionmaking