NTD Small Systems Manual

NTD

2013 Reporting Year

National Transit Database

Small Systems Waiver
Reporting Manual
Office of Budget and Policy
September 2013

Federal Transit Administration
U.S. Department of Transportation

2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
Table of Contents
Introduction ...........................................................................................................................................................1
What is the National Transit Database? ..................................................................................................................1
Reporting Manuals and Modules ............................................................................................................................1
FY 2013 Annual Reporting Changes and Clarifications ..........................................................................................1
Who Reports, What to Report, How to Report, When to Report, and Where to Report ..........................................1
New Reporters ........................................................................................................................................................1
Reference Information ............................................................................................................................................1
What is the National Transit Database? .....................................................................................................................2
Legislative Requirement .........................................................................................................................................2
Funding for Transit Agencies Serving Urbanized Areas .........................................................................................2
Reporting Manuals and Modules ................................................................................................................................3
FY 2013 Annual Reporting Changes and Clarifications..............................................................................................3
Who Reports...............................................................................................................................................................3
Purchased Transportation Services ........................................................................................................................4
Voluntary Reporters ................................................................................................................................................4
Extensions, Waivers and Special Requests ............................................................................................................4
Extension Requests ............................................................................................................................................4
Waivers and Special Requests............................................................................................................................5
Small Systems Waiver – 30 or Fewer Vehicles ...............................................................................................5
Natural Disaster Hold Harmless Adjustment ....................................................................................................5
Data, Report or Passenger Miles Traveled Sampling Waivers ........................................................................6
Special Request – Strikes ................................................................................................................................6
What to Report ...........................................................................................................................................................7
Reporting Modules and Forms ................................................................................................................................7
Declarations ............................................................................................................................................................7
Fiscal Year Data .....................................................................................................................................................7
How to Report.............................................................................................................................................................7
The NTD Identification Number...............................................................................................................................8
Internet Reporting ...................................................................................................................................................8
Reporting Format ................................................................................................................................................8
General Formatting Rules ...................................................................................................................................8
Accounting Requirements .......................................................................................................................................8
Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).............................................................................................8
Accrual Accounting ..............................................................................................................................................9
Reporting Purchased Transportation ......................................................................................................................9
When to Report ..........................................................................................................................................................9
Reporting Timelines .............................................................................................................................................. 10
Reminder Notices ................................................................................................................................................. 10
Failure to Report: No Report, Late Report, or Incomplete Report ......................................................................... 10
Where to Report ....................................................................................................................................................... 11

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2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
NTD Help Desk ..................................................................................................................................................... 11
New Reporters.......................................................................................................................................................... 11
Written Request .................................................................................................................................................... 12
Reference Information .............................................................................................................................................. 12
Transit Terminology and Parameters .................................................................................................................... 12
Public Transportation ........................................................................................................................................ 13
Modes................................................................................................................................................................ 13
Type of Service (TOS) ....................................................................................................................................... 13
Transit Agency .................................................................................................................................................. 14
Area Definitions ................................................................................................................................................. 14
Maximum Service Vehicles ............................................................................................................................... 14
Reference Documents .......................................................................................................................................... 14

Internet Reporting............................................................................................................................................ 16
Overview .................................................................................................................................................................. 16
What Has Changed from Prior Years .................................................................................................................... 16
Internet Reporting System Security ...................................................................................................................... 16
Detailed Instructions ................................................................................................................................................. 16
Accessing Internet Reporting ................................................................................................................................ 16
Choosing Your Browser..................................................................................................................................... 17
Verifying Your Internet Browser Settings ........................................................................................................... 17
The NTD Homepage ......................................................................................................................................... 17
Accessing the NTD Report ................................................................................................................................ 18
Levels of Access ............................................................................................................................................ 19
User Names and Password ........................................................................................................................... 19
Passwords ..................................................................................................................................................... 19
Sys Admin: Changing Your Password ........................................................................................................... 19
Tips for Using Internet Reporting .......................................................................................................................... 20
Navigating Between Screens ............................................................................................................................ 20
Saving a Form ................................................................................................................................................... 20
NTD Reporting Structure....................................................................................................................................... 20
Home: Annual Report Home Page........................................................................................................................ 21
Annual: Reporting Annual Data............................................................................................................................. 21
Printing a Form Report from a Form Screen ..................................................................................................... 22
Submitting Your Report ..................................................................................................................................... 22
Notes: Providing Additional Information ................................................................................................................ 22
Creating a Form Note ........................................................................................................................................ 22
Reviewing Form Notes ...................................................................................................................................... 23
Editing Notes ..................................................................................................................................................... 23
Printing Form Notes .......................................................................................................................................... 23
Issues: Validating Annual Data ............................................................................................................................. 23
Pre-Submission Validation ................................................................................................................................ 24

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Post-Submission Validation by NTD Analysts ................................................................................................... 24
Closeout: Completion of Issue Validation .......................................................................................................... 25
e-File: Sending Declarations, Requests, and Other Communications .................................................................. 25
e-File Tracking................................................................................................................................................... 25
Report Stage.................................................................................................................................................. 26
Waivers .......................................................................................................................................................... 26
Declarations ................................................................................................................................................... 26
Other Agency Requests ................................................................................................................................. 26
Outgoing NTD Correspondence ........................................................................................................................ 26
e-File Composing: Waivers, Other Agency Requests and Declarations ............................................................ 26
Adding a Request or Declaration ................................................................................................................... 26
Writing or Attaching a Document ................................................................................................................... 27
Editing a Request .......................................................................................................................................... 27
Attaching Correspondence ............................................................................................................................ 27
Saving Correspondence ................................................................................................................................ 27
NTD Process after e-File Submission ............................................................................................................... 27
Acknowledgment of Submission .................................................................................................................... 27
Request Status .............................................................................................................................................. 27
Viewing a Submitted Request ........................................................................................................................ 28
e-File at the End of the Year.............................................................................................................................. 28
Communications: Viewing a History of Correspondence with NTD ....................................................................... 28
Reports: Using Reports ......................................................................................................................................... 29
Viewing and Printing Reports ............................................................................................................................ 29
Viewing a Report Online ................................................................................................................................ 29
To Print a Report from the Reports Tab ......................................................................................................... 29
To Print a Form Report from a Form Screen ................................................................................................. 29
Available Reports .............................................................................................................................................. 29
Notes and Issues Report ............................................................................................................................... 30
Service Characteristics – Time Series ........................................................................................................... 30
Key Performance Indicators........................................................................................................................... 30
Revenue Vehicle Inventory – Prior Years History .......................................................................................... 30
Operating Expenses by Function and Hourly Wages – Prior Years History................................................... 30
Key Performance Indicators – Average Trip Length – Prior Years History .................................................... 30
Ridership Activity Summary Report ............................................................................................................... 30
FFA Data Distribution by UZA........................................................................................................................ 30
Help: Obtaining More Information ......................................................................................................................... 31

Basic Information Module ........................................................................................................................... 32
Identification form (B-10) ....................................................................................................................................... 32
Contacts form (B-20)............................................................................................................................................. 32
Identification form (B-10) .............................................................................................................................................. 33
Overview .................................................................................................................................................................. 34

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2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
Reporting Requirements and Thresholds ............................................................................................................. 34
Small System Waiver (30 or fewer vehicles) ..................................................................................................... 34
What Has Changed from Prior Year ..................................................................................................................... 34
Approach............................................................................................................................................................... 34
Detailed Instructions ................................................................................................................................................. 34
NTD ID .................................................................................................................................................................. 34
Identification Information ....................................................................................................................................... 34
Fiscal Year ........................................................................................................................................................ 34
Mailing Address ................................................................................................................................................. 35
URL ................................................................................................................................................................... 35
Agency Name and Acronym .............................................................................................................................. 35
FTA Recipient ID ............................................................................................................................................... 35
DUNS Number .................................................................................................................................................. 35
Are You a Recipient or Beneficiary of Urbanized Area Formula Program Grants with Continuing Requirements?
.............................................................................................................................................................................. 35
Are You Requesting a Small System Waiver? ...................................................................................................... 35
Organization Type ................................................................................................................................................. 35
Independent Public Agency or Authority for Transit Service.............................................................................. 35
Subsidiary Unit of a Transit Agency; Reporting Separately ............................................................................... 36
Unit or Department of City, County or Local Government ................................................................................. 36
Unit or Department of State Government .......................................................................................................... 36
University........................................................................................................................................................... 36
Area Agency on Aging ....................................................................................................................................... 36
Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), Council of Governments (COG), or Other Planning Agency ........ 36
Other Publicly-Owned or Publicly-Chartered Corporation ................................................................................. 36
Private For-Profit Corporation............................................................................................................................ 36
Private Non-Profit Corporation .......................................................................................................................... 36
Private Provider Reporting on Behalf of a Public Entity..................................................................................... 37
Consolidated Reporter....................................................................................................................................... 37
Other ................................................................................................................................................................. 37
Demographic Information ...................................................................................................................................... 37
Urbanized Area ................................................................................................................................................. 37
Service Area ...................................................................................................................................................... 37
Number of Vehicles Operated in Annual Maximum Service by Mode and Type of Service .................................. 38
Vehicles Operated in Maximum Service (VOMS) .............................................................................................. 38
Type of Service (TOS) ....................................................................................................................................... 38
Mode ................................................................................................................................................................. 38
Vanpool Reporting Requirements .................................................................................................................. 39
Multi-Modal Vehicles ...................................................................................................................................... 40
Route and Point Deviation Services .............................................................................................................. 40
Incidental Transit Service............................................................................................................................... 40
Line by Line Instructions for Identification form (B-10).............................................................................................. 41

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Contacts form (B-20) .................................................................................................................................................... 44
Overview .................................................................................................................................................................. 45
Reporting Requirements and Thresholds ............................................................................................................. 45
What Has Changed from Prior Year ..................................................................................................................... 45
Detailed Instructions ................................................................................................................................................. 45
Contact Type: CEO ............................................................................................................................................... 45
Contact Type: NTD Contact .................................................................................................................................. 45
Contact Type: Safety Contact ............................................................................................................................... 45
Contact Type: Security Contact ............................................................................................................................ 45
Line by Line Instructions Contacts form (B-20) ......................................................................................................... 45

Small Systems Waiver Module ................................................................................................................ 47
Small Systems Waiver (30 or Fewer Vehicles) form (W-30) ................................................................................. 47
Small Systems Waiver form (W-30) ............................................................................................................................. 48
Overview .................................................................................................................................................................. 49
Reporting Requirements and Thresholds ............................................................................................................. 49
What Has Changed from Prior Year ..................................................................................................................... 49
Approach .................................................................................................................................................................. 49
Financial Reporting ........................................................................................................................................... 49
Accrual Accounting ........................................................................................................................................ 49
Transit Related Projects................................................................................................................................. 49
Pass-Through Funds ..................................................................................................................................... 49
Original Source of Funds ............................................................................................................................... 49
Cost Allocation ............................................................................................................................................... 50
Vanpools ........................................................................................................................................................... 50
Service Data ...................................................................................................................................................... 50
Detailed Instructions ................................................................................................................................................. 51
Operating Expenses by Mode ............................................................................................................................... 51
Uses of Capital...................................................................................................................................................... 51
Purchased Transportation ................................................................................................................................. 51
Multiple Modes and Types of Service ................................................................................................................ 51
Directly Generated Funds by the Transit Agency: All Transit Agencies ................................................................ 52
Passenger Fares ............................................................................................................................................... 52
Allocation of Fare Revenues ............................................................................................................................. 52
Passenger Fares for Directly Operated (DO) Service ....................................................................................... 52
Passenger Fares for Purchased Transportation (PT) Service ........................................................................... 53
Other Directly Generated Funds........................................................................................................................ 53
Donations .......................................................................................................................................................... 53
Local and State Funds .......................................................................................................................................... 53
Other Funds ...................................................................................................................................................... 53
Federal Government Funds .................................................................................................................................. 53
Funds Received from FTA................................................................................................................................. 54

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2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
Other Federal Sources ...................................................................................................................................... 54
FTA Capital Program ......................................................................................................................................... 54
FTA State of Good Repair Program ............................................................................................................... 54
FTA Bus and Bus Facilities Program ............................................................................................................. 54
FTA Urbanized Area Formula Program ............................................................................................................. 54
FTA Metropolitan Planning ................................................................................................................................ 55
FTA Clean Fuels Program ................................................................................................................................. 55
FTA Special Needs of Elderly Individuals and Individuals with Disabilities Formula ......................................... 55
FTA Other Than Urbanized Area Formula Program .......................................................................................... 55
FTA Job Access and Reverse Commute Formula Program .............................................................................. 56
FTA New Freedom Program ............................................................................................................................. 56
FTA Alternative Transportation in Parks and Public Lands Program................................................................. 56
Other FTA Funds ............................................................................................................................................... 56
Funds Received from Other USDOT Grant Programs ...................................................................................... 56
Other Federal Funds ......................................................................................................................................... 56
Service Data ......................................................................................................................................................... 56
Revenue Service................................................................................................................................................... 57
Fixed Route Service .......................................................................................................................................... 57
Determining Revenue Statistics ..................................................................................................................... 57
Actual Vehicle Revenue Miles and Hours ...................................................................................................... 57
Non-Scheduled Non-Fixed Route Services ....................................................................................................... 57
Actual Vehicle Revenue Miles and Hours ...................................................................................................... 58
Service Consumed................................................................................................................................................ 58
Unlinked Passenger Trips ................................................................................................................................. 58
Collecting Unlinked Passenger Trips ................................................................................................................. 59
100 Percent Count of Unlinked Passenger Trips............................................................................................... 59
Unlinked Passenger Trips Sampling ................................................................................................................. 59
NTD Sampling Manual ................................................................................................................................... 59
Alternative Sampling Techniques .................................................................................................................. 60
Automatic Passenger Counters (APC) .............................................................................................................. 60
Sampling for Purchased Transportation Service ............................................................................................... 61
Safety Data ........................................................................................................................................................... 61
Line by Line Instructions for Small Systems Waiver (30 or Fewer Vehicles) form (W-30) ........................................ 61
Sources of Directly Generated Funds by the Transit Agency — All Transit Agencies .......................................... 62
Federal Government Funds .................................................................................................................................. 62
Service Data ......................................................................................................................................................... 65
Safety Data ........................................................................................................................................................... 65

Asset Module ...................................................................................................................................................... 66
Stations and Maintenance Facilities form (A-10)................................................................................................... 66
Revenue Vehicle Inventory form (A-30) ................................................................................................................ 66
Stations and Maintenance Facilities form (A-10) .......................................................................................................... 67

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Overview .................................................................................................................................................................. 68
Reporting Requirements and Thresholds ............................................................................................................. 68
What Has Changed from Prior Year ..................................................................................................................... 68
Approach............................................................................................................................................................... 68
Passenger Stations ........................................................................................................................................... 68
Station Criteria ............................................................................................................................................... 68
Multi-Modal Stations ...................................................................................................................................... 69
ADA Accessibility ........................................................................................................................................... 69
Maintenance Facilities ....................................................................................................................................... 69
Type ............................................................................................................................................................... 69
Ownership...................................................................................................................................................... 69
Size ................................................................................................................................................................ 70
Shared Facilities ............................................................................................................................................ 70
Detailed Instructions ................................................................................................................................................. 70
Passenger Stations ............................................................................................................................................... 70
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 Accessible Stations ............................................................................. 70
Non-ADA Accessible Stations ........................................................................................................................... 70
Multi-Modal Passenger Stations ........................................................................................................................ 70
Escalators and Elevators ................................................................................................................................... 70
Maintenance Facilities .......................................................................................................................................... 71
General Purpose Maintenance Facilities ........................................................................................................... 71
Heavy Maintenance Facilities ............................................................................................................................ 71
Line by Line Instructions for Stations and Maintenance Facilities from (A-10) ......................................................... 72
Passenger Stations ............................................................................................................................................... 72
Maintenance Facilities - Directly Operated Service............................................................................................... 73
Maintenance Facilities - Purchased Transportation Service ................................................................................. 74
Revenue Vehicle Inventory form (A-30) ....................................................................................................................... 77
Overview .................................................................................................................................................................. 78
Reporting Requirements and Thresholds ............................................................................................................. 78
What Has Changed from Prior Year ..................................................................................................................... 78
Approach............................................................................................................................................................... 78
Vehicles Operating in Multiple Modes ............................................................................................................... 78
Purchased Transportation ................................................................................................................................. 78
Non-Dedicated Vehicles .................................................................................................................................... 78
Grouping Vehicles by Like Characteristics (Sub-Fleet) ..................................................................................... 79
Detailed Instructions ................................................................................................................................................. 79
Number of Vehicles in Total Fleet ......................................................................................................................... 79
Dedicated Fleet ..................................................................................................................................................... 80
Vehicle Type ......................................................................................................................................................... 80
Ownership ............................................................................................................................................................. 80
Funding Source..................................................................................................................................................... 81
Year of Manufacture ............................................................................................................................................. 81

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Year of Rebuild ..................................................................................................................................................... 81
Manufacturer ......................................................................................................................................................... 81
Model .................................................................................................................................................................... 83
Number of Active Vehicles in Fleet ....................................................................................................................... 83
ADA Accessible Vehicles ...................................................................................................................................... 83
Number of Emergency Contingency Vehicles ....................................................................................................... 83
Fuel Type .............................................................................................................................................................. 83
Vehicle Length ...................................................................................................................................................... 84
Seating Capacity ................................................................................................................................................... 84
Standing Capacity ................................................................................................................................................. 84
Total Miles on Active Vehicles and Average Lifetime Mileage per Active Vehicle................................................. 84
Total Miles on Active Vehicles during Period..................................................................................................... 84
Average Lifetime Mileage per Active Vehicle .................................................................................................... 84
Supports Another Mode ........................................................................................................................................ 85
Delete Vehicle Fleet .............................................................................................................................................. 86
Line by Line Instructions for Revenue Vehicle Inventory form (A-30) ....................................................................... 86
Vehicle Fleet Data................................................................................................................................................. 86
Totals .................................................................................................................................................................... 88

Federal Funding Allocation Statistics Module ............................................................................... 89
Federal Funding Allocation Statistics form (FFA-10)............................................................................................. 89
Federal Funding Allocation Statistics form (FFA-10) .................................................................................................... 90
Overview .................................................................................................................................................................. 91
Urbanized Area Formula Program ........................................................................................................................ 91
STIC (Small Transit Intensive City) Funding ......................................................................................................... 91
Bus and Bus Facilities (§5339) ............................................................................................................................. 91
Rural Formula Program (§5311) ........................................................................................................................... 91
Reporting Requirements and Thresholds ............................................................................................................. 91
What Has Changed from Prior Year ..................................................................................................................... 91
Approach............................................................................................................................................................... 91
Mode of Service ................................................................................................................................................ 92
Census UZAs and Non-UZAs Served by Transit............................................................................................... 92
Detailed Instructions ................................................................................................................................................. 92
Urbanized Area Number ....................................................................................................................................... 92
Urbanized Area and Other than Urbanized Area Reporting Method ..................................................................... 92
Reporting Rules for More than One Urbanized Area and Other than Urbanized Areas .................................... 93
Line by Line Instructions for Federal Funding Allocation Statistics form (FFA-10).................................................... 96
Annual Total .......................................................................................................................................................... 97

Declarations Module ...................................................................................................................................... 98
Declarations.............................................................................................................................................................. 98
Reporting Requirements and Thresholds ............................................................................................................. 98

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2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
What Has Changed from Prior Year ..................................................................................................................... 98
Chief Executive Officer Certification (D-10) form.......................................................................................................... 99
Overview ................................................................................................................................................................ 100
Overall Report ..................................................................................................................................................... 100
Unlinked Passenger Trip (UPT) Data .................................................................................................................. 100
Chief Executive Officer Certification form (D-10) ................................................................................................ 100
Line by Line Instructions for CEO Certification form (D-10) .................................................................................... 101

List of Exhibits
Exhibit 1 — FY 2013 Annual Reporting Changes and Clarifications ..............................................................................3
Exhibit 2 — Continuing Requirements ...........................................................................................................................4
Exhibit 3 — Small Systems Waiver Eligibility .................................................................................................................5
Exhibit 4 — Summary of NTD Reporting Requirements ................................................................................................7
Exhibit 5 — Accrual Accounting .....................................................................................................................................9
Exhibit 6 — NTD Annual Reporting Timelines ............................................................................................................. 10
Exhibit 7 — NTD Contact Information .......................................................................................................................... 11
Exhibit 8 — New Agency Reporting Timeline ............................................................................................................... 12
Exhibit 9 — NTD Reference Documents ...................................................................................................................... 15
Exhibit 10 — Issue Status ............................................................................................................................................ 24
Exhibit 11 — Organization Type menu selections ........................................................................................................ 36
Exhibit 12 — Modes of Public Transportation .............................................................................................................. 38
Exhibit 13 — Accounting for Miles and Hours for Bus Service ..................................................................................... 57
Exhibit 14 — Accounting for Miles and Hours for Demand Response Service ............................................................ 58
Exhibit 15 — Reporting Passenger Stations ................................................................................................................ 68
Exhibit 16 — Serves versus Capacity .......................................................................................................................... 72
Exhibit 17 — Reporting Maintenance Facilities ............................................................................................................ 72
Exhibit 18 — Vehicle Type menu selections ................................................................................................................ 80
Exhibit 19 — Ownership menu selections .................................................................................................................... 80
Exhibit 20 — Funding Source menu selections ............................................................................................................ 81
Exhibit 21 — Year of Manufacture versus Model Year................................................................................................. 81
Exhibit 22 — Non-Rail Manufacturer Codes ................................................................................................................ 82
Exhibit 23 — Manufacturer versus Model .................................................................................................................... 83
Exhibit 24 — Fuel Type menu selections ..................................................................................................................... 84
Exhibit 25 — Reporting Total Mileage During Period and Average Lifetime Mileage per Active Vehicle ..................... 85
Exhibit 26 — Reporting Total Mileage During Period and Average Lifetime Mileage per Active Vehicle ..................... 85
Exhibit 27 — Federal Funding Allocation Statistics Form Corresponding Data ............................................................ 92
Exhibit 28 — Funding Source menu selections ............................................................................................................ 93
Exhibit 29 — Reporting Exclusively Urban or Exclusively Rural Trips.......................................................................... 94
Exhibit 30 — Reporting Trips Between Two UZAs ....................................................................................................... 94
Exhibit 31 — Reporting Trips Between a UZA and a Non-UZA ................................................................................... 95
Exhibit 32 — Reporting Trips Between two Large UZAs .............................................................................................. 95

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Exhibit 33 — Reporting Trips Between two Small UZAs .............................................................................................. 96
Exhibit 34 — Annual Declaration Requirements .......................................................................................................... 98

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2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
Introduction
This section provides an overview of the National Transit Database (NTD) reporting requirements, including the following:

What is the National Transit Database?
A discussion of the legislative basis for the NTD reporting system

Reporting Manuals and Modules
A description of individual data modules and their specified reporting manuals

FY 2013 Annual Reporting Changes and Clarifications
A summary of the changes in reporting requirements implemented in the 2013 NTD

Who Reports, What to Report, How to Report, When to Report, and Where to Report
Answers to basic reporting questions

New Reporters
A discussion of the unique requirements for transit agencies completing their first NTD report

Reference Information
Key definitions, reference resources and publications for further details on issues related to reporting

Introduction — 1

2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
What is the National Transit Database?
The NTD was established by Congress to be the nation’s primary source for information and statistics on the transit systems
of the United States. Recipients or beneficiaries of grants from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) under the Urbanized
Area Formula Program (§5307) or Other than Urbanized Area (Rural) Formula Program (§5311) are required by statute to
submit data to the NTD. Over 750 transit providers in urbanized areas currently report to the NTD through an Internet-based
reporting system. Each year, NTD performance data are used to apportion over $6 billion of FTA funds to transit agencies in
urbanized areas (UZAs) and rural areas. Annual NTD reports summarizing transit service and safety data collected during
the year are submitted to Congress for review and use.

Legislative Requirement
The legislative requirement for the NTD is found in Title 49 U.S.C. 5335(a), which reads as follows:
SECTION 5335 National transit database
(a) NATIONAL TRANSIT DATABASE.— To help meet the needs of individual public transportation systems, the United
States Government, State and local governments, and the public for information on which to base public transportation
service planning, the Secretary of Transportation shall maintain a reporting system, using uniform categories to
accumulate public transportation financial and operating information and using a uniform system of accounts. The
reporting and uniform systems shall contain appropriate information to help any level of government make a public
sector investment decision. The Secretary may request and receive appropriate information from any source.
(b) REPORTING AND UNIFORM SYSTEMS.— The Secretary may award a grant under Section 5307 or 5311 only if
the applicant and any person that will receive benefits directly from the grant, are subject to the reporting and uniform
systems.
(c) DATA REQUIRED TO BE REPORTED.— The recipient of a grant under this chapter shall report to the Secretary, for
inclusion in the National Transit Database, any information relating to a transit asset inventory or condition assessment
conducted by the recipient.
The NTD reporting system evolved from the transit industry-initiated Project FARE (Uniform Financial Accounting and
Reporting Elements). Both the private and public sectors have recognized the importance of timely and accurate data in
assessing the continued progress of the nation's public transportation systems.

Funding for Transit Agencies Serving Urbanized Areas
The NTD data are used in the formula allocations of federal transit funds. For urbanized areas with a population over
200,000, NTD data are used in the formula allocation of federal transit funds for the Urbanized Area Formula Program
(§5307), the State of Good Repair Program (§5337), and for the Bus and Bus Facilities Formula (§5339). NTD data for
urbanized areas with populations fewer than 200,000 are also used in the allocation of federal transit funding.
For urbanized areas with a population under 200,000, 1.5% of the funds for Section 5307 are allocated according to the
Small Transit Intensive Cities (STIC) formula. Under the formula for STIC, funds are apportioned to UZAs with populations
fewer than 200,000 that meet or exceed the average level of service for all UZAs with populations between 200,000 and
1,000,000 for one of more of the following six measures, all of which use reported NTD data (only the first 3 measures listed
are available to Small Systems Reporters):
•

Vehicle revenue miles per capita;

•

Vehicle revenue hours per capita;

•

Passengers per capita;

•

Passenger miles traveled per vehicle revenue mile;

•

Passenger miles traveled per vehicle revenue hour; and

•

Passenger miles traveled per capita.

For more information on the FTA funding program for urbanized areas, contact your regional administrator or go to
www.fta.dot.gov.

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2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
Reporting Manuals and Modules
The National Transit Database (NTD) Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual is comprised of a series of data modules, as
described below:
•

NTD Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual, which includes:
o

Basic Information Module;

o

Asset Module;

o

Small Systems Module;

o

Federal Funding Allocation Statistics Module; and

o

Declarations.

FY 2013 Annual Reporting Changes and Clarifications
In its ongoing efforts to improve upon the NTD Internet Reporting system and to be responsive to the needs of the transit
agencies reporting to NTD and the transit community, FTA continues to refine and clarify reporting requirements and Internet
Reporting.
Reporting changes for the 2013 NTD are highlighted in the following exhibit. Specific changes are discussed in detail in the
applicable sections of this manual.

Exhibit 1 — FY 2013 Annual Reporting Changes and Clarifications
Section/Module

Form

Changes

Introduction

No changes.

Internet Reporting

No changes.

Basic Information
Module

No changes.

Asset Module

Federal Funding
Allocation
Statistics Module
Declarations
Module

Revenue Vehicle Inventory
Form (A-30)

Federal Funding Allocation
Statistics form (FFA-10)

Two changes:
•

New fuel code for hydrogen; and

•

Elimination of fuel code for grain additives.

No changes.

No changes.

Who Reports
If you are a transit provider, state, or Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) that receives Urbanized Area Formula
Program (§5307) grants, or that directly benefits from these grants, you must report to the NTD or coordinate the submittal of
data to the NTD on your behalf. The requirement to report begins in the year after you apply for a §5307 grant, or in the year
in which benefits are first received from a §5307 grant, whichever is sooner. The reporting requirement lasts for as long as
either the §5307 application remains open, or throughout the minimum useful life of any capital assets purchased with §5307
grant funds, whichever is longer.
Please note that this means that you may be required to report in a year in which no §5307 grant funds were received. An
NTD reporter that is no longer required to report to the NTD should continue to file NTD reports if that reporter intends to
apply for a §5307 grant in the future. Exhibit 2 below contains an example of these continued reporting requirements.

Introduction — 3

2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
Exhibit 2 — Continuing Requirements
Example: A transit agency purchases a vehicle with funds from an Urbanized Area Formula Program (§5307) grant. The vehicle, a
40-foot bus, has a useful life of 12 years or 500,000 miles.
Solution: The transit agency must report under the NTD program throughout the useful life of the vehicle regardless of whether or
not the transit agency receives Urbanized Area Formula Program (§5307) grant funds during a particular year of that period.

Recipients or direct beneficiaries from Other than Urbanized Area Program (§5311) grants are also required to report to the
NTD under the streamlined Rural NTD reporting requirements. Please consult the Rural NTD Reporting Manual for more
information on these requirements. Agencies that receive both §5311 and §5307 grants must report to the urban module of
NTD, pursuant to this Urban Reporting Manual.
A complete understanding of who must submit an NTD report requires an understanding of the following:
•

Purchased transportation services;

•

Consolidated NTD reporters;

•

Voluntary reporters; and

•

Extensions, waivers and special requests.

Purchased Transportation Services
The NTD operates under a “you buy it, you report it” rule. Thus, sellers of purchased transportation (PT) services are
generally not required to report to the NTD – data for the service are generally reported by the agency purchasing the
service (buyer).
Please see Basic Information Module for further discussion on reporting transit services through PT or memorandum of
understanding agreements.

Voluntary Reporters
FTA encourages all providers of transit service in urbanized areas to report to the NTD, regardless of whether they are public
or private, and regardless of whether or not they receive or benefit from §5307 grants. To be accepted as a voluntary
reporter in the NTD, you must be a provider of transit services in at least one urbanized area (UZA), and be able to comply
with all of the NTD reporting requirements and the Uniform System of Accounts (USOA).
All urbanized area NTD reporters are required to comply with all NTD requirements for the Annual, Monthly, and Safety &
Security Modules. Please refer to the Monthly Reporting Manual and the Safety & Security Reporting Manual for information
on the reporting requirements of those modules.

Extensions, Waivers and Special Requests
This section describes the available extensions, waivers, and special requests and discusses eligibility requirements and
procedures. Unless otherwise stated below, all requests must be received by the NTD at least 60 days prior to the report
due date via the e-File tab. You should refer to the NTD Annual Reporting Timelines exhibit in this section under When to
Report to determine actual due dates.
Extensions, waivers and special requests are subject to review and approval by FTA and are not granted automatically. FTA
will notify you, in writing, via the e-File tab, if your request is granted or rejected.

Extension Requests
The NTD allows for a 30-day filing deadline extension for transit providers that experience unusual or unforeseen
circumstances (good cause) that prevent them from meeting the regular deadline. Filing deadline extension requests must
be requested in writing prior to the report due date, and FTA will provide written approval or denial of the request. Please
note that filing deadline extension requests are discretionary; they are not automatic.
To request an extension, you should submit a letter from your chief executive officer (CEO) through the e-File that:
•

Fully describes the situation that prevents you from submitting by the regular deadline; and

•

Requests a filing deadline extension of up to 30 days for the current report year.

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2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
You should refer to the NTD Annual Reporting Timelines exhibit in this section under When to Report to determine report
due dates.

Waivers and Special Requests
There are eight types of waivers or adjustments that may be requested:
•

Small Systems Waiver – 30 or Fewer Vehicles;

•

Grants Waivers for Planning and Capital;

•

Disaster Hold Harmless Adjustment;

•

Data;

•

Reporting; and

•

Hold Harmless Adjustment for Strikes.

Waivers are normally granted for only one year, except in extraordinary circumstances. Therefore, recipients or beneficiaries
of §5307 grants must request waivers each year.
This section also discusses extension requests and the requirements and procedures for special requests relating to strikes.
Small Systems Waiver – 30 or Fewer Vehicles
A transit provider that operates 30 or fewer vehicles that is granted a Small Systems Waiver may submit a report with
significantly reduced reporting requirements. There are two eligibility requirements:
•

30 or fewer vehicles operated in annual maximum service (VOMS) across all modes for both directly operated (DO)
and PT services; and

•

No portions of the service are either fixed guideway (FG) or high intensity bus (HIB).

The following Exhibit illustrates eligibility criteria for Small Systems Waiver 30 or Fewer Vehicles.
Exhibit 3 — Small Systems Waiver Eligibility
Requirement: 30 or fewer vehicles operated in annual maximum service (VOMS) across all non-fixed guideway (NFG) modes
and types of service (TOS).
Eligible non-fixed guideway (NFG) modes: Bus (MB, CB) on mixed traffic right-of-way (ROW), demand response (DR),
demand response taxi (DT), jitney (JT), publico (PB) and vanpool (VP).
Example 1: Transit agency A directly operates 15 buses (mixed traffic ROW) and contracts for 15 DR vehicles =30 VOMS.
Eligible? Yes. The total across all modes is 30 VOMS; therefore transit agency A is eligible for a 30 or Fewer Small Systems
Waiver.
Example 2: Transit agency B directly operates 14 buses (mixed traffic ROW) and contracts for 17DR vehicles = 31 VOMS.
Eligible? No. Though each service is less than 30 VOMS, the total across all modes and types of service is 31 VOMS
Example 3: Transit agency C directly operates 29 automated guideway (MG) vehicles = 29 VOMS.
Eligible? No. Though the service is less than 30 VOMS, MG is fixed guideway (FG); therefore transit agency C is not eligible for
a 30 or Fewer Small Systems Waiver.

Reporters that are granted a Small Systems Waiver must still submit all or reduced information on certain forms. Please see
Exhibit 4 below under What to Report for the reporting requirements.
An approved Small Systems Waiver will not affect your funding eligibility for §5307 grants, but may affect the amount of
funding your UZA receives because you will not report passenger miles. Passenger miles are a formula variable in the
Urbanized Area Formula Program. If your reporting agency serves an urbanized area with a population of more than
200,000, the agency will not receive funding in the bus incentive tier. If the reporting agency serves an urbanized area with a
population under 200,000, it will not be eligible to receive Small Transit Intensive Cities (STIC) funding for three of the six
factors used to allocate STIC funds because these factors involve passenger miles.
You should refer to the NTD Annual Reporting Timelines exhibit in this section under When to Report to determine actual
due dates for submitting the Small Systems Waiver – 30 or Fewer Vehicles request.
Natural Disaster Hold Harmless Adjustment
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2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
If a transit provider suffers a marked decrease in transit service due to a natural or man-made disaster, either the transit
provider or the designated recipient for an urbanized area may make a request to be ‘‘held harmless’’ in the apportionment of
formula grants for urbanized areas. The request for a Hold Harmless Adjustment must demonstrate that the transit agency
meets all three of the following criteria:
•

A federal disaster declaration was in place for all or part of your service area for all or part of the report year;

•

The decrease in transit service is a direct result of the disaster; and

•

The decrease in transit service is temporary, thus the reduced transit service levels are not reflective of the true
transit needs of the urbanized area.

Disaster Hold Harmless Adjustments are not automatic and are granted at FTA's discretion after reviewing the submitted
request. Disaster Hold Harmless Adjustments are only granted for one year at a time.
If you are granted a Disaster Hold Harmless Adjustment, you must still provide a full report to the NTD of your actual transit
service for the year. FTA will use your reported data from the year prior to the disaster in the apportionment, rather than the
actual data you submit for the current year.
Data, Report or Passenger Miles Traveled Sampling Waivers
You may request a waiver of specific data requirements or for filing a complete NTD report. This waiver is only granted for
one year at a time, and is rarely granted for multiple years.
The following are typical justifications for requesting a Data or Reporting Waiver:
•

It is the transit agency’s first report year and the transit agency has not had sufficient time to collect data and
prepare an NTD annual report; or

•

There are unforeseen circumstances, either preventing data collection or causing data loss, or creating an
unreasonable burden on the transit agency in light of the circumstances. Typical examples are:
o

Earthquakes;

o

Fires;

o

Floods;

o

Hurricanes; and

o

Officially declared emergencies.

Data or Reporting Waivers are not granted for reasons such as cost, personnel or data collection issues; loss of records; or
simply stating undue reporting burden. These reasons are not considered unforeseen circumstances.
To request a Data, Report or PMT Sampling Waiver, you must submit a letter from your CEO that:
•

Fully describes the situation that prevents the transit agency from fulfilling the reporting requirements; and

•

Requests the Data or Reporting Waiver for the current report year.

An approved Data or Reporting Waiver will not affect your funding eligibility for §5307 grants, but may affect the amount of
funding your UZA receives as follows:
•

If your transit agency serves a UZA with a population of 200,000 or more, the amount of funding may be reduced
because your data may not be entered into the §5307 allocation formula for selected formula statistics; and

•

If your transit agency serves a UZA with a population between 50,000 and 199,999, it may change the UZA’s
performance in the factors used to determine eligibility for Small Transit Intensive Cities (STIC) funding.

You should refer to the NTD Annual Reporting Timelines exhibit in this section under When to Report for actual due dates for
submitting the Data, Report or PMT Sampling Waiver request.
Special Request – Strikes
FTA may make “hold harmless” adjustments to data used in the apportionment to offset the negative effects of strikes on
NTD service data. This adjustment is not automatic and must be requested.
To request this adjustment, the CEO of a transit provider affected by a strike must submit the request in writing, via the eFile tab. The request must identify:
•

The mode or modes affected;

•

The exact time and date that the strike began;

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2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
•

The exact time and date that the strike ended; and

•

Supporting documentation (e.g., published news reports) for the duration of the strike.

Transit providers receiving this adjustment must report actual data to the NTD. The “hold harmless” adjustment will be
made by FTA, not by the reporting transit provider. The adjusted data will only be used for purposes of the apportionment;
the actual data of the transit provider will be used in all publicly-available NTD data sets.

What to Report
The NTD Annual Report consists of a series of forms and declarations that provide a summary of transit characteristics for
the fiscal year, including financial and non-financial operating statistics. It must contain all the public transportation services,
including complementary paratransit services required by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), that the transit
agency provides or purchases.
It must contain all of the public transportation services provided by your organization, whether directly operated or purchased
transportation. All public transportation services must be included, regardless of whether it is urbanized area service or rural
service. All revenues and expenditures for public transportation activities must be included, including planning activities and
capital expenditures for modes not yet in service.
For purchased transportation services, the report must contain data only for those services under contract.

Reporting Modules and Forms
Not all forms are required from all transit agencies. Factors that determine which forms are required include: the size of the
UZA, the number of vehicles operated, and TOS operated (directly operated or purchased transportation). The following
exhibit presents a summary of NTD reporting requirements:
Exhibit 4 — Summary of NTD Reporting Requirements
Reporter Type
Small Systems
Waiver Reporters

Form
Identification form (B-10)
Contacts form (B-20)
Small Systems Waiver form (W-30)
Stations and Maintenance Facility (A-10)
Revenue Vehicle Inventory form (A-30)
Federal Funding Allocation form (FFA-10)
Modified Chief Executive Officer form (D-10)

Declarations
Small Systems Waiver reporters only have one type of declaration that certifies the data in the NTD Annual Report:
•

Chief Executive Officer form D-10.

Fiscal Year Data
The data in the NTD Annual Report covers a 12-month fiscal year ending in 2013. If your transit agency’s fiscal year
changes, you must notify FTA of this change in writing via the e-File tab. FTA will determine the due date for your NTD
report and notify you, in writing, via the e-File tab.

How to Report
This section discusses the following:
•

NTD ID;

•

Internet Reporting;

•

Accounting requirements; and

•

Purchased transportation.

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2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
The NTD Identification Number
Each reporter is assigned a unique four-digit NTD Identification Number, which is to be used in all NTD reports and
correspondence. The first digit of the NTD ID corresponds to the FTA Region where the reporter is located (e.g., 9###
indicates Region IX). If you do not have an NTD ID, please refer to the New Reporters section below.

Internet Reporting
Required forms, waivers, and declarations are completed using Internet Reporting, which is accessible from the NTD
website at www.ntdprogram.gov. Completing the Identification form (B-10) using Internet Reporting automatically generates
the forms necessary for completing your NTD Annual report.
This manual contains all information necessary to complete the NTD Annual Report using Internet Reporting. See the
Internet Reporting section of this manual. FTA will provide Internet Reporting user names and passwords to transit agencies.

Reporting Format
Transit agencies must submit their reports via the Internet Reporting system and all correspondence and waiver requests via
the e-File tab. All transit agencies must file a complete report by the report due date, including all required forms and
declarations. See the Summary of NTD Reporting Requirements exhibit under Reporting Modules and Forms to identify
required reporting forms and declarations for your transit agency and the NTD Annual Reporting Timelines exhibit under
When to Report to determine report due dates.

General Formatting Rules
Data reported must adhere to the following rules:
•

Round all financial data to the nearest dollar;

•

Follow other rounding directions for each form;

•

Unless otherwise indicated, report data as whole numbers; and

•

Use four digits for year entries.

Internet Reporting incorporates these rules, formatting data automatically when you complete a cell entry.

Accounting Requirements
This section addresses the following items:
•

Generally Accepted Accounting principles (GAAP); and

•

Accrual accounting.

Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP)
For the most part, NTD reporting requirements for financial data follow generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).
The FTA NTD USOA is not a self-contained financial system that addresses every possible NTD transaction and situation.
Instead, the NTD program is a system of accounts that complies with GAAP and Standards of Governmental Accounting and
Financial Reporting. However, small differences do exist between NTD and GAAP, generally relating to the accounting of
costs for capital grant purchases.
If there are conflicts between GAAP and NTD reporting instructions and requirements, NTD rules are to be followed. The
rules for NTD accounting can be summarized as follows:
•

Unique NTD requirements supersede GAAP. If a unique requirement exists for NTD purposes, this requirement will
be contained in NTD reference documents provided by FTA (e.g., the USOA and the NTD Reporting Manuals).

•

In the absence of unique NTD provisions to the contrary, GAAP should be followed.

Two organizations are responsible for promulgating GAAP:
•

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) is responsible for general GAAP affecting all types of entities.

•

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) is affiliated with the FASB and specializes in government
agencies in the United States. In the event of a conflict between FASB and GASB pronouncements, the GASB rule
prevails for governmental entities.

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Both FASB and GASB pronouncements are available through the FASB in Stamford, Connecticut. Most accounting firms will
assist their clients in obtaining GAAP documents and applying GAAP requirements.

Accrual Accounting
As required by GAAP, all financial data in the NTD Annual report must follow accrual accounting principles. Under accrual
accounting:
•
Revenues are recorded when earned, regardless of whether or not receipt of the revenue takes place in the same
reporting period; and
•

Expenditures are recorded as soon as they result in liabilities for benefits received, regardless of whether or not
payment of the expenditure is made in the same reporting period.

If your transit agency uses a cash basis or encumbrance basis accounting system, you must make adjustments to record the
data on an accrual basis.
The Exhibit below demonstrates the use of accrual accounting for an operating expense.
Exhibit 5 — Accrual Accounting
Example: A transit agency employee works the last two weeks of the transit agency’s fiscal year earning $1,500. However, the
employee does not receive his pay until 10 days later in the new fiscal year when payroll issues a check. How is the $1,500
reported?
Solution: Report the $1,500 on the Small Systems Waiver form (W-30) as an operating expense. Even though the employee did
not receive a paycheck during the report year, the transit agency incurred the liability to pay the employee.

Reporting Purchased Transportation
Purchased transportation (PT) service is service provided to a public transit agency or governmental unit from a public or
private transportation provider based on a written contract. A contractual relationship exists only if all the following criteria are
met:
•

The seller is obligated in advance of the time the service is furnished to provide the operations for which the
operating statistics are being reported for a specific monetary consideration;

•

A written agreement exists that specifies the contractual relationship for the time period and the specific service
generating the operating statistics included in the NTD annual report;

•

The written agreement is signed by authorized representatives of both the buyer and the seller, and should detail
the services to be provided, and the nature and amount of the monetary consideration;

•

The buyer pays the seller the fully-allocated costs of operating the service. The service reported on the W-30 form
must have fully-allocated operating costs reflected on the form, and the assets used to support that service must be
reflected on the A-Forms; and

•

The seller does business as the buyer. Users of the service recognize that the buyer of the service is actively
managing and funding the service and that the seller operates the service on behalf of the buyer.

Granting a transportation provider permission to operate certain services through a franchise or license does not, in itself,
constitute PT service. Also, management services contracts, in which all or some personnel or services are provided to
manage or operate the transit agency, are not PT service.

When to Report
The schedule for submitting the NTD Annual Report is based on the fiscal year for the reporting transit agency. The following
sections describe:
•

Reporting timelines;

•

Reminder notices; and

•

Failure to report: no report, late report, or incomplete report.

Introduction — 9

2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
Reporting Timelines
A transit agency must file a complete report by the report due date (as set forth in the NTD Annual Reporting Timelines
exhibit below). A report is complete only when all of the required forms and declarations are submitted. The due date for a
transit agency's NTD Annual Report to FTA is based on the transit agency's fiscal year end date. All transit agencies have at
least 120 days after the end of their fiscal year before the report is due. The submission must be sent on or before the due
date.
The NTD reporting system allows for reporting waivers for transit agencies that experience unusual or unforeseen
circumstances. See the previous Waivers and Special Requests section. Reporting waivers must be requested in writing via
the e-File tab.
The following exhibit presents the reporting timeline for the 2013 report year.
Exhibit 6 — NTD Annual Reporting Timelines
Submission:
Fiscal Year End (2013)
Waiver, Special Request, etc., Deadlines
Report Due Date
Closeout Process:
Last Date to Submit Report Revisions
Report Closeout

Jan. 1 – June 30
August 31, 2013
November 30, 2013

July 1 – Sept. 30
November 30, 2013
January 31, 2014

Oct. 1 – Dec. 31
February 28, 2014
April 30, 2014

March 1, 2014
March 15, 2014

May 1, 2014
May 15, 2014

July 2, 2014
July 20, 2014

Reminder Notices
FTA sends each transit agency a reminder notice 30 days prior to the NTD Annual report due date (e.g., October 31 for
November 30 due date). FTA automatically sends a late report letter to the CEO if the report is not submitted within 15
calendar days following the due date (e.g., December 15 for November 30 due date) and no reporting waiver request has
been submitted via the e-File tab. Refer to the NTD Annual Reporting Timeline exhibit above for due dates.

Failure to Report: No Report, Late Report, or Incomplete Report
A Failure to Report may result from:
•

Not submitting a report;

•

Submitting a late report;

•

Submitting an incomplete report; or

•

Failing to respond to validation questions.

If you receive a Failure to Report, your data will not be included in the apportionment of Urbanized Area Formula Program
Grants, although any submitted data may be included in the publicly-available NTD datasets at FTA’s discretion. More
importantly, if you receive a Failure to Report, FTA is prohibited by law from awarding you any further grants under
§5307 or §5311. A Failure to Report for an urbanized area transit provider may result from the Annual, Monthly, or Safety &
Security Modules.
A report is considered late if it is not submitted by the due date (refer to the NTD Annual Reporting Timelines exhibit in this
section under When to Report to determine report due dates). These due dates are essential to ensure that submitted data
can be properly validated before being included in the NTD and in the apportionment.
A report is incomplete if:
•

It does not contain all of the required information; or

•

If the data was not collected and submitted in conformance with the NTD requirements; or

•

If the report is not accompanied by the applicable CEO Certification, which must be submitted via the D-10 Form; or

•

Failure to respond to validation questions.

NTD reporters are required to respond to validation questions in a timely manner (refer to the NTD Annual Reporting
Timelines exhibit in this section under When to Report to determine by which date you should respond to validation
questions).

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2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
When submitted data are questioned during the validation process, you may revise the questioned data with more accurate
data. Revisions to data, however, require the concurrence of the CEO, and in the case of data included on the FFA-10 form,
the concurrence of the independent auditor as well. If you do not revise the questioned data, then you must provide sufficient
documentation to establish the accuracy of the questioned data to a reasonable person. Failure to respond to validation
questions in a timely manner with either revisions or satisfactory documentation will result in a Failure to Report.
When a Failure to Report occurs, FTA will notify the CEO of the reporter and the FTA Regional Administrator.

Where to Report
Transit agencies submit NTD reports, and the CEO Certification via Internet Reporting at the project's website,
www.ntdprogram.gov.
FTA assigns an NTD validation analyst to each reporting transit provider to assist with NTD reporting throughout the year. At
the beginning of the reporting cycle, your NTD validation analyst will call you to introduce her or himself. Please feel free to
contact your NTD analyst if you have questions, or if FTA can assist you with your report in any way.

NTD Help Desk
NTD reporters will have the option of contacting the NTD Help Desk at 1-888-252-0936 or [email protected], or directly
contacting their assigned validation analyst.
Exhibit 7 — NTD Contact Information
Mailing Address
You can write to the FTA NTD Project Office at the
following address:
Federal Transit Administration
National Transit Database
943 Glenwood Station Lane, Suite 102
Charlottesville, VA 22901

Express Delivery Address
Express deliveries can be made to the following address:
Federal Transit Administration
National Transit Database
943 Glenwood Station Lane, Suite 102
Charlottesville, VA 22901
e-File
All official correspondence should be scanned and
submitted to the NTD via the e-File tab under Internet
Reporting.

Telephone
You can contact your NTD validation analyst and other NTD staff by
telephone on weekdays. For telephone information and project
assistance, call the NTD Help Desk at:
1-888-252-0936
The NTD Help Desk is open from 8:00AM to 7:00PM Eastern Time.
If your NTD validation analyst is unavailable, you may use the
voicemail system and your validation analyst will return your call or
you may forward your call to another NTD validation analyst.
E-mail
You can contact your NTD validation analyst by using the telephone
number or e-mail address located on the Home tab at:
www.ntdprogram.gov > Internet Reporting Login > Announcements
You can email the NTD Help Desk at any time at
[email protected]
Internet
The FTA NTD Project Office manages a website at the following
address:
www.ntdprogram.gov
You may e-mail comments, questions or suggestions directly to the
NTD by clicking on the NTD Feedback link.
NTD publications, data and reference documents are available on
the FTA NTD website by using the NTD Reference Materials and
Access NTD Data links.

New Reporters
New reporters have slightly different requirements for submitting their first NTD Annual Report. These requirements include:
•

Submitting a request for an NTD ID;

•

Determining when to file the first report; and

•

Providing additional information in the NTD Annual Report.

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2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
Written Request
All new reporters, both required and voluntary reporters, must first submit a written request to FTA for an NTD ID. If the
request for an NTD ID is approved, the first report year is dependent upon when the request was received (refer to the New
Agency Reporting Timelines Exhibit below). If the request is received by NTD within the first six months of a fiscal year, the
agency will submit its first NTD report for the current fiscal year. If the request is received during the last six months of a
fiscal year, the agency will report during the next fiscal year. The due date of a new agency’s first report can vary depending
on its fiscal year, and when its new ID request is received by the NTD. Below are common examples of transit agency fiscal
years. If your agency has a different fiscal year than those listed below, contact NTD for your first report due date.
Exhibit 8 — New Agency Reporting Timeline
Fiscal Year
July 1, 2013-June 30, 2014

Oct. 1, 2013-Sept. 30, 2014

Jan. 1, 2014-Dec. 31, 2014

New ID Request Received

First Report Due

Data Included

RY

Jan. 1, 2013 - Dec. 31, 2013

October 31, 2014 July 1, 2013-June 30, 2014

2014

After Dec. 31, 2013

October 31, 2015 July 1, 2014-June 30, 2015

2015

April 1, 2013 - March 31, 2014 January 30, 2015 Oct. 1, 2013-Sept. 30, 2014

2014

After March 31, 2014

January 30, 2016 Oct. 1, 2014-Sept. 30, 2015

2015

July 1, 2013 - June 30, 2014

April 30, 2015

Jan. 1, 2014-Dec. 31, 2014

2014

After June 30, 2014

April 30, 2016

Jan. 1, 2015-Dec. 31, 2015

2015

The written request to FTA for an NTD ID should be submitted by the CEO of the transit agency, company, city or other
entity that will be filing the report. You should send the letter to the mailing address listed in the Where to Report section
above. The CEO’s letter must be on letterhead and should state the following:
•

Legal name and mailing address of the transit agency;

•

Name, title, address, telephone number, facsimile number and e-mail addresses of the CEO, NTD contact person,
and the safety and security contact person(s);

•

Fiscal year end date;

•

Public transit modes operated by TOS (DO or PT);

•

Number of vehicles operated in annual maximum service (VOMS) across all modes and TOS;

•

Description of service, if service is being operated, including route maps, schedules and fare structure;

•

Date (month and year) of grant request for §5307 Program funds if a designated recipient;

•

Date (month and year) of expenses first incurred for reimbursement under the §5307 funds if a designated
recipient;

•

Any related information or relationships with other NTD transit agencies; and

•

A request to obtain an NTD ID and become an NTD reporter.

Reference Information
This section discusses two additional items necessary to understanding NTD reporting:
•

Transit terminology and parameters; and

•

Reference documents.

Transit Terminology and Parameters
Reporting data for the NTD requires an understanding of the following transit concepts and terms:
•

Public transportation;

•

Modes;

•

Type of service (TOS);

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2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
•

Transit agency;

•

Area definitions; and

•

Maximum service vehicles.

Each of these terms is described in further detail in the sections that follow.

Public Transportation
The NTD is established by law as a repository of information on public transportation. The term public transportation is
synonymous with the terms transit and mass transportation and is defined by law at 49 U.S.C. 5302(a) (10), as follows:
(10) PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION. – The term “public transportation” means transportation by a conveyance that
provides regular and continuing general or special transportation to the public, but does not include school bus, charter
bus, or intercity bus transportation, or intercity passenger rail transportation provided by the entity described in chapter
243 (or a successor to such entity).
Transit must be open to the public. Transit must also comply with the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act of
1990 (ADA). Services that are only open to specific groups of people are excluded. Examples of excluded services include:
•

A bus system sponsored by a university that is only open to students, faculty, and staff of the university;

•

A vanpool sponsored by an employer that only provides service to employees of the employer; and

•

An automated guideway in an airport, which only provides services to customers of the airport.

Transit includes special transportation, such as complimentary paratransit required by the ADA. Transit also includes other
shared-ride demand response services, including both sponsored and unsponsored trips.
Transit excludes charter service. In accordance with FTA’s Charter Rule, any service reported to FTA’s charter registration
website must not be treated as public transportation in NTD reports.
Transit excludes sightseeing service. Sightseeing service is provided primarily for the enjoyment of sights and sounds during
the ride, or for enjoyment of the ride itself. Sightseeing service includes services that have narration and services where
passengers primarily make round-trips without disembarking the vehicle.
Transit excludes services that are not designed to serve daily commuters. Thus, for public transportation, a majority of
passengers across the totality of the service (i.e., all runs on all days of the week) must make a same-day return trip. Transit
excludes Amtrak (the entity described in chapter 243). NTD reporters must demonstrate that they are organizationally
separate from Amtrak. This exclusion does not apply to cases where Amtrak is the supplier of purchased transportation for
commuter rail service.

Modes
A variety of transit modes are operated in the United States. The NTD reporting system groups transit modes into two broad
categories – rail and non-rail – as follows (the bolded modes are applicable to Small Systems Reporters):
Rail
Alaska Railroad (AR)Cable car (CC)
Commuter rail (CR)
Heavy rail (HR)
Hybrid Rail (YR)
Inclined plane (IP)
Light rail (LR)
Monorail/Automated Guideway (MG)
Street Car Rail (SR)

Non-Rail
Aerial tramway (TR)
Commuter Bus (CB)
Bus (MB)
Bus Rapid Transit (RB)
Demand response (DR)
Demand response-taxi (DT)
Ferryboat (FB)
Jitney (JT)
Publico (PB)
Trolleybus (TB)
Vanpool (VP)
Other (OR)

Transit agencies are required to report data according to the detailed modal definitions on most reporting forms (e.g., MB,
DR, VP and LR).

Type of Service (TOS)
Public transportation can be provided in two ways:

Introduction — 13

2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
•

Directly operated (DO) service – the NTD reporting agency, usually the public transit agency, uses its own
employees to operate the transit vehicles and provide the transit service; or

•

Purchased transportation (PT) service – the NTD reporting agency, usually the public transit agency, contracts with
a public or private provider to operate the transit vehicles, employ the operators, and provide the transit service.

TOS is an important element of NTD reporting. On most reporting forms, transit agencies are required to report data by TOS.

Transit Agency
A transit agency is responsible for the provision of public transportation service. The transit agency can provide the service in
either of the two ways described above under TOS. With some exceptions, transit agencies typically are public bodies and
generally are the NTD reporting agencies for their DO and PT services.

Area Definitions
The NTD reporting system uses two definitions of area:
•

UZA; and

•

Service area.

UZA is defined by the U.S. Census Bureau based on incorporated places (e.g., cities, towns, villages) and their adjacent
areas that together form a densely populated area of at least 50,000 persons. UZAs do not conform to congressional districts
or any other political boundaries.
The most current UZA designations are based on the 2010 census. The NTD reporting system assigns a unique number to
each of the UZAs in the country. All transit providers reporting to the NTD must serve at least one UZA; many reporters
serve multiple UZAs, as well as rural areas (non-UZAs) of less than 50,000 persons.
The Census-defined UZAs are an important part of NTD reporting requirements. Reporters must report selected data by
UZA number on one form: the FFA-10.
Service area is a measure of access to transit service in terms of population served and area coverage (square miles). The
reporting transit agency determines the service area boundaries and population for most transit services using the definitions
contained in the ADA.
For most transit agencies, the size of the UZA is different from the size of the service area. In many instances, the size of the
service area will be smaller than the UZA served. In other cases, where there is broad public support for transit, the size of
the service area is greater than the size of the UZA. These differences can cause confusion, since a transit agency's NTD
reporting requirements are based on the size of the UZA served and the data reported are for the transit agency's service
area.
Transit agencies are required to submit service area information on the B-10 form.

Maximum Service Vehicles
The maximum service operated during the year is an important determinant of a transit system's size and resulting
performance. Transit agencies are required to report data on vehicles operated in maximum service (VOMS).
VOMS is a count of the revenue vehicles scheduled for the peak day and operating period of the peak service season or
schedule of the year. The revenue count is the typical number of vehicles operated and does not consider the number of
vehicles operated on atypical days such as holidays (e.g., the Fourth of July), or one-time special events (e.g., World Series
celebrations, political conventions).
VOMS does not include:
•

Vehicles out for extended major repair or rehabilitation;

•

Spares; or

•

Emergency contingency vehicles (inactive revenue vehicles that normally would have been disposed of at the end
of their useful life. FTA allows transit agencies to retain these vehicles if they are stored, maintained and part of an
approved FTA Emergency Contingency Plan).

Reference Documents
The FTA Uniform System of Accounts (USOA) and Final Rule (49 CFR Part 630) are essential to understanding the forms
and instructions presented in this manual. You can obtain these documents, as well as the other reference documents listed
14 — Introduction

2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
in the NTD Reference Documents exhibit below, by visiting the NTD Program’s website at www.ntdprogram.gov or calling
the NTD Help Desk at 1-866-349-1427.
Exhibit 9 — NTD Reference Documents
The Reference documents listed below are available for downloading or viewing from the NTD website:
•

Current Reporting Manuals:
o
Urban (formerly titled Annual)
o
Safety and Security
o
o

Monthly
Rural

o
o

Small Systems Waiver
NTD Sampling Manual

•

Glossary

•

NTD Final Rule (49 CFR Part 630)

•

Uniform System of Accounts (USOA)

•

Government Auditing Standards

•

OMB Circular A-87 (Revised 5/10/2004)

•

National Incident-Based Reporting System, Vol 1: Data Collection Guidelines, US. Department of Justice, Federal
Bureau of Investigation, Criminal Justice Information Services Division, Aug 2000

•

UMTA C 2710.1A: Sampling Procedures for Obtaining Fixed Route Bus Operating Data Required Under the Section 15
Reporting System, July 18, 1988

•

UMTA C 2710.2A: Sampling Procedures for Obtaining Demand Response Bus System Operating Data Required Under
the Section 15 Reporting System, July 22, 1988

•

UMTA C 2710.4A: Revenue Bases Sampling Procedures for Obtaining Fixed Route Bus Operating Data Required
Under the Section 15 Reporting System, July 22, 1988

•

UMTA C 2710.6: Section 15 Accounting and Reporting Release Number 1, July 1, 1988

•

UMTA C 2710.7: Section 15 Accounting and Reporting Release Number 2, July 1, 1988

Introduction — 15

2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
Internet Reporting
Overview
Transit agencies use the National Transit Database (NTD) Internet Reporting system to provide their data via reports to the
Federal Transit Administration (FTA). NTD Internet Reporting is the online means for transit agencies to enter, save, review
and revise data, and submit reports. All reporting requirements for the NTD can be fulfilled via this system.
This section provides Internet Reporting information for the NTD Annual Report.

What Has Changed from Prior Years
No changes.

Internet Reporting System Security
Measures have been taken to ensure that all data entered into the Internet Reporting system are safe and available only to
those with proper access. The NTD network and servers are secured behind a firewall. The website is password protected.
Additionally, multiple server and database protection layers protect the database files.

Detailed Instructions
The preparation and submission of the Annual Report is a simple process that involves interacting with the online Internet
Reporting system. The detailed instructions describe this process in the order that most reporters will proceed and cover the
following topics:
•

Accessing Internet Reporting;

•

Tips for Using Internet Reporting;

•

NTD Reporting Structure;

•

Home: Annual Report Home Page;

•

Annual: Reporting Annual Data;

•

Monthly Ridership: Reporting Ridership Data;

•

Safety & Security: Reporting Incident Data;

•

Notes: Providing Additional Information;

•

Issues: Validating Annual Data;

•

e-File: Sending Declarations, Requests, and Other Communications;

•

Communications: Viewing a History of Communications with NTD;

•

Reports: Using Reports; and

•

Help: Obtaining More Information.

Accessing Internet Reporting
Internet Reporting is accessed from the NTD Homepage.
To access Internet Reporting:
•

Connect to the Internet via your Internet service provider (ISP);

•

Verify your Internet browser settings;

•

Access the Internet Reporting website at www.ntdprogram.gov; and

•

Access your transit agency’s NTD report via the Internet Reporting Login link.

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2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
Choosing Your Browser
You should use your ISP to connect to the Internet. Internet Reporting requires a web browser that is at least a 6.x version
(e.g., Internet Explorer 6.0). Browsers such as Firefox, Mozilla and Chrome are not fully compatible with the Internet
Reporting system. You should use Internet Explorer for reporting. If you do not have the latest version of the browser, go
to Microsoft.com to download the latest version free of charge.

Verifying Your Internet Browser Settings
You should verify that your browser is set to check for newer versions of stored pages with each visit to the website.
Otherwise, forms will not update properly. In Internet Explorer, this is done by accessing Tools/Internet
Options/General/Temporary Internet Files Settings/Every Visit to Page.

The NTD Homepage

The NTD Homepage offers you the following information and data:
•

Internet Reporting Login: A link to access the Internet Reporting system;

•

What is the NTD?: An overview of the NTD program, milestones in transit history, how to obtain an NTD ID
number, and an overview of the NTD reporting forms;

•

How to Report/Get an ID: Description of who reports to the NTD and the process for requesting a new ID number;

•

Reporting Manuals:

•

o

Urban Reporting: Access to HTML and PDF versions of the current Urban Reporting Manual, an
overview of reporting changes and highlights, reporting manual archives, etc.;

o

Monthly Reporting: Access to HTML and PDF versions of the current Monthly Reporting Manual, an
overview of the reporting changes and highlights, reporting manual archives, etc.;

o

Safety and Security Reporting: Access to HTML and PDF versions of the current Safety and Security
Reporting Manual, Newsletters, Safety and Security frequently asked questions (FAQ), an overview of
reporting changes and highlights, reporting manual archives, etc.;

o

Rural Reporting: Access to HTML and PDF versions of the current Rural Reporting Manual and Excel
spreadsheets, an overview of reporting changes and highlights, reporting manual archives, etc.;

o

Sampling: Access to the PDF File of the Sampling Manual, HTML version of the glossary, Excel
spreadsheets of a Sampling Template and a Sampling Template with data; and

o

Small Systems Waiver Manual: Access to HTML and PDF versions of the current Small Systems Waiver
Reporting Manual, an overview of reporting changes and highlights, reporting manual archives, etc.;

Data, Publications and Reference Materials:
Internet Reporting — 17

2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual

•

o

NTD Glossary: HTML version of the NTD Glossary of transit terms;

o

NTD Reference Materials: NTD reference materials such as the Uniform System of Accounts, FTA
Circulars and Federal Register Notices;

o

NTD Transit Profiles: Links to transit agency listings by region and other governmental links; and

o

Access NTD Data: HTML and downloadable PDF publications, including data tables (also available as
MS Excel self-executable files), Profiles, National Transit Summaries and Trends, as well as Annual,
Monthly and Historical databases (MS Excel self-executable files) and other data products; and

NTD Resources:
o

FTA/NTD Presentations, Announcements and Updates: FTA/NTD presentations, new and useful
information, interim updates to reporting requirements, etc.;

o

NTD Feedback: The mailing address, telephone number and fax number for the NTD Program as well as
an opportunity to provide comments or suggestions regarding the NTD Program;

o

Seminars and Training: NTD Reporting Seminars and In-house Training information and registration;

o

Transit Agency Listing by Region and External Links: Contact information for transit agencies
reporting to the NTD listed by region and state for:

o



Region 1 (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont);



Region 2 (New Jersey, New York);



Region 3 (Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia);



Region 4 (Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina,
Tennessee, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands);



Region 5 (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin);



Region 6 (Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas);



Region 7 (Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska);



Region 8 (Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming);



Region 9 (Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada); and



Region 10 (Arizona, Idaho, Oregon, Washington); and

Transit Agency Search: search for agency profiles, complete profile sets, and profiles for Top 50
Agencies.

Accessing the NTD Report
Clicking the Internet Reporting Login link will open the Internet Reporting Login page. Enter your user name and password
to gain access to NTD Report Home.

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2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
Levels of Access
Internet Reporting provides four levels of access to the Annual Report with the following rights:
•

CEO access: Edit forms (data entry), approve Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Certification form (D-10), and submit
reports and special reporting requests, including waivers;

•

Contact Person access: Edit forms (data entry) and submit report (administrator);

•

Editor access: Edit forms (data entry), cannot submit report; and

•

Viewer access: Viewing rights only for forms, issues, notes and correspondence with no rights to edit or submit.

User Names and Password
The system access level is determined by the user name. The first three characters of the user name define the access level
and the last four digits represent the transit agency’s NTD ID. There are four types of user names corresponding to the four
access levels available within the Annual Report:
•

CEO (CEO####);

•

Contact person (NTD####);

•

Editor (EDT####); and

•

Viewer (VWR####).

The NTD Program e-mails each transit agency this set of user names with a password for each. Transit agencies determine
access within their organizations and distribute user names and passwords accordingly.
A user can change his/her password at any time. Refer to Sys Admin: Changing Your Password for additional information
on this topic. Users should be aware that passwords must be changed every sixty days.
The users with CEO and NTD Contact Person access levels will have access to all reporting modules (Annual,
Monthly, and Safety & Security) from the Home tab. Users with Editor and Viewer access will be able to access
only Annual and Monthly reporting modules.
Passwords
Password requirements have conditions about password length and complexity, as well as the password expiration period,
which is 60 days. In addition, an account inactivity feature locks accounts that have not been used once in a 60-day period.
Accounts that become “locked” will be able to be unlocked through an automatic web-based process, which also prompts a
password change. Password features can be summarized as follows:
•

Password requirements:
o

Password length: Must be at least 12 characters and not more than 20 characters;

o

Complexity: Must include 3 out of 4 of the following elements – Lower Case, Upper Case, Numbers,
Special Characters;

•

Maximum password age: 60 days; and

•

Account inactivity: Your account is locked if you do not login during a 60-day period.

Sys Admin: Changing Your Password

The Sys Admin screen provides the ability to change your NTD password.
All passwords expire every sixty days. You can change your password at any time on the Sys Admin screen by specifying
your current and new password.

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2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
Tips for Using Internet Reporting
Navigating Between Screens
Do not use the Internet browser’s Back and Forward buttons to navigate between screens. Instead, use the
Internet Reporting system buttons, tabs and links. A Close Form button will appear in the top right and bottom of
the Internet Reporting form that should be utilized to change the view between forms.

Saving a Form
A Save button is provided at the bottom of each Internet Reporting form. When entering information into a form, it is strongly
recommended that you save the form frequently. This will prevent the loss of data if your Internet connection is unexpectedly
lost.
Also, Internet Reporting has an automatic time-out feature which will log you off of the system after a period of inactivity. It is
strongly recommended that you save your work every 15 minutes. Otherwise, there is a risk that the next action you take on
the system will result in the closure of the screen displayed in your browser and the loss of any data that you had not saved.

NTD Reporting Structure
Once you log in to Internet Reporting, you will see the following tabs, which are each discussed more fully herein (though not
in this order):

•

Home: The starting point when entering the NTD report. It displays the transit agency’s NTD analyst information
and any project related announcements;

•

e-File: This is a listing of all declarations, waivers, other general correspondence and current year report
submission stages. This screen allows a transit agency to view the text of existing declarations, waivers, fixed
guideway requests and general correspondence, and to add documents using the file attachment feature;

•

Annual: This is a listing of the reporting forms necessary to complete your NTD Annual Report. From this screen,
your transit agency can submit the NTD Annual Report. The Submit Report button appears at the bottom of the
Forms Summary screen after the CEO approves the CEO Certification form (D-10);

•

Monthly Ridership: This screen provides access to the NTD Monthly Reporting forms for editing and submitting
your report to FTA. Form-by-form instructions and reporting details for the Monthly Module are included in the NTD
Monthly Reporting Manual. The NTD contact person is responsible for submitting Monthly data to NTD;

•

Safety & Security: This screen provides access to the Safety and Security Module forms for editing and submitting
your report to FTA. Form-by-form instructions and reporting details for the Safety and Security Module are included
in the Safety and Security Reporting Manual;

•

Notes: This displays all the Form Notes added to the transit agency’s Annual Report. The transit agency should
create Form Notes to provide additional information applicable to a specific form;

•

Issues: This screen displays all the issues generated for the transit agency’s Annual Report. Issues highlight
potential problems with specific data items (specific data which fall out of a typical range of values) and are
generated each time the transit agency saves a form. To correct an issue, the transit agency may either change the
data item on the appropriate form or attach a Comment to the individual Issue and explain. Use this screen to
review the Issues for entire report (form by form) prior to submitting your NTD Annual Report;

•

Reports: Print and export reports. All reports have been developed to allow you to print each form or report without
altering print settings to fit a form on the page. The reports listed will vary depending on your access level;

•

Communications: This screen provides a record of the report submissions your agency has made to NTD,
including any comments from the agency and the review status of the report;

•

SysAdmin: Discussed above. Use this tab to change NTD passwords. You may only change your own password.
Should you need assistance, contact your NTD analyst; and

•

Help: Online version of this Urban Reporting Manual.

20 — Internet Reporting

2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
Home: Annual Report Home Page

After completing the Login process, the user is taken to the Annual Report Home page. Click the Home tab near the top of
any screen to return to the Home tab from any other area.
When accessing the Home tab, please take note of the Announcements section, which provides users with listings of
recent FTA announcements.

Annual: Reporting Annual Data

Click on the Annual tab to open the Forms Summary screen. The Forms Summary screen lists the 2013 NTD modules
and provides links to the specific forms within each module that your transit agency is required to complete.
Initially, the Forms Summary screen only provides access to two forms within the Basic Information Module:
•

Identification form (B-10); and

•

Contact form (B-20).

After you review, complete and save the B-10 form, and Internet Reporting will automatically generate the forms necessary
to complete your agency’s NTD annual report. Internet Reporting uses the following information to determine which forms to
generate:
•

The number of vehicles operated in annual maximum service (VOMS) by mode and TOS;

•

Whether a Small Systems Waiver request has been indicated;

•

Whether the seller in a purchased transportation agreement is filing a separate NTD Annual Report; and
Internet Reporting — 21

2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
•

Whether a Grants (Planning or Capital) Waiver request was indicated.

All form-by-form instructions and reporting details are provided in the form-specific sections of this manual.
After the B-10 form has been saved, the Forms Summary screen provides access to forms that your transit agency is
required to complete. The mode and TOS, the update user and update date, and the number of issues for each form are
also displayed.
The Forms Summary screen also provides the means to add a new Contractual Relationship form (B-30). Internet
Reporting automatically generates a B-30 form for each purchased transportation agreement (i.e., contracts) that existed in
your transit agency’s previous year report if at least one mode designated on the prior year’s form is also reported on the B10 for the current reporting year.
If you want to add a new Contractual Relationship form (B-30) for a new contract, click the Add Form button at the bottom of
the Forms Summary screen and select B-30 from the drop-down menu.

Printing a Form Report from a Form Screen
Click on the Print button at the bottom of the Form screen to display the report in Adobe Acrobat Viewer; then click the
Print button

in the upper left corner of the viewer and click the Okay button on the resulting Print window.

Submitting Your Report
To submit a report to the NTD, upon completing the required NTD forms, return to the Annual tab, scroll to the bottom of the
page, and click the Submit Report button.
The original submission of the report can only be submitted by the agency CEO.

Notes: Providing Additional Information

Click on the Notes tab to open the Notes Summary screen. The transit agency should create Form Notes to provide
additional information applicable to a specific form.

Creating a Form Note
To create a form note, you should click on the Add Form Note link at the top right of the form you are editing or viewing.
Internet Reporting will take you to the Form Notes screen for the specific form. Internet Reporting pre-fills the mode and
TOS (if applicable) for which the note is created. You must complete the note comment.

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2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
To save a form note, click the Save button at the bottom of the screen. To return to the form being edited without saving the
note, click on the Cancel button.

Reviewing Form Notes
Click on the Form Notes tab to view the Form Notes screen. You can review the form notes associated with a specific form
or all form notes for the report. While working in a form, click on the Form Notes tab to display the Form Notes screen for
the form. The form name, mode and TOS will be displayed just beneath the tabs.
You also can review form notes associated with prior submissions for the current Report Year (i.e., 2013) and prior Report
Years (i.e., 2010 and earlier). To view current or prior years’ form notes, click on the Report drop-down menu located above
the tab line, and select the year and report stage (original, working data, revision, or closeout) that you wish to view.

Editing Notes
While you are in the Working Data report stage, you can edit a form note after it has been created by clicking on the Edit
Note link in the far right column on the Form Notes screen. Once the NTD Annual Report is submitted, the notes are frozen
and cannot be edited. Notes can only be edited while the report status is Working Data, which is displayed at the top of
screen in the Report menu.
Submitting a report to the NTD means that it is in the view of your analyst, and is no longer editable. Once a report is
submitted to NTD, no further changes can be made until it is returned to the agency’s view. The analyst will then validate the
submitted report and, if necessary, return the report to the agency for additional revisions.
Notes are frozen with each submission. If the report is sent back to the transit agency and notes are reviewed or
added, the previously submitted notes will not be affected and are no longer editable.

Printing Form Notes
Print all form notes from the Reports tab by clicking the Notes and Issues Report link.

Issues: Validating Annual Data

Access the Issues screen by clicking the Issues tab. This screen highlights potential problems with specific data items
identified through the NTD validation process.
The NTD validation process ensures that NTD reporting requirements are met and that the reported data are reasonable.
For changes in data outside of expected ranges and other related problems, issues will be raised to your agency. Once an
issue is raised, a comment for the issue is required in addition to any necessary revision. Some validation checks include:
•

Range checks for typical values found among transit agencies with similar operating characteristics;

•

Logic checks between data items on different NTD forms; and

•

Time series checks against previous years’ data to identify data that have changed significantly.

NTD validation is an interactive, iterative process with two alternating phases:
•

Pre-submission (working data report stage) validation — automatic review prior to submission of the NTD annual
Report; and
Internet Reporting — 23

2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
•

Post-submission (the original submission or a revision report stage) validation — review by your assigned NTD
validation analyst after submission of the NTD Annual Report.

In support of the NTD validation process, an NTD validation analyst is assigned to your transit agency. NTD validation
analysts are available to assist transit agency personnel and may be contacted at the NTD Program Office.
Direct contact information for each validation analyst is available from the Home tab in the Announcements section (refer to
the NTD Contact Information). Refer to the exhibit under Where to Report in the Introduction section of this manual for
general NTD contact information (mailing addresses, hours of operation, Help Desk phone and e-mail address, etc.).

Pre-Submission Validation
Internet Reporting automatically performs issue checks after a form is saved. The issue checks assess the completeness
and reasonableness of entered data prior to submission to FTA.
Since some issue checks are performed using data items from more than one form, it is best to respond to issues
after all forms are completed.
Issues are classified by issue type according to severity and action necessary to submit the NTD Annual Report:
•

Important issues are raised when data do not fall within expected ranges or do not appear to conform to NTD
definitions. Important issues can be addressed by revising the relevant data, or by writing a comment explaining
why the data are correct; and

•

Critical issues are raised when data are logically inconsistent and must be corrected. You cannot address a critical
issue with a comment.

You cannot submit your report until all issues – important and critical – are addressed.
The Forms Summary screen identifies the number of issues by each type for each form. You can access the Forms
Summary screen by clicking on the Issues tab from the Annual Report Home page.
Issues associated with prior submissions for the current Report Year (i.e., 2013) and prior Report Years (i.e., 2012 and
earlier) can also be reviewed. To view current or prior years’ issues, click on the Report drop-down menu located above the
tab line, and select the year and report stage (original, working data, revision, or closeout) that you wish to view.
You can review issues for a specific form, by clicking on the Issues tab while viewing the form.
Prior to the original submission, issues are deleted as data are corrected and resaved. Important issues that remain when
the NTD Annual Report is submitted will continue to be available for review on the Issues tab. Any corrections or
explanations subsequent to the original submission will be recorded and are available for review by you and the NTD staff.

Post-Submission Validation by NTD Analysts
After the transit agency submits its NTD Annual Report, the report is frozen at the Original Submission report stage. At this
point in the process, the data cannot be edited by the transit agency. This is also true of each re-submission (revision).
Issues undergo a series of reviews by NTD staff during which the issue status may be changed. At each report stage, you
should address and respond to all issues that are active. After all issues are addressed, the report should be resubmitted.
The status of an issue is not considered to be final until the closeout letter (discussed below) has been approved.

Exhibit 10 — Issue Status
Active

Issues that require review by the transit agency.

Active with Comments

After a transit agency reviews and adds comments to an Active issue, the issue is assigned
an Active with Comments status.

Questionable

Issues may be included in a Closeout with Issues letter and pertinent data is indicated as
Questionable in publications.

Under Review

NTD validation analysts recommend that these issues have been sufficiently addressed by
the transit agency.

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2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
As a report is moved through the validation process, the NTD validation analyst reviews the reported data and recommends
that FTA either accept the transit agency’s comments or designates the issue as Active for further review by the agency.
Upon completion of this review, the NTD validation analyst makes the report available to the agency as Working Data.
When this is done, your agency can edit the report or provide more information. Review by both your transit agency (in
working data stage) and the NTD validation analyst (in revision stages) continues until all issues have been designated as
Fixed, Questionable or Reviewed. The report will then move to the closeout report stage.
As with Form Notes, the issues are frozen with each submission, and cannot be altered until the report is
returned.

Closeout: Completion of Issue Validation
The validation process ends with the generation of the closeout letter for a transit agency. The closeout letter documents
FTA’s acceptance of data. There are two types of closeouts:
•

Closeout without Issues: All issues have been addressed and the revisions or explanations have been accepted by
NTD; or

•

Closeout with Issues: NTD has determined that the reporter’s data collection methods are inadequate, or is not
satisfied with the accuracy of the data.

Once it has been generated, the closeout letter is accessible from the e-File tab.

e-File: Sending Declarations, Requests, and Other Communications

The e-File tab is located between the Home tab and the Annual tab. The e-File tab is a centralized area in which to
compose, organize and track agency correspondence with the NTD program.
All correspondence, waivers and other requests, as well as the Independent Auditor Statements, are attached and submitted
using the e-File tab. These items can only be submitted by the CEO using the CEO username and password.
The e-File tab provides general correspondence, organized by sender (Reporting agency or NTD Program staff). Once
generated, correspondence is stored on the e-File Summary screen. The status or phase (approved, denied, etc.) of the
process for each correspondence item is indicated under the Status heading by correspondence type.
E-mail responses are sent to the transit agency following requests through the e-File system. Examples of letters sent from
FTA to transit agencies are:
•

Closeout correspondence;

•

Late letter correspondence; and

•

Late response correspondence.

e-File Tracking
The e-File Summary screen provides a snapshot of the status of the NTD Annual Report, organized in the following
sections:
•

Report stage;

•

Waivers;
Internet Reporting — 25

2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
•

Declarations;

•

Other agency requests; and

•

Outgoing NTD Correspondence.

Report Stage
This section lists the dates that you originally submitted your report and each subsequent revision that was sent to NTD and
returned to your transit agency. Most of the information listed pertains to the current report year. However, some
correspondence or requests may pertain to future years. These items will be displayed indicating the future report year. You
may now select up to two report years for the same request.
To view prior years’ e-File information, you should use the Report drop-down menu, located above the tab line, to select the
year you wish to view. Note that e-File information is not available prior to 2002.
You can add correspondence for prior years’ e-File information by clicking the Add Correspondence button on the current
year’s e-File Summary screen. You then select the year for which you wish to add correspondence from the Add
Correspondence screen.
Waivers
This section contains the correspondence for any waiver requests as well as their current status.
Declarations
This section contains the declarations submitted to NTD via e-File and their current status (Not Submitted, Received,
Cancelled, Approved, Approved with Issues, and Denied). The only declaration that is filed on the e-File tab is the
Independent Auditor Statement for Financial Data (IAS-FD).
Other Agency Requests
All other correspondence between the transit agency and NTD is contained in Other Agency Requests. Examples of this
type of correspondence are:
•

Extension requests;

•

Change in transit agency fiscal year;

•

New fixed guideway (FG) requests;

•

New ID request;

•

New ID request response from FTA; and

•

Clarification of a reporting requirement (other).

Outgoing NTD Correspondence
Electronic copies of all closeout letters, failure to report warning letters (for late report, incomplete report and failure to
respond), and any official correspondence for clarification from FTA are submitted to transit agencies via the e-File tab.

e-File Composing: Waivers, Other Agency Requests and Declarations
Waivers and Other Agency Requests are all considered correspondence. The following section discusses each type of
request and describes the steps taken to create, edit and submit them.
Adding a Request or Declaration
On the e-File Summary screen, buttons are available for each type of correspondence request and declaration (i.e.,
waivers, declarations and other agency requests). You should click the appropriate button to initiate a specific request and
display the Add Correspondence / File screen.
Once a request or declaration is initiated, you will be directed to the Add Correspondence / File screen. On this screen
there are several specific pieces of information that are required, including:
•

Report Year: This is a required field that identifies the report year for which the correspondence is made. In most
cases, you will be adding correspondence that will be applicable to the current report year. However, you may want
to create correspondence pertaining to a future report year. Both current and future report year correspondence will
appear on the e-File Summary screen by report year.

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•

Type: This is a required field. You should use the drop-down menus to identify the type of correspondence to be
submitted. For example, if you arrived at this screen by clicking the Add Waiver button, the drop-down menu will
display the five waiver types. If you clicked the Add Declaration button, the three declaration types will be listed.

Writing or Attaching a Document
You have the choice to either insert text or attach a document to send correspondence to the NTD. You should select Insert
Text to generate a field where you can type your agency’s request. There is also the option to attach a more formal request
by using the Letter Attachment option and submitting the request to NTD following the guidelines below.
Editing a Request
Appropriate transit agency personnel (based on user rights) can edit the request at any time after the request is saved and
prior to submission. To edit the request, you should click on the link to the file you wish to edit (Data Waiver). The file will
open and you can edit the content as necessary. However, Internet Reporting will not let you edit several of the fields used to
identify the specific request.
Attaching Correspondence
Other types of correspondence may also be attached under the Other
Agency Requests heading on the e-File tab. To attach the written
request select the Letter Attachment radio button, then click the
Browse button. A Windows dialog box will appear. The appearance of
the window may be different based on the operating system (Windows
NT, 2000, 95/98, Apple Mac, etc.) being used. Navigate to the directory
in which your file is stored and click Open. The file name will appear in
the text area to the left of the Browse button.
Saving Correspondence
The final step in creating correspondence (waiver, declaration or other agency request) is to Save or Submit the request or
declaration by using one of the three buttons at the bottom of the screen.
Depending on your assigned level of access, you can perform certain tasks within the system. While certain users can
create, save, and submit requests, others may only be able to create and save or simply view the request. This type of rolebased security allows Internet Reporting to verify that the appropriate people are making the necessary requests. Based on
a user’s role, they will see a Cancel, Save and or Submit button. For example:
•

The Cancel button is available to all users. Cancel simply exits the form and no changes are saved.

•

The Save button is available to those users with CEO, NTD and EDT passwords. Once data are entered, the
request may be saved. Once saved, the request is stored and can be reviewed and edited as often as necessary
prior to submitting the report to NTD.

•

The Submit button is limited to the CEO for the original submission.

Once the request is saved or submitted, you are returned to the e-File Summary screen. The e-File Summary screen will
display the request under the appropriate heading, followed by the identifying subject line, the year for which the request is
relevant, the date the request was created, and the status of the request.

NTD Process after e-File Submission
Acknowledgment of Submission
For most submissions, no acknowledgement is provided regarding receipt at the NTD project site. If you concerned about a
submission, please contact your NTD validation analyst.
However, acknowledgements are provided upon receipt of waiver requests, etc. at the NTD project site. An e-mail is sent
back to the CEO and contact person acknowledging receipt of the correspondence. This acknowledgement is also posted on
the e-File tab. If there are problems with the original request, you should contact your NTD validation analyst immediately
upon receipt of the e-mail.
Request Status
Once a request is submitted, NTD begins processing the request or declaration. When the process is complete, it is given a
final status that the transit agency is able to view.
The status column is intended to inform the transit agency about the progress of each request. Distinct statuses apply to the
different request types. The following is a list of the potential statuses and their meanings:
•

Not Submitted: The request is attached but was not submitted to the NTD. The request remains available to the
transit agency for editing and saving but is not valid until submitted to NTD;
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2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
•

Received: The request was successfully submitted to NTD. NTD staff will review and take action, if appropriate, on
the request;

•

Approved: The request was reviewed and approved by FTA;

•

Approved with Issues: Issues were found with the request but were not substantial enough to prevent FTA
approval; or

•

Denied: FTA denied the request.

Viewing a Submitted Request
Official notification from NTD is necessary for a request to be considered approved or denied. When such an action is taken
by NTD, the status column will no longer appear as Received, but will instead reflect the appropriate status. A status other
than received indicates that NTD processed the request. Once the status changes, NTD's official response can be reviewed.
To view, click on the hyperlink for the submitted request you want to view. There will be a link for the Letter Attachment (as
there was when editing). However, since it was already submitted, you cannot edit the request and the Save and Submit
buttons are no longer be available.
When you access the e-File Summary screen, there may be two links for attached files. This occurs if you submitted an
attached document to NTD. The submitted document will be the first link you see. The second link is the official response
from NTD. To view the response, you should click on the link and select Open Document when prompted by the operating
systems dialog box.

e-File at the End of the Year
At the end of the report year, the e-File Summary screen provides a picture of an entire report year. The number of requests
will vary by transit agency; however, all correspondence between the transit agency and NTD is captured. Most important,
when the transit agency is closed out the status Closeout appears, and a closeout letter is listed.

Communications: Viewing a History of Correspondence with NTD

The Communications tab gives transit agencies a centralized area in which to view their past correspondence with the FTA
NTD program. In addition, the correspondence view can be filtered to show only certain processes or communication types.

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Reports: Using Reports

Click on the Reports tab to display the Reports screen. This screen provides access to several reports available to assist
you in preparing or reviewing your agency’s NTD Annual Report. To open a report, click the corresponding link on the
Reports screen and the report will open in Adobe Acrobat Viewer.

Viewing and Printing Reports
Reports can be generated within the Internet Reporting system from either the Reports tab or from the individual form
screens.
Viewing a Report Online
Click on the Report link on the Reports tab to display the report within the IE window. Use the scroll bar or the following
navigation buttons to scroll through the report:
•

To go to the next page, use the right arrow

•

To go to the previous page use, the left arrow

•

To go to the last page, use the right arrow with a line to the right

•

To go back to the first page, use the left arrow with a line to the left

;
;
; and
.

To Print a Report from the Reports Tab
Click on the Print Report button
(printer icon) in the upper left corner of the viewer. A window will open and the
document is converted to a PDF file. You can then click the Print button on the resulting Print screen.
To Print a Form Report from a Form Screen
Click on the Print button at the bottom of the Form screen to display the report in the window. Click the Print button
the upper left corner of the viewer. Then click the Okay button on the resulting Print window.

in

Selected reports associated with prior submissions for the current Report Year (i.e., 2013) and prior Report Years (i.e., 2012
and earlier) also can be reviewed. To view current or prior years’ reports, click on the Report drop-down menu located
above the tab line, and select the year and report stage (original, working data, revision, or closeout) that you wish to view.

Available Reports
The following report links are available on the Reports screen:
•

Notes and Issues;

•

Service Characteristics – Time Series;

•

Key Performance Indicators;

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2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
•

Revenue Vehicle Inventory – Prior Years History;

•

Operating Expenses by Function and Hourly Wages – Prior Years History;

•

Key Performance Indicators – Average Trip Length – Prior Years History;

•

Ridership Activity Summary Report; and

•

FFA Data Distribution by UZA.

For all of the reports (other than Notes and Issues), the default will be a five-year history. However, the user can change the
report to show additional years’ history using the Report drop-down located above the tab line.
Notes and Issues Report
Click on the Notes and Issues Report link to print all of the form notes and issues associated with the NTD Annual Report
as viewed on the Form Notes screen or Issues tab.
Service Characteristics – Time Series
Click on the Service Characteristics link to view the report. This report provides the number of vehicles operated in annual
maximum service (VOMS), the vehicle revenue hours (VRH) and miles (VRM), the deadhead hours and miles, the total
actual hours and miles, the number of unlinked passenger trips (UPT), the number of passenger miles traveled (PMT), and
the total operating expenses for each mode and TOS operated for the current reporting year and prior years, with the
percentage of variation from year to year.
Key Performance Indicators
Click on the Key Performance Indicators link to view the report. This report provides the trip length, load factor, revenue
speed, deadhead speed, cost per hour, cost per mile and cost per passenger for each mode and TOS operated for the
current reporting year and prior years, with the percentage of variation from year to year.
Revenue Vehicle Inventory – Prior Years History
Click on the Revenue Vehicle Inventory – Prior Years History link to view the report. This report provides the total fleet,
active fleet, ADA fleet, and average fleet age for each mode and TOS operated for the current reporting year and prior years,
with the percentage of variation from year to year.
Operating Expenses by Function and Hourly Wages – Prior Years History
Click on the Operating Expenses by Function and Hourly Wages – Prior Years History link to view the report. This
report provides the vehicle operations expense, vehicle maintenance expense, non-vehicle maintenance expense, general
administration expense, vehicle operations hourly wage rate, vehicle maintenance hourly wage rate, non-vehicle
maintenance hourly wage rate and general administration hourly wage rate for each mode and TOS operated for the current
reporting year and prior years, with the percentage of variation from year to year.
Key Performance Indicators – Average Trip Length – Prior Years History
Click on the Key Performance Indicators – Average Trip Length – Prior Years History link to view the report. This report
provides the average trip length by average weekday service, average Saturday service, average Sunday service and
annual total data for the current report year and prior years, with the percentage of variation from year to year.
Ridership Activity Summary Report
Click on the Ridership Activity Summary Report link to view the report. This report shows a summary of your monthly
ridership data by mode and type of service for the year selected.
FFA Data Distribution by UZA
Click on the FFA Data Distribution by UZA link to view the report. This report shows the percentage allocation of various
data points across applicable UZAs that you service for Federal Funding Allocation purposes.

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Help: Obtaining More Information

Click on the Help tab to display the Help screen. The Help screen provides access to the 2013 Urban Reporting Manual
(previously tilted Annual Reporting Manual) for additional help in completing the NTD Annual Report forms. The Help screen
displays the table of contents for the Reporting Manual with links to each section of the manual.

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2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
Basic Information Module
This module contains two forms:
•

Identification Form (B-10); and

•

Contacts Form (B-20).

Identification form (B-10)
The B-10 form collects basic organizational and service information about transit agencies, including state recipients,
Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), and regional planning commissions filing National Transit Database (NTD)
reports. Internet Reporting uses this information to generate the appropriate forms for the reporter, based on the uses of
§5307 Urbanized Area Formula Program (UAF) funds, the number of vehicles operated by mode and type of service (TOS),
capital improvements for modes of service not yet in operation, contractual agreements with transit agencies filing their own
NTD reports, selection of Small System Waiver (30 or fewer vehicles), and the size of the urbanized area (UZA).
This form is required for all transit agencies, including state recipients, MPOs, and regional planning commissions.

Contacts form (B-20)
The B-20 form identifies key personnel at the transit agency responsible for NTD reporting. The form collects information on
how to reach the chief executive officer (CEO), and NTD safety and security contacts. Transit agencies may also identify
additional personnel to receive NTD communications, if desired, by contacting their NTD analyst.
This form is required for all transit agencies.

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2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
Identification form (B-10)

Identification form (B-10) — 33

2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
Overview
The B-10 form collects basic organizational and transit service information about transit agencies, state recipients,
Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), and regional planning commissions filing National Transit Database (NTD)
reports. Internet Reporting uses this information to generate the appropriate forms for the reporter, based on uses of §5307
Urbanized Area Formula Program (UAF) funds, the number of vehicles operated by mode and type of service (TOS), capital
improvements for modes of service not yet in operation, contractual agreements with agencies filing their own NTD Annual
Reports, selection of a Small System Waiver (30 or fewer vehicles operated in annual maximum service), a Grants Waiver
request and the size of the urbanized area (UZA).

Reporting Requirements and Thresholds
All reporters must complete this form.
Most information is pre-filled from the prior report year. You should review the information and edit as necessary. If you need
to change the pre-filled data (such as changes to your agency’s fiscal year end (FYE) date or changes to your primary UZA),
you will need to contact your NTD analyst.

Small System Waiver (30 or fewer vehicles)
You should use this form to indicate that you are filing a Small System Waiver.

What Has Changed from Prior Year
There are no changes for the 2013 report year.

Approach
This form is used to collect the basic data that identifies your transit agency, including your agency’s name, address, and
organization type. This form also identifies the urbanized areas served by your agency, and whether your agency provides
service to any non-urbanized areas.

Detailed Instructions
This section discusses the key issues involved in completing this form.
At the top of the form is the NTD identification number (NTD ID) and agency name. This information is pre-filled and cannot
be edited. If the information is incorrect, please contact your NTD analyst.

NTD ID
The NTD ID is the four-digit number FTA assigned to your agency. Review to ensure your NTD ID is correct (i.e. the first
number in your agency’s ID is the region where you operate service). Contact your NTD transit analyst immediately if there is
a problem.

Identification Information
The agency identification information is pre-filled based on the prior report year submission. Review and edit any information
that is no longer correct.

Fiscal Year
The fiscal year must always cover a 12-month period. The fiscal year end date (FYE) appears as a non-editable field
because reporters rarely change their FYE.
If your agency’s fiscal year has changed, contact your NTD validation analyst and describe the change. Your NTD validation
analyst will answer any questions that you have about the reporting implications of changing your fiscal year.
Use the e-File tab to inform FTA of the new fiscal year end date. FTA will define a 12-month period for your NTD Annual
Report that either repeats months from the prior report or skips months from the end date of the prior report. FTA will reply
via the e-File tab summarizing this decision and will also change the fiscal year date in item 1 of the form.
You should wait for FTA's decision regarding the 12-month reporting period before you enter data into the NTD forms.
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2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
Mailing Address
The agency's mailing address. Agencies must either indicate a mailing address on line 1, or a P.O. Box address in the P.O.
Box field.

URL
A universal resource locator (URL) is the address of the agency's website; e.g., www.pbtransit.com or www.coastertransit.org. Do not include http://. Not all NTD reporting agencies have a website address.

Agency Name and Acronym
The agency name is the full legal name of the agency. The agency’s acronym is the trademark or familiar name used for
marketing the transit service. This acronym may be used in selected FTA publications.

FTA Recipient ID
The FTA recipient identification number (TEAM ID) is the four-digit number assigned to your agency for the FTA electronic
grant making system – TEAM (Transportation Electronic Award and Management). If you have a question regarding this
number, please contact your agency's grant manager or chief executive officer (CEO). Not all NTD reporting agencies will
have a recipient identification number. Please be aware that the FTA Recipient ID is not the same as your NTD ID.

DUNS Number
The Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) is a system developed and regulated by Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) which
assigns a unique nine-digit numeric identifier to a single business entity. All grant applicants for new or renewal awards on or
after October 1, 2003 must have a DUNS number.

Are You a Recipient or Beneficiary of Urbanized Area Formula Program Grants with
Continuing Requirements?
This question identifies NTD reporting agencies that are recipients or beneficiaries of UAF Program grants and are required
by statute to submit the NTD Annual Report. You should answer Yes if:
•

You received a §5307 grant during your most recent fiscal year;

•

You received pass-through benefits of §5307 funds from another grant recipient during your most recent fiscal year;

•

You used capital equipment originally purchased with §5307 money, and which was not past its useful life at the
beginning of your most recent fiscal year; or

•

You do not fall into any of the above categories, but you received or benefited from §5307 grants in the past and
intend to apply to receive or benefit from §5307 grants in the future.

You should answer No if you do not fall into any of the above categories, and you are a voluntary reporter to the NTD.

Are You Requesting a Small System Waiver?
This section is for transit agencies requesting a Small System (30 or fewer vehicles) Waiver from reporting. You should
answer Yes to apply for this waiver. Agencies who request this waiver report less detailed financial and service data. The
report is simpler to complete; however, you will not be able to report Fixed Guideway, and you will not be eligible for certain
factors of Small Transit Intensive Cities (STIC) funding. Contact your grants office or local MPO for more information
regarding STIC funding.

Organization Type
This section describes the most common types of transit agencies: independent public entity or its subsidiary, unit or
department of government, university, and planning agency. There are also categories for less common organization types:
area agency on aging, private for-profit or non-profit corporation, private provider reporting for the public buyer of service,
and consolidated reporter.
Select one of the categories from the Organization Type drop-down menu.

Independent Public Agency or Authority for Transit Service

Identification form (B-10) — 35

2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
This typically includes transit districts and benefit areas that are independent entities with their own powers, by legislative
mandate. Also, public transit may be only one of the independent agency’s or authority’s responsibilities. They may have
responsibility for other transportation modes such as airports or ports.
If you are a joint powers agency, select public agency or authority. Basically, this is a public entity that is a group of two or
more public agencies that is set up to exercise powers together that members of the group already have.

Subsidiary Unit of a Transit Agency; Reporting Separately
This is typically part of an authority with multiple responsibilities, such
as a transportation authority responsible for both transit and airport
transportation. Or, it may be a transit authority that has separate
operating districts for different urbanized areas. For these subsidiaries,
there will be multiple NTD reporters.

Exhibit 11 — Organization Type menu
selections
1

If there is only one subsidiary unit for transit or multiple subsidiaries
that are all transit modes, choose menu selection 1: independent
public agency or authority for transit service.

Independent public agency or authority for
transit service

2

Subsidiary unit of a transit agency reporting
separately

3

City, county or local government; Unit or
department of

4

State government; Unit or department of

5

University

6

Area agency on aging

7

MPO, COG or other planning agency

8

Other publicly-owned or publicly-chartered
corporation

9

Private for-profit corporation

10

Private non-profit corporation

11

Private provider reporting on behalf of a public
entity

12

Consolidated reporter

13

Other

Unit or Department of City, County or Local Government
This is the most common form of public transit organization. For NTD,
the unit or department is the transit agency and reports as the city,
county or local government since it is the legal entity with authority to
operate transit.

Unit or Department of State Government
There are a limited number of state entities reporting to NTD.
Independent public-benefit corporations for transit service that were
chartered by the state should select independent public agency or
authority for transit service. Select unit of or department of state
government only if you are actually part of the state government and
use one or more state employees.

University
These are university and college systems of both private and public
institutions providing public transportation.

Area Agency on Aging
These are organizations established under the Older Americans Act in 1973 to respond to the needs of Americans sixty and
over.

Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), Council of Governments (COG), or Other Planning Agency
These entities primarily address short- and long-range transportation needs in an area through a cooperative process among
local jurisdictions. They are often involved in planning and capital grants for new transit modes prior to start-up of operations.
They also often are responsible for regional vanpool programs reporting to the NTD.

Other Publicly-Owned or Publicly-Chartered Corporation
There are only a few of these entities reporting to NTD. They are usually quasi-public agencies that do not fit any of the
above categories, such as a business improvement district that also provides transit service. Internet Reporting will display a
box for you to describe your organization type.

Private For-Profit Corporation
There are only a few of these reporters. They operate independently for profit and are not under contract for transit service.

Private Non-Profit Corporation
There are only a few of these reporters. They do not operate for profit and are not under contract for transit service.
36 — Identification form (B-10)

2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
Private Provider Reporting on Behalf of a Public Entity
These are rare exceptions since NTD requires the buyer of service to report.

Consolidated Reporter
There are only a few consolidated reporters for NTD. Consolidated NTD reporters are a collection of transit agencies filing
one report. One reporter may file a consolidated report on behalf of other reporters if it is easier to collect and control the
quality of the data. This often occurs when one transit agency coordinates the development and funding of public
transportation services in an area. Transit agencies filing a consolidated report must operate within the same UZA.
Consolidated reporters must be pre-approved by FTA (See Introduction).

Other
If none of the choices fits your agency, select category 13: Other. Internet Reporting will display a box for you to describe
your organization type.

Demographic Information
The demographic information describes the area and population where transit service is operated. Information is provided for
urbanized (UZA) and non-urbanized areas and for service area.

Urbanized Area
The U.S. Bureau of the Census defines and identifies Urbanized Areas (UZA). An UZA is defined by the Census as a
densely-populated core and nearby densely-settled areas that together contain at least 50,000 in population, at least 35,000
of whom are not living on a military installation. The most-recent UZAs were identified using data from the 2010 Census. For
detailed information on how the Census Bureau defines and identifies Urbanized Areas, please consult the Census Bureau
website at: http://www.census.gov/geo/reference/ua/urban-rural-2010.html.
The UZA number is a designation assigned by FTA. For urbanized areas in the 50 United States and the District of
Columbia, the UZA number is a numerical ranking by population size. Urbanized areas in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands,
and the Northern Marianas are also assigned a unique UZA number by FTA. The Virgin Islands are not recognized as an
urbanized area by the Census Bureau, but pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 5307(l), FTA treats the Virgin Islands as an urbanized area
for purposes of transit grant-making.
The NTD treats all UZAs as either Large UZAs, Medium UZAs or Small UZAs. A Large UZA is a UZA with more than
500,000 in population. A Medium UZA is a UZA with between 200,000 and 499,999 in population. A Small UZA is a UZA
with fewer than 200,000 in population. The NTD also refers to non-urbanized areas as Rural Areas. Your primary UZA
number and name are pre-filled and cannot be edited. If the information is incorrect, please contact your NTD
validation analyst.
Identify all UZAs other than your primary UZA that are served by your transit agency as “secondary UZAs.” Additionally,
identify if your transit agency serves any areas outside of
the Census-defined urbanized areas. Identify the “NonUZA-0” UZA if you provide any service that picks up or
drops off passengers outside of the Census-defined
Urbanized Areas, even if all of your service data will be
allocated to one or more UZAs on your FFA-10 form.
Secondary UZA numbers with names are pre-filled
based on information provided in last year’s NTD
submission. You can edit secondary UZA numbers with
names, from the Available Secondary UZA/NonUZA(s) drop-down menu of UZAs using the Add UZA or
Remove UZA buttons.

Service Area
Service area is the total population and square miles
served for all modes and types of services provided. For
bus (MB and CB), use ADA definitions and requirements
to determine service area boundaries and population.
The bus service area is essentially defined as ¾ mile
on each side of a fixed route.
Identification form (B-10) — 37

2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
For demand response (DR) and demand response-taxi mode, if your service area extends beyond ADA requirements of ¾
mile around fixed routes, use the actual service area.
For modes not covered by ADA, including vanpool (VP), determine service area and population using locally defined criteria.
Service area and population are pre-filled based on the information provided in the prior report year submission. Review and
update the data as appropriate. Use the most current figures or official estimates of population. These statistics are often
available from your area's metropolitan planning organization.
Population and area (in square miles) statistics for the UZA will not equal those for the service area in most cases. This is
true because UZA statistics are based on Census definitions, while service area statistics are based on where services are
operated. The Sample Metropolitan Area graphic shows an example of these differences for a transit system that serves
portions of three urbanized areas UZAs and also serves a rural (other than urbanized area) area.

Number of Vehicles Operated in Annual Maximum Service by Mode and Type of Service
Report the number of VOMS, by mode and TOS, for those services included in your report.

Vehicles Operated in Maximum Service (VOMS)
VOMS are the maximum number of revenue vehicles necessary to actually operate service excluding atypical days (e.g.,
Fourth of July), or one-time special events (e.g., World Series celebrations, political conventions). This is the maximum
number of vehicles on the street. Vehicles deployed as extra service should not be included in VOMS. In other words, VOMS
is the largest number of vehicles scheduled to operate at any one time during the year.

Type of Service (TOS)
TOS is determined by who operates the revenue vehicles that carry passengers. Transit agencies have DO transit service
when they employ their own labor for operators. Conversely, transit agencies have PT service when they contract another
public or private provider to provide the labor for the operators.
Note also that if you provide transit services through a brokerage system, either directly or through a purchased
transportation agreement, you may report only transit service that is provided by agencies participating in the brokerage
under the purchased transportation agreement.

Mode
Transit agencies operate one or more modes of transit service. A mode is a system for carrying transit passengers described
by specific right-of-way, technology and operational features.
To determine the appropriate mode, determine if a set of services substantially share vehicles, employees, and operating
policies. If so, this would constitute a single mode for NTD reporting purposes, and would be classified to the mostappropriate mode based on the predominant characteristics of the group of services as a whole. The NTD recognizes the
following modes of public transit service for Small Systems Waiver reporters:
Exhibit 12 — Modes of Public Transportation
Bus (MB) Non-Rail – Fixed Guideway or
Non-Fixed Guideway

Commuter Bus (CB) Non-Rail – Fixed
Guideway or Non-Fixed Guideway

Fixed-route bus service is the mostprevalent mode in the country. MB
service is powered by a motor and fuel
contained within a vehicle. Deviated
fixed-route service is also reported as
MB.

Fixed-route bus systems that are primarily
connecting outlying areas with a central
city. Service typically uses over-the-road
buses with service predominantly in one
direction during peak periods, limited stops,
and routes of extended length.

38 — Identification form (B-10)

Demand Response (DR) Non-Rail –
Non-Fixed Guideway

Shared-ride demand response service is
scheduled in response to calls from
passengers. Many transit systems
operate demand response (DR) service
to meet the requirements of ADA.

2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
Exhibit 12 — Modes of Public Transportation
Demand Response – Taxi (DT) NonRail – Non-Fixed Guideway

Jitney (JT) Non-Rail – Non-Fixed
Guideway

Publico (PB) Non-Rail – Non-Fixed
Guideway

A special form of the demand response
mode
operated
through
taxicab
providers, but with a system in place to
facilitate ride sharing. The mode is
always purchased transportation type of
service. For Demand Response Taxi to
be considered public transportation there
must be an attempt for a shared ride
program. Voucher Programs are not
considered public transportation.

A unique form of bus service using owneroperated vehicles on fixed routes.

Publicos are jitney services operated in
Puerto Rico.

Vanpool (VP) Non-Rail – Non-Fixed
Guideway

Other
If none of the choices fits your agency,
select the category: Other. Internet
Reporting will display a box for you to
describe the other mode.

A commuting service operating under
pre-arranged schedules for previously
formed groups of riders in vans.

Vanpool Reporting Requirements
When data for a vanpool program is reported to the NTD for the first time, the reporter must submit a written self-certification
to the NTD, that:
•

The vanpool is open to the public and that any vans that are restricted by rule to particular employers and which do
not participate in the public ride-matching service of the vanpool are excluded from the NTD report;

•

The vanpool is actively engaged in advertising the vanpool service to the public and in matching interested
members of the public to vans with available seats;

•

The vanpool program, whether operated by a public or private entity, is operated in compliance with the Americans
with Disabilities Act of 1990 and implementing regulations at 49 CFR 37.31; and

•

The vanpool has a record-keeping system in place to meet all NTD reporting requirements, consistent with
other modes, including collecting and reporting fully-allocated operating and capital costs for the service.

At the same time, the vanpool program must certify that it is publicly sponsored, as either:
•

Directly-operated by a public entity;

•

Operated by a public entity via a contract for purchased transportation service with a private provider;
Identification form (B-10) — 39

2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
•

Operated by a private entity as a grant recipient or subrecipient from a public entity; or

•

Operated by an independent private entity with approval from a public entity that certifies that the vanpool program
is helping meet the overall transportation needs of the local urbanized area.
Vanpool mode requires vehicles to have a seating capacity of at least seven.

Multi-Modal Vehicles
If a vehicle is used for more than one mode, report it under each mode for which it is used and describe the use of the
vehicle using the Add Form Notes link.
For example, the transit agency may use five of its vehicles in MB mode during peak hours and, during non-peak hours, may
use the five vehicles in DR service. The agency would report all of the vehicles as MB and DR on the Revenue Vehicle
Inventory form (A-30) and should select Yes under “Supports another mode.”
Route and Point Deviation Services
Route deviation and point deviation services have operating characteristics of both MB and DR modes. Route deviation
service operates as a conventional bus route, but permits the bus to deviate from the route and service destinations within a
prescribed distance (e.g., ¾ mile). Point deviation service makes scheduled stops at mandatory times along a corridor, but
travels between the time points on a path that serves the origins and destinations of the passengers.
You should report route deviations and point deviations in MB service as MB mode. For MB service, the extent of deviation
for whatever purpose, including an ADA-eligible trip, is MB mode for all service supplied, service consumed and operating
cost data. Trips certified for ADA passengers for route/point deviation services are counted as MB trips.

Incidental Transit Service
There are times when existing transit services cannot meet demand. Transit agencies provide alternate ways to
accommodate transit riders. This often occurs for:
•

Employer-based Guaranteed Ride Home (GRH) program where the transit agency works with employers to ensure
employees who took transit to work and who must leave work for a personal emergency (illness, family crisis) or
have unscheduled overtime, have a ride home. There are often limits on the number of times an employee or
company may use the GRH;

•

Service interruptions (e.g., vehicle breakdown) and a replacement vehicle is not available, or an accident on light
rail tracks so passengers must transfer to a bus line; or

•

Cancellation of a reserved passenger trip in the demand response mode (vehicle or driver unavailable).

As these occurrences are infrequent, the alternate transit services are “incidental” to the regular mode of service.
Transit agencies provide incidental services typically in one of two ways:
•

Taxicabs — reimbursing riders for the cost of the ride; or

•

Transit agency — using vehicles available from another mode or service vehicles (such as a supervisor van and its
driver) to provide the ride.

40 — Identification form (B-10)

2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
Report operating expenses for incidental transit services under the mode for which the services are being provided as an
alternate or back-up. Do not report non-financial data statistics for incidental services, such as vehicle revenue miles and
hours or unlinked passenger trips. Do not report incidental transit services as a separate mode. For the light rail accident
described above, the incidental service is part of the light rail mode, not bus mode. Similarly for a GRH program, substituting
with taxi service does not require a separate Contractual Relationship form (B-30); report the taxi service under the normal
transit mode used.

Line by Line Instructions for Identification form (B-10)
Upon entering your reporting area for the first time, you will be taken to the Internet Reporting Home Page.
•

Click on the Annual tab to open the Annual screen; and

•

Click on the Identification form (B-10) link to open the form. Review and complete the form following the
instructions in this section.

Form Level Help: Click on the Help tab at the top of the screen for form level help.
Form Note: A form note can be attached to any form. Use the Add Form Note link for relevant information to a specific field,
to the entire form or to multiple forms. Click on the Add Form Note link at the top of the screen and enter your note on the
Notes screen. You can review or edit a form note from the Notes tab. Do not use the Form Notes feature to answer issues
generated from this form. From the Issues tab use the Add Comments link next to the specific issue.
Saving or Closing the Form: Click on the Save button at the bottom of the screen to save the form. Click on the Close
button at the bottom of the screen to close the form without saving. Saving the Identification form will automatically
generate forms for you.
Additional forms you may need to add: Contractual Relationship forms (B-30) are added by clicking on the Add Form
button at the bottom of the Annual screen.
NTD ID: Review to be sure the NTD identification number (NTD ID) is correct. Contact your NTD analyst immediately if there
is a problem.
Line 01: Agency Identification Information. Pre-filled, review for accuracy, edit as necessary.
•

Agency Name: The agency's full legal name. No abbreviations or acronyms.

•

Fiscal Year: Review to be sure the agency's fiscal year end (FYE) date (month, day, year) is correct. If the FYE
date has changed, contact your NTD analyst immediately. Prior to filing the report: Transit agencies must notify FTA
using the e-File tab when a fiscal year is changed so FTA can determine the appropriate reporting period.
Reminder: The fiscal year must always cover a 12-month period, and if the fiscal year has changed, months are
skipped or repeated, if necessary.

•

Mailing Address: The agency's mailing address. Agencies must either indicate a mailing address on line 1, or the
number(s) of a P.O. Box in the P.O. Box field.

•

URL: The agency's URL (website address) such as www.pbtransit.com or www.coaster-transit.org. Do not include
http://.

•

Agency Acronym: The agency's acronym that is used for marketing the transit service. This acronym will be used in
selected NTD publications.

•

FTA Recipient ID: The agency's FTA recipient ID number (TEAM). Not all transit agencies will have a
recipient ID. Check with your grants manager or chief executive officer (CEO) if you have any questions.

•

DUNS Number: The agency’s DUNS number as assigned by Dun & Bradstreet. The DUNS number is required for
all grant applicants for new or renewal awards on or after October 1, 2003.

•

Are You a Recipient or Beneficiary of Urbanized Area Formula Program Grants with Continuing Requirements?
Yes/No (voluntary reporter): This identifies NTD reporting agencies that are recipients or beneficiaries of Urbanized
Area Formula Program (UAF) grants and are required by statute to submit the NTD Annual Report. Voluntary NTD
reporters are not required to submit the NTD Report since they are not recipients or beneficiaries of UAF Program
grants. Refer to the Introduction section of this manual for more information on required and voluntary reporting.

Line 02: Are you requesting a Small System Waiver? Pre-filled, review for accuracy, edit as necessary.
•

If Yes, the required forms will be generated.

•

Does not apply to Grants Reporting or Planning Reporting Waivers.
Identification form (B-10) — 41

2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
Line 03: Organization Type. Pre-filled, review for accuracy, edit as necessary. Select only one from the drop-down menu:
•

Independent public agency or authority for transit service. This typically includes transit districts and benefit areas
that are legislated as independent entities with their own powers. Also, public transit may be only one of the
independent agency’s or authority’s responsibilities. They may have responsibility for other transportation modes
such as airports or ports.
o

•

If you are a joint powers agency, make this selection. Basically, this is a public entity that is a group of two
or more public agencies that is set up to exercise powers together that members of the group already
have.

Subsidiary unit of a transit agency; reporting separately. This is typically part of an authority with multiple
responsibilities such as a transportation authority responsible for both transit and airport transportation. Or, it may
be a transit authority that has separate operating districts for different urbanized areas. For these subsidiaries, there
will be multiple NTD reporters.
o

If there is only one subsidiary unit for transit or multiple subsidiaries that are all transit modes, make menu
selection 1: independent public agency or authority for transit service.

•

City, County or Local government; Unit or department of. This is the most common form of public transit
organization. For NTD, the unit or department is the transit agency and reports as the city, county or local
government since it is the legal entity with authority to operate transit.

•

State government, Unit or department of. There are a limited number of state entities reporting to NTD. Independent
public-benefit corporations for transit service that were chartered by the state should select independent public
agency or authority for transit service. Select unit of or department of state government only if you are actually part
of the state government and use one or more state employees.

•

University and college systems: These are university and college systems of both private and public institutions
providing public transportation.

•

Area agency on aging. These are organizations established under the Older Americans Act in 1973 to respond to
the needs of Americans sixty and over.

•

MPO, COG or other planning agency. These entities primarily address short and long-range transportation needs in
an area through a cooperative process among local jurisdictions. They are often involved in planning and capital
grants for new transit modes prior to start-up of operations. They are often also responsible for regional vanpool
programs reporting to the NTD.

•

Other publicly-owned or publicly-chartered corporation. There are only a few of these entities reporting to NTD.
They are usually quasi-public agencies that do not fit any of the above categories, such as a business improvement
district that also provides transit service. Describe in the Organization Type – Other Description field.

•

Private-for-profit corporation. There are only a few of these reporters. They operate independently for profit and are
not under contract for transit service.

•

Private non-profit corporation. There are only a few of these reporters. They do not operate for profit and are not
under contract for transit service.

•

Private provider reporting on behalf of a public entity. These are rare exceptions since NTD requires the buyer of
service to report.

•

Consolidated reporter. There are only a few consolidated reporters for NTD. Consolidated NTD reporters are a
collection of transit agencies filing one report. One reporter may file a consolidated report on behalf of other
reporters if it is easier to collect and control the quality of the data. This often occurs when one transit agency
coordinates the development and funding of public transportation services in an area. Transit agencies filing a
consolidated report must operate within the same UZA. Consolidated reporters must be pre-approved by FTA (See
Introduction).

•

Other: Select if none of the above apply. Describe in the Organization Type – Other Description field.

Line 05: Demographic Information. Pre-filled, review for accuracy, edit as necessary.
•

Primary UZA: The primary urbanized area (UZA) where transit services provided by the agency, directly or through
PT agreements, are physically located. The primary UZA cannot be edited.

•

Service Area Information – Square Miles. Square miles in the transit agency's service area in accordance with the
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and local definitions. Statistics (population and area in square miles)
for the UZA will not equal those for the service area in most cases.

42 — Identification form (B-10)

2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
•

Service Area Information – Population. Population of the service area. Statistics (population and area in square
miles) for the UZA will not equal those for the service area in most cases.

•

Secondary UZA / Non-UZA. Use the Add UZA or Remove UZA button to edit. The UZAs where transit services
provided by the agency, directly or through PT agreements are physically located. Include areas covered by
contractors filing their own NTD Annual Report. Do not use the funding criteria described in the Federal Funding
Allocation Statistics form (FFA-10) to identify UZAs and other than urbanized areas (non-UZAs) served.

Line 06: Number of vehicles operated in annual maximum service (VOMS) by Mode and Type of Service.
•

Enter the number of VOMS for each DO mode and each PT mode whose service is included in this report. Report
route deviation and point deviation services as bus (MB) mode. Other: Select if none of the above apply. Describe
in the Mode – Other Description field.

•

Total Number of VOMS by Type of Service. This is an auto-calculated field and cannot be edited, review for
accuracy. The sum of the number of vehicles operated in all modes in annual maximum service by TOS.

•

Does not apply to Grants Reporting.

Line 07: Capital Investment for a Mode not Currently in Service
•

Pre-filled, review for accuracy, edit as necessary. Use the Add or Remove Mode / Type of Service buttons as
necessary.

•

Select the mode and TOS combination for any modes not yet in operation for which the agency is incurring capital
expenses. This section is required for agencies with a Planning Waiver or a Capital (with or without Planning)
Waiver with reduced reporting requirements.

Identification form (B-10) — 43

2013 Urban Reporting Manual
Contacts form (B-20)

44 — Contacts form (B-20)

2013 Urban Reporting Manual
Overview
The B-20 form identifies key personnel at the agency responsible for NTD reporting. The form collects information on how to
reach the chief executive officer (CEO), NTD contact, and safety and security contacts.

Reporting Requirements and Thresholds
All reporters must complete this form.

What Has Changed from Prior Year
There are no changes for the 2013 report year.

Detailed Instructions
Most information is pre-filled on the form. Review and edit the information, as necessary.
The information includes names and titles, business addresses, telephone numbers, facsimile numbers, and e-mail
addresses.

Contact Type: CEO
The CEO is the principal executive in charge of and responsible for your agency. Please refer to the Declarations section of
the manual to find the responsibilities, as well as examples of, the chief executive officer. The person identified as the CEO
in section 1 should be the same person indicated in the Chief Executive Officer form (D-10), part A. The CEO is the only
person who is able to submit waiver requests and some other types of correspondence such as a new fixed guideway
segment request. The first time during the year that the NTD report is submitted, the CEO must be the one who submits it.

Contact Type: NTD Contact
The NTD contact is the individual responsible for coordinating the NTD Annual Report. The contact person submits the NTD
Annual Report and the Monthly report (for further information on the Monthly report, please see the Monthly Reporting
Manual) and answers any questions that the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) may have concerning the report, including
validation issues and waiver requests. The NTD contact is authorized to submit revisions to the NTD report after the CEO
submits the original version.

Contact Type: Safety Contact
The safety contact is the individual with overall responsibility for the day-to-day safety of the transit agency.

Contact Type: Security Contact
The security contact is the individual with overall responsibility for the day-to-day security of the transit agency.

Line by Line Instructions Contacts form (B-20)
Complete the information for the required contacts: CEO, NTD contact, and safety and security contacts.
Form Level Help: Click on the Help tab at the top of the screen for form level help.
Form Notes: A form note can be attached to any form. Use the Add Form Note link for relevant information to a specific
field, to the entire form or to multiple forms. Click on the Add Form Note link at the top of the screen and enter your note on
the Notes screen. You can review and edit a form note from the Notes tab. Do not use the Form Notes feature to answer
issues generated from this form. From the Issues tab use the Add Comments link next to the specific issue.
Saving or Closing the Form: Click on the Save button at the bottom of the screen to save the form. Click on the Close
button at the bottom of the screen to close the form without saving.
Line 01: Contact Type: CEO. Pre-filled — review for accuracy and edit as necessary.
•

Enter the name of the agency's CEO.

•

The CEO’s title (which may not actually be “CEO”).
Contacts form (B-20) — 45

2013 Urban Reporting Manual
•

The CEO’s business mailing address.

•

The CEO’s business telephone number.

•

The CEO’s FAX number.

•

The CEO’s e-mail address.

Line 02: Contact Type: NTD Contact. Pre-filled — review for accuracy, edit as necessary.
•

Enter the name of the person responsible for the NTD Annual Report.

•

Enter the contact person's title.

•

Enter the contact person's mailing address, if different than the agency mailing address.

•

Enter the contact person's telephone number.

•

Enter the contact person's FAX number.

•

Enter the contact person's e-mail address.

Line 03: Contact Type: Safety Contact. Pre-filled — review for accuracy, edit as necessary.
•

Enter the name of the person responsible for the safety forms.

•

Enter the safety contact person's title.

•

Enter the safety contact person's mailing address, if different than the Transit Agency mailing address.

•

Enter the safety contact person's telephone number.

•

Enter the safety contact person's FAX number.

•

Enter the safety contact person's e-mail address.

Line 04: Contact Type: Security Contact. Pre-filled — review for accuracy, edit as necessary.
•

Enter the name of the person responsible for security forms.

•

Enter the security contact person's title.

•

Enter the security contact person's mailing address, if different than the Transit Agency mailing address.

•

Enter the security contact person's telephone number.

•

Enter the security contact person's FAX number.

•

Enter the security contact person's e-mail address.

46 — Contacts form (B-20)

2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
Small Systems Waiver Module
Agencies that operate 30 or fewer vehicles in maximum service are eligible to make use of a small systems waiver. This
waiver comes with reduced reporting requirements.
•

Small systems waiver agencies report data usually submitted in the financial forms (F-10, F-20, F-30, F-40, and F60) and service forms S-10 and S-20 on a W-30 form. The data required on the W-30 form are less detailed than
the data submitted on the other forms.

•

Small systems waiver agencies are exempt from reporting passenger miles.

•

Small systems waiver agencies are exempt from monthly ridership reporting and monthly safety and security
reporting.

The decision to make use of a small systems waiver can have funding implications because the reporting agency will not
report passenger miles. Passenger miles are a formula variable in the Urbanized Area Formula Program. If the reporting
agency serves an urbanized area with more than 200,000 population, the agency will not receive funding in the bus incentive
tier. If the reporting agency serves an urbanized area with under 200,000 population, it will not be eligible to receive Small
Transit Intensive Cities (STIC) funding for three of the six factors used to allocate STIC funds because these factors involve
passenger miles.

Small Systems Waiver (30 or Fewer Vehicles) form (W-30)
The objectives of the W-30 form are to:
•

Identify total operating expenses (OE) and total OE by mode;

•

Identify the funds expended for capital projects;

•

Identify the origin and amount of capital and operating funds that transit agencies receive from Federal, State and
local government and from their own (directly generated) sources;

•

Determine the amounts of these funds that transit agencies use to pay for capital projects and operating expenses
(OE); and

•

Provide data on the transit service supplied by the transit agency and the transit service consumed by passengers.

The data are reported system wide for all funding data. Data for operating expenses, uses of capital, vehicle revenue miles,
vehicle revenue hours, and unlinked passenger trips are reported by mode and type of service (TOS).
This form is required for all transit agencies that choose to report using a Small Systems (30 or Fewer Vehicles) Waiver.

Small Systems Waiver Module — 47

2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
Small Systems Waiver form (W-30)

48 — Small Systems Waiver form (W-30)

2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
Overview
The W-30 form is used to report financial data on your transit agency's total modal expense, uses of capital, sources of funds
for transit operations and capital by funding category. It also is used to report data on the transit service supplied by the
transit agency and the transit service consumed by passengers on the system by mode and type of service. The following
data are reported:
•

The total operating expense by mode;

•

Funding data by original revenue source:
o

The amount expended (applied) for operating expenses (OE) for agencies reporting transit service, and

o

The amount expended (applied) for capital expenses;

•

Service supplied (revenue miles and revenue hours);

•

Service consumed (passenger boardings); and

•

Safety data related to fatalities, injuries and property damage.

Reporting Requirements and Thresholds
All transit agencies choosing to report under a Small Systems Waiver must complete this form.

What Has Changed from Prior Year
Two lines have been added to the Federal Funding section to reflect new grant programs under MAP-21.

Approach
Financial Reporting
This form details, by source, the total OE expense, total Uses of Capital, total funds for transit earned during the year
(revenues), and the total funds actually expended (applied) for capital expenses and operations during the year. It follows
accrual accounting principles regarding the recognition of funds earned and expended (applied) during the reporting period.
Capital expenses relate to the purchase of vehicles, facilities, and equipment. They have a useful life of more than one year
and an acquisition cost threshold consistent with Federal and local government requirements.
Operating expenses relate to the day-to-day operation of your transit agency. You may refer to the Uniform System of
Accounts (USOA) for more detail about these categories.
You should contact your finance and grants management personnel to obtain the information required to
complete this form.
Accrual Accounting
Report funds expended based on accrual accounting principles. In accrual accounting, funds expended are reported for the
period in which expenses (liabilities) are incurred with no consideration of when your agency paid these expenses.
Transit Related Projects
Since this form covers transit uses, report only those funds that were earned by transit agency and were expended on transit
related projects during the fiscal year. For example, do not report revenues from dedicated sales taxes that are used to fund
highway improvements for mobility projects not related to transit.
Pass-Through Funds
Pass-through funds are funds that the designated recipient receives from FTA and gives to another transit agency. The
funds do not support directly operated (DO) or purchased transportation (PT) services provided by the designated recipient.
If your transit agency serves as a designated recipient, report only the funds that relate to your transit services, DO or PT. Do
not report funds that your transit agency passed through to other agencies.
Original Source of Funds
Report funds according to their original source. For example, if a State department of transportation provided 5307 funds to
you, these funds would be reported as 5307 funds, not local funds.
Small Systems Waiver form (W-30) — 49

2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
Cost Allocation
All OE for transit operations must be fully allocated to functions by mode and TOS for NTD Annual reporting. To fully allocate
OE you should:
•

Determine which expenses or costs are direct costs and can be easily traced to a particular mode/TOS;

•

Determine which expenses or costs are joint expenses or shared costs. These costs are incurred for the benefit of
more than one mode/ TOS and cannot be easily traced to a specific mode/ TOS; and

•

Allocate joint expenses or shared costs to each mode/TOS.

Examples of direct costs are:
•

Labor expenses for operators who work only on MB service;

•

Tires and tubes expenses for directly operated (DO) demand response (DR) vehicles;

•

Schedule printing costs incurred by your transit agency for the MB service operated under a purchased
transportation (PT) contract;

•

Printing expenses for ticket issued for DO commuter bus (CB) service; and

•

Gasoline expenses for vans in DR mode when your transit agency tracks fuel consumption by vehicle at the fueling
island or station.

Examples of joint expenses are:
•

Salary expenses for the general manager who is responsible for the provision of MB and DR services;

•

Electric utility expenses for a garage that serves both MB and DR vehicles; and

•

Outside audit services that are used annually to meet State and local requirements for a transit agency that
provides DO MB service and PT DR service.

There are many ways to allocate costs. Common allocation variables are revenue hours and miles, total vehicles, number of
employees, and ridership. While these options for allocating costs are common to the transit industry, in some instances
others may be more appropriate.

Vanpools
When data for a vanpool program is reported to the NTD for the first time, the reporter must submit a written self-certification
to the NTD, stating that:
•

The vanpool is open to the public and that any vans that are restricted by rule to particular employers and which do
not participate in the public ride-matching service of the vanpool are excluded from the NTD report;

•

The vanpool is actively engaged in advertising the vanpool service to the public and in matching interested
members of the public to vans with available seats;

•

The vanpool program, whether operated by a public or private entity, is operated in compliance with the Americans
with Disabilities Act of 1990 and implementing regulations at 49 CFR 37.31; and

•

The vanpool has a record-keeping system in place to meet all NTD reporting requirements, consistent with
other modes, including collecting and reporting fully-allocated operating and capital costs for the service.

At the same time, the vanpool program must certify that it is publicly sponsored, as either:
•

Directly-operated by a public entity;

•

Operated by a public entity via a contract for purchased transportation service with a private provider;

•

Operated by a private entity as a grant recipient or sub-recipient from a public entity; or

•

Operated by an independent private entity with approval from a public entity that certifies that the vanpool program
is helping meet the overall transportation needs of the local urbanized area.

Service Data
Use this form to report data on your transit service, including:
•

Vehicle requirements for maximum service;

50 — Small Systems Waiver form (W-30)

2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
•

Service supplied (miles and hours); and

•

Service consumed (passenger boardings).

Consistent with the general NTD reporting requirements, you must report actual, not estimated, data on this form. The only
exception is for the value you report for UPT. The sampling requirements for these data items are discussed later in this
section under Unlinked Passenger Trip Data.
The annual totals are the total service for the year. Annual totals include:
Scheduled service + Extra service operated for special events - Scheduled service not operated for any reason
Service may not be operated for several reasons, including:
•

Driver and equipment shortages;

•

Breakdowns; and

•

Problems created by severe weather conditions.

Detailed Instructions
There is one form for all modes and TOS. Internet Reporting automatically generates fields for each applicable mode and
TOS.

Operating Expenses by Mode
This field collects operating expenses, which are those expenses associated with the day-to-day operation of your transit
agency. Operating expenses are reported using accrual accounting principles. Operating expenses are reported in the year
they are incurred, regardless of whether the expenditure is paid during the reporting period.
Report the total operating expenses by mode and TOS.

Uses of Capital
This form collects capital expenses by mode and TOS that were used for improvements for existing transit services or
expansion for new services. Capital expenses are expenses for items of tangible property that have a useful life of more than
one year and an acquisition cost threshold consistent with Federal and local requirements. The federal cost threshold is no
more than $5,000 or a lesser level if used by the agency for its financial statements.
Report the uses of capital by mode and TOS.
Operating expenses (OE) that are paid with capital funds are not reported as capital expenses. The Uniform System of
Accounts (USOA) defines operating expenses (Section 5.2) regardless of grant eligibility for Federal capital assistance.
Report capital maintenance expenses as operating expenses.

Purchased Transportation
Report all capital expenditures made by your transit agency for transit, whether the expenditures are used for DO service or
for PT service. Do not report capital expenditures incurred by your PT provider in your report.
For the rare cases when your transit agency is a seller and files a separate NTD Annual report the following apply:
•

Do not report capital expenditures if your transit agency is a private for profit or private non-profit seller filing a
separate report; and

•

Report capital expenditures if your transit agency is a public agency that is a seller of service.

Multiple Modes and Types of Service
Some capital projects may apply to more than one mode or TOS. Report the project for one mode and TOS based on the
predominant use. Predominant use should be determined by:
•

The primary reason why the project was constructed or acquired; or

•

How it is used as measured by variables such as:
o

The amount of passengers served by mode or TOS for passenger facilities, or
Small Systems Waiver form (W-30) — 51

2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
o

The square footage or number of revenue vehicles serviced for non-passenger facilities such as
maintenance garages.

Directly Generated Funds by the Transit Agency: All Transit Agencies
Directly generated funds are funds obtained from non-governmental sources. These funds are derived from revenues
generated by your transit agency, and by transit agencies that are independent political entities that have the ability to
impose taxes.
Report sources of funds earned, sources of funds expended on (applied to) operations and sources of funds expended on
(applied to) capital during the period, using the revenue categories described below.

Passenger Fares
Passenger fares are the revenues earned from carrying passengers. They are usually the amounts paid by the rider to use
transit services but may also include special transit fares. Special transit fares are fares from contracts to your transit agency
in which an agency or organization pays a set amount in return for unlimited transit service for the persons covered by the
contract. For example, if a local university pays your agency to provide fare-free service to students, this is considered a
special transit fare.
Passenger fares may include special programs such as reduced passes or ticket prices for students, the elderly or
individuals with disabilities. However, passenger fares should reflect the amount of the fare that the passengers pay on their
own behalf.
Passenger fares may be collected in several ways, including:
•

Before service is provided (e.g., through the sale of media such as passes, tickets and tokens sold to passengers);

•

Directly at the point of service (e.g., farebox, turnstile); and

•

After the service is provided, (e.g., through weekly or monthly billing).

Passenger fares do not include subsidies or passenger fare assistance from other entities, such as governments to provide a
reduced fare or free fare. Subsidies are provided to support the general provision of transit service. Passenger fare
assistance is targeted to help specific classes of users (e.g., senior citizens, students) and helps to offset the reduced or free
fares offered these users. Subsidies and fare assistance are reported in the appropriate State and local government source
of funds.
For publicly sponsored VP services, passenger fares have unique provisions. For these services passenger fares include all
the fees paid by the riders, which often include fuel costs, tolls and other out-of-pocket costs.

Allocation of Fare Revenues
You may have to allocate fares to modes and types of service. This is frequently the case when:
•

There is a fixed fare for the initial segment of a multi-mode trip and the transfer charge is minimal;

•

Passengers can use prepaid fare media that is accepted on all modes; or

•

The route structure encourages (or forces) transfers.

In these cases, allocate fare revenues to each mode and type of service based on a reasonable allocation methodology,
which can be locally determined. You may use one of the following methodologies to allocate fare revenues by mode or you
may develop another methodology.
•

Allocation by unlinked passenger trips (UPT): Fare revenues are allocated to modes based on the proportion of
annual unlinked trips by mode to the total annual unlinked trips across modes. For example, if 75 percent of
unlinked trips are on MB/DO and 25 percent are on MB/PT), then fare revenues would be allocated to MB/DO and
MB/PT using the same 75/25 percent split.

•

Allocation by operating expenses (OE): Fare revenues are allocated to modes based on the proportion of annual
OE by mode to the total OE. For example, if 65 percent of OE is for MB/DO and 35 percent are for DR/DO, then
fare revenues would be allocated to MB and DR using the same 65/35 split.

Passenger Fares for Directly Operated (DO) Service
Report passenger fares, by mode, for DO service. Internet Reporting generates the appropriate DO modes.

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Internet Reporting automatically calculates the total passenger fares for DO service earned during the period for all modes.
Report the total passenger fares for DO transit service that were expended on operations and expended on capital during
the year. Many transit agencies apply the total DO fare revenues to funds expended on operations. Other transit agencies
split the total fare revenues between operations and capital.

Passenger Fares for Purchased Transportation (PT) Service
Only the buyer of PT service reports purchased transportation (PT) fare revenues. Sellers of PT filing their own report will
report passenger fares as DO.
PT fare revenues are the fares derived from the transit services provided under the PT agreement. The PT fares often
involve the buyer and the seller since they may be:
•

Sold by the buyer or seller;

•

Collected by the buyer or seller; or

•

Retained by the seller or returned to the buyer.

Report the total amount of PT fares expended on operations and expended on capital. Many transit agencies apply the total
PT fare revenues to funds expended on operations. Other transit agencies split the total fare revenues between operations
and capital.

Other Directly Generated Funds
If there are other sources of funds not included in the directly generated sources common to all transit agencies, report as
other directly generated funds.

Donations
Report the amount of funds donated to the transit agency for transit operation by private entities.

Local and State Funds
Report the sources from state government funds and from local government funds. These levels of government use their
legal authority to impose taxes and fees to provide funding for public transit services.
Do not report funding that these local and state governments receive from another government agency and then pass
through to the transit agency. These pass-through funds should be reported in the category that describes the original
source of these funds.

Other Funds
All funds that do not fit into existing categories should be reported here. An explanation of these other funds must be
provided.

Federal Government Funds
This section covers payments or accruals from the Federal government. These include American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) program funds. Report the funding sources using the following categories:
•

Funds received from Federal Transit Administration (FTA) grant programs;

•

Funds received from other U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) grant programs; and

•

Other Federal funds.

Refer to your transit agency’s grant applications and grants management personnel to determine the correct source of funds
for reporting.
Report Federal funds based on the program (Federal agency) administering the funding. This is particularly important for
programs that transfer funding to FTA (see FTA Urbanized Area Formula Program (UAF) and flexible funding below).
For FTA formula programs, transit agencies may use capital funds for eligible operating expenses, such as preventive
maintenance costs. For the NTD, report the operating expenses accrued as operating expenses in column d regardless of
grant eligibility for capital assistance, and report the funds expended (applied) under funds expended on operations on the F10. The formula programs are:

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•

FTA Urbanized Area Formula Program (UAF) (§5307);

•

FTA Special Needs of Elderly Individuals and Individuals with Disabilities Formula Program (§5310);

•

FTA Other Than Urbanized Area Formula Program (§5311); and

•

FTA New Freedom Program (§5317).

Funds Received from FTA
There are twelve categories of funds received from FTA:
•

FTA Capital Program (§5309) funds;

•

FTA State of Good Repair (§5337) funds;

•

FTA Bus and Bus Facilities ((§5339) funds;

•

FTA Urbanized Area Formula Program (§5307) (UAF) funds;

•

FTA Metropolitan Planning (§5303) funds;

•

FTA Clean Fuels Program (§5308) funds;

•

FTA Special Needs of Elderly Individuals and Individuals with Disabilities Formula Program (§5310) funds;

•

FTA Other Than Urbanized Area Formula Program (§5311) funds;

•

FTA Job Access and Commute Formula Program (§5316) funds;

•

FTA New Freedom Program (§5317) funds;

•

FTA Alternative Transportation in Parks and Public Lands (§5320) funds; and

•

Other FTA funds.

There are also line items for those FTA programs with ARRA funding.

Other Federal Sources
There are two Federal Sources. Report these Federal funds that were not administered through the FTA under these
categories:
•

Other USDOT grant programs; and

•

Other Federal Funds.

FTA Capital Program
The FTA Capital Program (§5309) is a discretionary program that provides capital assistance for new FG systems.
FTA State of Good Repair Program
The FTA State of Good Repair Program (SGR) (§5337) is a formula program that replaced the Fixed Guideway
Modernization program. It provides capital assistance to maintain fixed guideway and high intensity bus systems in a state of
good repair.
FTA Bus and Bus Facilities Program
The FTA Bus and Bus Facilities Program (§5339) is a formula program that finances capital projects to replace, rehabilitate,
and purchase buses and related equipment and to construct bus-related facilities. Grants received under the old §5309 Bus
and Bus Facilities program should be reported under §5309; this category should be used only for new grants made under
MAP-21.

FTA Urbanized Area Formula Program
The FTA Urbanized Area Formula Program (UAF) (§5307) is a formula program for:
•

Capital projects;

•

Planning;

•

Operating assistance in UZAs with population less than 200,000; and

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•

Capitalized operating assistance (e.g., preventive maintenance using FTA UAF (capital) funds.

FTA UAF funds include flexible funding programs. Several programs of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) of the
USDOT allow transfer of funds to the FTA UAF, under the flexible funding provision, for transit projects, including:
•

Surface Transportation Program (STP);

•

Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program (CMAQ); and

•

National Highway System (NHS).

When the flexible fund programs from the FHWA are administered by FTA under the UAF program, report the funds under
the FTA Urbanized Area Formula Program. For example, a transit agency may receive FHWA Congestion Mitigation Air
Quality (CMAQ) funding through the FTA UAF program. Report the FHWA CMAQ funding should be reported as FTA UAF
program funds, not under other USDOT grant programs.
In most cases, the funding reporting is straightforward. However, you should first refer to your grant agreements to determine
the appropriate category to use.

FTA Metropolitan Planning
The FTA Metropolitan Planning Program (§5303) supports the cooperative, continuous and comprehensive planning
program for making transportation investment decisions in urbanized areas (UZA). These funds are allocated to the
Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO) and are designated by local elected officials as being responsible for carrying
out the urban transportation and other planning process, including short and long-range transportation plans that prioritized
projects for implementation.

FTA Clean Fuels Program
The FTA Clean Fuels Program (§5308) is a formula program that supports the use of alternative fuels. Projects are eligible in
air quality maintenance or nonattainment areas for ozone or carbon monoxide, for both for UZA and nonurbanized areas
(non-UZA).
The program assists transit systems in purchasing low emission buses and related equipment, constructing alternative fuel
fueling facilities, modifying existing garage facilities to accommodate clean fuel vehicles and assisting in the utilization of
biodiesel fuel.
Funds may be used for the purchase or lease of clean fuel buses, the construction of clean fuel electrical recharging
facilities, improvement to existing facilities to accommodate clean fuel buses, and the re-powering and retrofit or rebuild of
pre-1993 engines if before a mid-life rebuild.

FTA Special Needs of Elderly Individuals and Individuals with Disabilities Formula
The FTA Special Needs of Elderly Individuals and Individuals with Disabilities Formula Program (§5310) is a formula
program that provides capital assistance to State and local governments and private non-profit groups in meeting the
transportation needs of elderly individuals and individuals with disabilities. The State (or State-designated agency)
administers the §5310 program.
States may allocate funds to private non-profit organizations and to public agencies if they are designated to provide
coordinated service. Beginning in FY 2007 SAFETEA-LU increases coordination requirements by requiring that projects be
on a locally-developed human service transportation coordination plan. That planning process includes representatives of
public, private, and non-profit transportation and human services providers and the public.
A seven State pilot program for FY 2006-2009 has been established to determine whether expanding eligibility to operating
assistance would improve services to elderly individuals and individuals with disabilities. In the pilot, up to 33% of a
participating State’s apportioned §5310 funds may be used for operating expenses.
§5310 funds may be transferred to and administered through the §5311 program.

FTA Other Than Urbanized Area Formula Program
The FTA Other Than Urbanized Area Formula Program (§5311) is a formula program for rural transportation for:
•

Capital projects;

•

Planning; and

•

Operating assistance in non-UZAs with population less than 50,000.

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Federal operating and capital assistance under §5311 includes any §5310, §5307, §5316 or §5317 funds transferred to the
program or flexible highway funds transferred to the program and administered through the §5311 program.
If you received 5311 funding, you must report some service in a non-UZA on your Federal Funding Allocation (FFA-10) form.

FTA Job Access and Reverse Commute Formula Program
The Job Access and Reverse Commute (JARC) Formula Program (§5316) is a formula program to States and designated
recipients to support the development and maintenance of job access projects designed to transport welfare recipients and
eligible low-income individuals to and from jobs and activities related to their employment, and for reverse commute projects
designed to transport residents of UZAs and non-UZAs to suburban employment opportunities.
§5316 funds may be transferred to and administered through the §5311 program.

FTA New Freedom Program
The FTA New Freedom Program (§5317) is a formula program for new public transportation services and public
transportation alternatives beyond those required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that assist individuals with
disabilities with transportation, including transportation to and from jobs and employment support services. Projects must be
included in locally-developed human service transportation coordinated plan beginning in FY 2007. Funds may be used for:
•

Capital projects;

•

Operating assistance; and

•

Planning.

§5317 funds may be transferred to and administered through the §5311 program.

FTA Alternative Transportation in Parks and Public Lands Program
The FTA Alternative Transportation in Parks and Public Lands Program (§5320) is a program for preserving our parklands
and enhancing visitor enjoyment. The program is administered jointly by FTA, US Department of Interior (DOI) and the US
Department of Agriculture Forest Service (USFS). Projects include capital and planning.

Other FTA Funds
Any FTA funds not described above are reported as Other FTA funds. These funds include:
•

FTA Research, Development, Demonstration and Training Projects (§5312); and

•

Interstate Transfer Program.

Other FTA funds reported should be described using the Other FTA Funds — Describe field.

Funds Received from Other USDOT Grant Programs
Report funding through Other U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Programs, where funds were not transferred to
FTA, as funds received from other USDOT grant programs. This includes funds from the Federal Railroad Administration
(FRA) (including AMTRAK) that occurs for commuter rail operations.

Other Federal Funds
Report funding from the Federal government other than through USDOT programs as Other Federal Funds. These include
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Housing and Urban Development Programs (HUD) and Department of
Justice (DOJ) programs (e.g., JOBS).
Describe other Federal funds using the Other Federal Funds — Describe field.

Service Data
Report data by mode and TOS:
•

Service Supplied (Annual Total), including total vehicle revenue miles (VRM) and total vehicle revenue hours (VRH)

•

Service Consumed (Annual Total), including unlinked passenger trips (UPT)

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Revenue Service
Revenue service is when your transit vehicle is providing public transportation and is available to carry passengers. Revenue
service excludes non-public transportation activities such as exclusive school bus service and charter service. Vehicles
operated in fare free service are considered in revenue service.
You measure revenue service in terms of revenue hours (VRH) and revenue miles (VRM).

Fixed Route Service
Revenue hours and miles for conventionally scheduled services (e.g., MB, CB) comprise two elements:
•

Running time; and

•

Layover recovery time.

Running time is the time it takes your transit vehicle to travel from the beginning to the end of the transit route. Your agency’s
passenger timetable typically shows the running times for all trips operated by your agency.
The layover recovery time typically is scheduled at the end of each trip and usually ranges from 10 to 20 percent of the
running time. The time is scheduled to provide the transit operator a rest break and to provide an opportunity to get the
transit service back on schedule if it was running late on the last trip.
Determining Revenue Statistics
You can calculate revenue service miles and hours by examining the schedule for each of your agency’s revenue vehicles,
commonly known as a vehicle block.
Actual Vehicle Revenue Miles and Hours
Report annual total data for VRM and VRH.
The following exhibit illustrates how to report hours and miles for a vehicle in fixed route service.
Exhibit 13 — Accounting for Miles and Hours for Bus Service
Vehicle Revenue
Hours
Miles

Activity
Bus travels (deadheads) from dispatching point to start of route.

No

No

Bus travels from its route in scheduled revenue operation. Passengers board the vehicle.

Yes

Yes

Bus travels its route in scheduled revenue operation. No passengers board the vehicle.

Yes

Yes

Bus arrives at the end of the route, lays over. Passengers can board during layover.

Yes

N/A

Bus arrives at the end of the route, lays over. Passengers cannot board during layover.

Yes

N/A

Bus arrives at the end of the route, goes out of service. Resumes service in PM peak.

No

No

Bus arrives at the end of the route, travels (deadheads) and parks at storage lot.

No

No

Bus arrives at the end of the route, travels (deadheads) to another route to operate a scheduled trip.
Passengers cannot board during deadhead.

No

No

Bus arrives at the end of the route, travels (deadheads) to the dispatching point.

No

No

From the garage the bus travels to another maintenance facility to perform routine maintenance.

No

No

Due to a collision with another vehicle, the trip is terminated and the bus travels to a maintenance facility.

No

No

Bus travels from start to end of a route for training. Vehicle is not in service and does not board
passengers.

No

No

Bus travels from the garage to a fueling station.

No

No

Non-Scheduled Non-Fixed Route Services
In the following, reporting instructions are given for three types of non-scheduled services:
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•

DR;

•

DT; and

•

VP.

Actual Vehicle Revenue Miles and Hours
Report annual total data for VRM and VRH. For DR service, VRM and VRH include all travel and time from the point of the
first passenger pick-up to the last passenger drop-off, as long as the vehicle does not return to the dispatching point. In
addition, VRM and VRH include the distance and time to pick-up the next passenger.
For DT services, while taxicab providers may operate some deadhead, NTD collects only revenue service miles and hours.
Taxicab service is typically paid for a passenger trip from origin to destination (for the revenue part of the trip).
The exhibit below illustrates how to report hours and miles for a vehicle in DR and DT service.

Exhibit 14 — Accounting for Miles and Hours for Demand Response Service
Activity

Vehicle Revenue
Hours
Miles

Vehicle idles at the dispatching point.

No

N/A

Vehicle departs dispatching point to pick-up a passenger.

No

No

Vehicle waits for a passenger at the pick-up point.

Yes

N/A

After a passenger drop-off, the vehicle departs to pick-up another passenger with no passengers on-board.

Yes

Yes

After a passenger drop-off, the driver goes to a restaurant for lunch.

No

No

Vehicle transports passengers from a community center to a shopping mall.

Yes

Yes

Vehicle returns to the dispatching point with no passengers on-board.

No

No

Vehicle waits at the dispatching point before returning to shopping mall.

No

N/A

Vehicle waits at the shopping mall until it is time to bring passengers back to the community center.

Yes

N/A

Vehicle travels to a fueling station.

No

No

For VP, the driver is a participant in the VP. Since the driver is a passenger, include the travel from the driver’s home to the
first passenger pick-up and the travel from the last passenger drop-off in VRM and VRH.
For VP do not report travel to or from maintenance facilities and do not report the driver’s personal use of the vehicle in
vehicle miles and hours.

Service Consumed
Service consumed data are measures of the use of public transportation. NTD collects data on unlinked passenger trips
(UPT) for Small Systems Waiver agencies.
In addition, for DR and DT service, NTD collects sponsored service unlinked passenger trips. Sponsored UPT are paid in
whole or part by a third party who, in many cases, handled all or part of the trip arrangements. You report only annual totals
for sponsored UPT. Counts of sponsored UPT are included in the annual total you reported for total unlinked passenger
trips.

Unlinked Passenger Trips
Report UPT (boardings) for the annual total. UPT are the number of passengers who board your public transportation
vehicles. Count passengers each time they board vehicles no matter how many vehicles they use to travel from their origin
to their destination.
For DR and DT modes, report personal care attendants and companions as long as they are not employees of your transit
agency. Report attendants and companions regardless of whether or not they are fare-paying passengers.

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If your transit agency carries sponsored service trips, report the number of the sponsored service unlinked trips under the DR
mode. These UPT should be less than or equal to the UPT you reported for the DR or DT service (line 10, columns c-d).
For VP service, commonly you must report the driver as a passenger since most drivers are not paid wages and they are
commuting to work. However, in rare instances, you should consider the drivers employees because, like other transit
operators, they are paid wages and are not traveling for personal reasons (e.g., work commuting, shopping).

Collecting Unlinked Passenger Trips
The counting of all unlinked passenger trips consumed is called a 100 percent count. If available and reliable, you must
report 100 percent counts of UPT. This requirement applies to all modes and types of service.
If 100 percent counts are not available and reliable, you must estimate and report the UPT values based on statistical
sampling. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) requirements for all modes and types of service are:
•

Minimum confidence of 95 percent; and

•

Minimum precision level of ±10 percent.

UPT is an important NTD data item. The accuracy of the reported UPT must be certified in the Small Systems Waiver Chief
Executive Officer (CEO) Certification.
The 100 percent count method and sampling requirements and procedures are discussed below.

100 Percent Count of Unlinked Passenger Trips
A 100 percent count of UPT involves counting passengers each time they board a vehicle. If 100 percent counts are
available and reliable for UPT, you must report them.
Your transit agency may try to do a 100 percent count may miss some of the vehicle trips because of personnel problems or
equipment failures. If these vehicle trips are two percent or less of the total, then you should factor up the data to account for
the missing percentage. If the missed vehicle trips are more than two percent of the total, then you must have a qualified
statistician approve the methodology for factoring the data to account for the missing percentage.

Unlinked Passenger Trips Sampling
Your transit agency may use any data sampling technique, by mode and TOS, which meets the 95 percent confidence and
±10 percent precision levels. Your transit agency may use different sampling techniques for each mode TOS combination.
To assist transit agencies, FTA has developed acceptable UPT sampling procedures for bus (MB) and DR services. Your
transit agency may also use any other procedure (alternative technique) that meets FTA requirements.
If your transit agency samples, you must follow the sampling technique exactly. You may choose to oversample your data,
provided that the oversampling is selected randomly from all vehicle runs operated, but you may not in any case collect a
smaller sample than is prescribed by the sampling plan. You should not change: 1) the prescribed number of trips in the
sample except to oversample as noted above or 2) the approach for selecting trips that comprise the sample.
The following items are discussed below:
•

NTD Sampling Manual;

•

Alternative sampling techniques;

•

Automatic Passenger Counters; and

•

Sampling for PT service.

NTD Sampling Manual
The NTD Sampling Manual provides sampling techniques for the estimation of unlinked passenger trips if 100% counts are
unreliable or unavailable.
Key points about the new sampling approach include:
•

Covers all modes;

•

Provides more than one sampling plan;

•

Sample size is not fixed but based on transit agency and mode specific characteristics;

•

Sampling is based on random selections within a weekly, monthly or quarterly time period; and
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•

Sampling templates can be tailored to transit agency needs.

You do not need to get approval from FTA nor from a qualified statistician to use the Sampling Package unless you are using
APC’s to collect your data, in which case the usual APC approval requirements apply.
Alternative Sampling Techniques
Your transit agency may also use any other procedure (alternative technique) approved by a qualified statistician. An
alternative sampling technique is a statistically valid technique, other than a 100 percent count for UPT and other than the
sampling techniques described in the FTA sampling manual.
A qualified statistician is someone who can ensure that FTA statistical sampling requirements are met. FTA does not
prescribe specific statistician qualifications. Instead, it requires your transit agency to insure that the statistician is suitably
qualified. The statistician may be an in-house staff person with a working knowledge and an education or background in
statistics. The statistician also may be a hired consultant with appropriate qualifications.
FTA does not review or approve alternative sampling techniques. A qualified statistician must determine that the sampling
technique meets FTA’s confidence and precision levels.
You must document and retain in your files both the technique and the statistician’s approval. The documentation must
include:
•

A description of the technique that includes:
o

The parameters used to estimate UPT (e.g., UPT per vehicle trip x number of vehicle trips operated) if a
100% count of UPT is not available or reliable, and

o

The rationale used to estimate the coefficient(s) of variation;

•

A signed review of the technique by a qualified statistician including a statement that the technique meets FTA’s
confidence and precision levels; and

•

A summary of the statistician’s education and experience that indicates that the statistician is qualified.

Automatic Passenger Counters (APC)
Some transit agencies use automatic passenger counters (APC) for collecting UPT data for scheduled services such as MB,
either through sampling or a 100 percent count of data. The APCs must be calibrated and validated by each transit agency
annually in order to be used for NTD reporting.
The use of APCs for NTD reporting requires prior FTA approval. If your transit agency fails to obtain prior FTA approval FTA
may not include the reported APC-derived passenger mile data in the Urbanized Area Formula Program apportionment.
FTA approval is required for the following:
•

Implementation of a new APC system;

•

APC benchmarking plan for the first year; and

•

APC maintenance plan for subsequent years, i.e., periodic calibration of the APC equipment against benchmark
dataset (i.e., developing adjustment factors for replicating the UPT data collected by ride checkers to APC derived
UPT data).

The APC benchmarking plan for the first year must include procedures for:
•

Validating the APC data for UPT data against a separate data sample covering a full year;

•

Adjusting the APC data for UPT to replicate the data produced by the other data source; and

•

Ensuring that APC data for UPT meets FTA standards for at least 95% confidence level and 10% precision.

For example, if you wish to use an APC to collect UPT data, then the APCs should be run parallel to traditional human
sampling for one year. If the average passenger trip length from the APCs is statistically equivalent to the average
passenger trip length from the human sampling, then APCs may be used in the future for collecting UPT data for the NTD.
You must submit the benchmarking plan to FTA for approval using the e-File tab in Internet Reporting. You also must submit
the result after the benchmarking plan has been completed using the e-File tab in Internet Reporting.
In subsequent years, the APC maintenance plan must include procedures for the calibration of the APC equipment every
year using a sample of at least 100 bus vehicle trips using ride checkers to collect the UPT data. The trips in the sample do
not need to be randomly distributed by route, by day, and time of day. Most APC manufacturers recommend routine
calibration checks. UPT counts from APCs should be regularly checked and reconciled against trip counts and fares from
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registering fare boxes. If a transit system uses APCs for both directly operated and purchased transportation bus services,
separate samples of at least 100 vehicle trips are required for each type of service.
You must annually submit to FTA documentation of the results of the maintenance plans including the UPT data collected by
ride checkers compared to APC derived UPT data and the statistical variance between the two data sets. Submit the
documentation to NTD using the using the e-File tab in Internet Reporting.

Sampling for Purchased Transportation Service
Rules have been developed for sampling PT services when your agency, the buyer, also operates the same mode of service
and when there is more than one seller. The guiding sampling rules for PT services included in your report are:
•

PT sellers may use different sampling techniques than those implemented by your transit agency for DO service;

•

Your transit agency may apply one sample technique covering all PT contracts for a specific mode; and

•

Each PT seller may use a different sampling technique.

Safety Data
Report the following safety data for the provider’s reporting period:
•

Number of reportable incidents;

•

Number of fatalities; and

•

Number of injuries.

The existence of one or more of the following conditions constitutes a reportable incident:
•

A fatality suffered as a result of the incident, within 30 days of the incident;

•

An injury requiring immediate medical attention away from the scene;

•

Property damage equal to or exceeding $25,000; or

•

An evacuation for life safety reasons.

To be reportable, an injury must require immediate medical attention away from the scene. Immediate medical attention
includes, but is not limited to, transport to a hospital by ambulance or by another vehicle. A victim seeking medical care
several hours or days after the incident is not considered to have received immediate medical attention. In cases that are
less clear-cut, reporters should apply their judgment in determining whether the injury sustained caused the victim to seek
immediate medical attention.
The medical attention received must be at a location other than the location of the incident. This distinction is intended to
exclude incidents that require only minor first aid. It is not, however, intended to be burdensome for the transit provider. You
are not expected to follow up on each person transported by ambulance to inquire into the medical attention received. You
may count each person immediately transported by ambulance as an injury. However, if you do follow up, and find that a
person did not receive medical attention, this should not be counted as an injury.
If you did not have any reportable incidents during the reporting period, please use the Notes tab to add a form note
confirming this fact.

Line by Line Instructions for Small Systems Waiver (30 or Fewer Vehicles) form (W-30)
This form covers all modes for directly operated (DO) and purchased transportation (PT) services.
Form Level Help: Click on the Help tab at the top of the screen for form level help.
Form Notes: A form note can be attached to any form. Use the Add Form Note link for relevant information to a specific
field, to the entire form or to multiple forms. Click on the Add Form Note link at the top of the screen and enter your note on
the Notes screen. You can review and or edit a form note from the Notes tab. Do not use the Form Notes feature to answer
issues generated from this form. From the Issues tab you should use the Add Comments link next to the specific issue.
Saving or Closing the Form: Click on the Save button prior to exiting the form and continuing with the report. Click on the
Close button at the bottom of the screen to close the form without saving.

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Sources of Directly Generated Funds by the Transit Agency — All Transit Agencies
Line 01, column d: Operating Expenses by Mode
•

Enter the funds expended on Operations, by mode and TOS.

Line 02, column e: Uses of Capital.
•

Enter the funds expended on Capital, by mode and TOS.

Line 03, column d: Passenger Fares for Directly Operated Service and Passenger Fares for Purchased Transportation
Service — Funds Expended on Operations. By mode, enter the funds expended during the period from carrying passengers
for services that were DO by your transit agency (passenger fares) and from PT services.
Line 04: Other Directly Generated Funds
•

Column d: Funds Expended on Operations. Enter the revenues generated from any other directly generated funds
not reported on line 03 that were expended on operations during the period.

•

Column e: Funds Expended on Capital. Enter the revenues generated from any other directly generated funds not
reported on line 03 that were expended on capital during the period.

Line 05: Donations
•

Column d: Funds Expended on Operations. Enter the amount of donations that were expended on operations
during the period.

•

Column e: Funds Expended on Capital. Enter the Enter the amount of donations that were expended on capital
during the period.

Line 06: Local Funds – These are the funds received from the local government’s annual budgeting process
•

Column d: Funds Expended on Operations. Enter the funds expended on operations during the period that were
allocated to transit.

•

Column e: Funds Expended on Capital. Enter the funds expended on capital during the period that were allocated
to transit out.

Line 07: State Funds – These are the funds received from the State government’s annual budgeting process.
•

Column d: Funds Expended on Operations. Enter the funds expended on operations during the period that were
allocated to transit.

•

Column e: Funds Expended on Capital. Enter the funds expended on capital during the period that were allocated
to transit.

Line 08: Other Funds
•

Column d: Funds Expended on Operations. Enter the Other funds that were expended on operations during the
period . Describe the sources in the Other Funds — Describe Other field.

•

Column e: Funds Expended on Capital. Enter the Other funds expended on capital during the. Describe the sources
in the Other Funds — Describe Other field.

Federal Government Funds
Line 58: FTA Capital Program Funds (§5309)
•

Column d: Funds Expended on Operations. Enter the funds expended on operations during the period from §5309
funds. These items include capital maintenance expenses .

•

Column e: Funds Expended on Capital. Enter the funds expended on capital during the period from §5309 funds.

Line 58b: ARRA Major Capital Investments (New Starts) funds (§5309)
•

Column d: Funds Expended on Operations. Enter the funds expended on operations during the period from ARRA
§5309 funds. These items include capital maintenance expenses.

•

Column e: Funds Expended on Capital. Enter the funds expended on capital during the period from ARRA §5309
funds.

Line 58c: MAP-21 Bus and Bus Facilities funds (§5339)

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•

Column d: Funds Expended on Operations. Enter the funds expended on operations during the period from §5339
funds. These items include capital maintenance expenses .

•

Column e: Funds Expended on Capital. Enter the funds expended on capital during the period from §5339 funds.

Line 58d: MAP-21 State of Good Repair funds (§5337)
•

Column d: Funds Expended on Operations. Enter the funds expended on operations during the period from §5337
funds. These items include capital maintenance expenses .

•

Column e: Funds Expended on Capital. Enter the funds expended on capital during the period from §5337 funds.

Line 59: FTA Urbanized Area Formula (UAFP) Program (§5307)
•

Column d: FTA UAFP Funds – Eligible Operating Assistance. Enter the funds expended on operations during the
period from §5307 funds – operating assistance. This applies to transit agencies in urbanized areas (UZAs) with a
population of 200,000 or less according to the 2000 Census and some Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
complementary paratransit service costs for UZAs of any size.

•

Column e: FTA UAFP Funds – Spent on Capital Projects. Enter the funds expended on capital during the period
from §5307 funds.

Line 60, column d: FTA UAFP Funds – Capital Assistance Spent on Operations (Including Maintenance Expenses).
•

Enter the funds expended on operations during the period from §5307 funds – capital assistance. These are
formula capital funds eligible for operating expenses (OE) such as preventive maintenance costs.

Line 60a: ARRA Urbanized Area Formula (UAFP) Program (§5307)
•

Column d: ARRA UAFP Funds – Eligible Operating Assistance. Enter the funds expended on operations during the
period from §5307 funds – operating assistance. This applies to transit agencies in urbanized areas (UZAs) with a
population of 200,000 or less according to the 2000 Census and some Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
complementary paratransit service costs for UZAs of any size.

•

Column e: ARRA UAFP Funds – Spent on Capital Projects. Enter the funds expended on capital during the period
from §5307 funds.

Line 60b, column d: ARRA UAFP Funds – Capital Assistance Spent on Operations (Including Maintenance Expenses ).
•

Enter the funds expended on operations during the period from ARRA §5307 funds – capital assistance. These are
formula capital funds eligible for operating expenses (OE) such as preventive maintenance costs.

Line 61: FTA Metropolitan Planning (§5303)
•

Column d: Funds Expended on Operations. Enter the funds expended on operations during the period.

Line 62: FTA Clean Fuels Program (§5308)
•

Column d: Funds Expended on Operations. Enter the funds expended on operations during the period from §5308
funds. These items include capital maintenance expenses.

•

Column e: Funds Expended on Capital. Enter the funds expended on capital during the period from §5308 funds.

Line 63, FTA Special Needs of Elderly Individuals and Individuals with Disabilities Formula Program (§5310)
•

Column d: FTA Special Needs of Elderly Individuals and Individuals with Disabilities Formula Program – Eligible
Operating Assistance. Enter the funds expended on operations during the period from §5310 funds – operating
assistance.

•

Column e: FTA Special Needs of Elderly Individuals and Individuals with Disabilities Formula Program – Spent on
Capital Projects. Enter the funds expended on capital during the period from §5310 funds.

Line 64, column d: FTA Special Needs of Elderly Individuals and Individuals with Disabilities Formula Program – Capital
Assistance Spent on Operations (Including Maintenance Expenses).
•

Enter the funds expended on operations during the period from §5310 funds – capital assistance. These are
formula capital funds eligible for OE such as preventive maintenance costs.

Line 65, FTA Other Than Urbanized Area (§5311)
•

Column d: FTA Other Than Urbanized Area Program – Eligible Operating Assistance. Enter the funds expended on
operations during the period from §5311 funds – operating assistance.

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•

Column e: FTA Other Than Urbanized Area – Spent on Capital Projects. Enter the funds expended on capital
during the period from §5311 funds.

Line 66 column d: FTA Other Than Urbanized Area – Capital Assistance Spent on Operations (Including Maintenance
Expenses).
•

Enter the funds expended on operations during the period from the §5311 funds – capital assistance. These are
formula capital funds eligible for OE such as preventive maintenance costs.

Line 66a, FTA ARRA FTA Other Than Urbanized Area (§5311)
•

Column d: ARRA FTA Other Than Urbanized Area Program – Eligible Operating Assistance. Enter the funds
expended on operations during the period from FTA ARRA §5311 funds – operating assistance.

•

Column e: FTA ARRA Other Than Urbanized Area – Spent on Capital Projects. Enter the funds expended on
capital during the period from FTA ARRA §5311 funds.

Line 66b, column d: FTA ARRA Other Than Urbanized Area – Capital Assistance Spent on Operations (Including
Maintenance Expenses).
•

Enter the funds expended on operations during the period from the FTA ARRA §5311 funds – capital assistance.
These are formula capital funds eligible for OE such as preventive maintenance costs.

Line 67: FTA Job Access and Commute Formula Program (§5316)
•

Column d: Funds Expended on Operations. Enter the funds expended on operations during the period from §5316
funds. These items include capital maintenance expenses.

•

Column e: Funds Expended on Capital. Enter the funds expended on capital during the period from §5316 funds.

Line 68, FTA New Freedom Program (§5317)
•

Column d: FTA New Freedom Program – Eligible Operating Assistance. Enter the funds expended on operations
during the period from §5317 funds – operating assistance.

•

Column e: FTA New Freedom Program – Spent on Capital Projects. Enter the funds expended on capital during the
period from §5310 funds.

Line 69, §5317 - capital assistance spent on operations (including maintenance expenses)
•

Column d: §5317 - capital assistance spent on operations (including maintenance expenses). Enter the funds
expended on operations during the period from §5317 funds – capital assistance. These are formula capital funds
eligible for OE such as preventive maintenance costs.

Line 70: FTA Alternative Transportation in Parks and Public Lands (5320)
•

Column d: Funds Expended on Operations. Enter the funds expended on operations during the period §5320 funds.
These items include capital maintenance expenses.

•

Column e: Funds Expended on Capital. Enter the funds expended on capital during the period from §5320 funds.

Line 70a: ARRA TIGGER (Greenhouse Gas and Energy Reduction) funds
•

Column d: Funds Expended on Operations. Enter the funds expended on operations during the period from ARRA
TIGGER (Greenhouse Gas and Energy Reduction) funds. These items include capital maintenance expenses.

•

Column e: Funds Expended on Capital. Enter the funds expended on capital during the period from ARRA TIGGER
(Greenhouse Gas and Energy Reduction) funds.

Line 71: Other FTA Funds (such as the FTA Research, Development, Demonstration and Training Projects Program (§5312)
or Interstate Transfer Program)
•

Column d: Funds Expended on Operations. Enter the funds expended on operations during the period other FTA
programs not detailed above, such as §5312 or Interstate Transfer Program funds. These items include capital
maintenance expenses.

•

Column e: Funds Expended on Capital. Enter the funds expended on capital during the period from other FTA
programs not detailed above, such as §5312 or Interstate Transfer Program funds.

Line 72, column d: Other FTA Funds – Capital Assistance Spent on Operations (Including Maintenance Expenses).
•

Enter the funds expended on operations during the period from the Other FTA Program Funds – capital assistance.

•

These are formula capital funds eligible for OE such as preventive maintenance costs.

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Line 73: Funds Received from other USDOT Grant Programs
•

Column d: Funds Expended on Operations. Enter the funds expended on operations during the period from other
USDOT grant programs.

•

Column e: Funds Expended on Capital. Enter the funds expended on capital during the period from other USDOT
grant programs.

Line 74a: ARRA TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) Multimodal Discretionary funds.
•

Column d: Funds Expended on Operations. Enter the funds expended on operations during the period from ARRA
TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) funds.

•

Column e: Funds Expended on Capital. Enter the funds expended on capital during the period from ARRA TIGGER
(Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) funds.

Line 75: Other Federal Funds
•

Column d: Funds Expended on Operations. Enter the funds expended on operations during the period from (Other
Federal funds).

•

Column e: Funds Expended on Capital. Enter the funds expended on capital during the period from (Other Federal
funds).

Service Data
Line 10a-10d: Service data by mode and TOS
•
•
•
•

Column a: Annual Vehicle Revenue Miles. Enter the number of annual vehicle revenue miles for each mode and
TOS.
Column b: Annual Vehicle Revenue Hours. Enter the number of annual vehicle revenue hours for each mode and
TOS.
Column c: Annual Unlinked Passenger Trips: Enter the number of annual unlinked passenger trips for each mode
and TOS.
Column d: Sponsored Service Unlinked Passenger Trips. Applies only to demand response (DR) and demand
response taxi (DT) modes.

Line 11: Total
•

This is an auto-calculated field and cannot be edited. This field displays the total annual vehicle revenue miles
(lines 10a and 10b, column a), total annual vehicle revenue hours (lines 10a and 10b, column b), total annual
unlinked passenger trips (lines 10a and 10b, column c) and sponsored service unlinked passenger trips (line 10b,
column d).

Safety Data
Line 21, column a: Reportable Incidents. Enter the total number of reportable incidents for the reporting period. Reportable
incidents include any event involving the operation of a transit system in which a person dies, either at the time of the event
or within 30 days of the event; in which a person is injured and requires immediate medical attention away from the scene of
the incident; or in which property damages occur in excess of $25,000.
Line 22, column a: Fatalities. Enter the total number of transit-caused deaths for the reporting period that occurred within 30
days of the incident.
Line 23, column a: Injuries. Enter the total number of injuries for the reporting period that required immediate medical
attention away from the scene of the incident. Injuries should not include fatalities.

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Asset Module
The Asset Module contains two forms:
•

Stations and Maintenance Facilities form (A-10); and

•

Revenue Vehicle Inventory form (A-30).

Stations and Maintenance Facilities form (A-10)
The A-10 form collects data on passenger stations and maintenance facilities.
NTD requires all reporting transit agencies to complete this form. You will complete separate forms for directly operated (DO)
and for purchased transportation (PT) services by mode. The form is not applicable for demand response taxi (DT).

Revenue Vehicle Inventory form (A-30)
The A-30 form collects data on the revenue vehicle inventory at the end of the fiscal year and identifies the characteristics of
the vehicles in the fleet.
This form is required for all transit agencies. Transit agencies complete separate forms for DO and for PT services by mode.

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Stations and Maintenance Facilities form (A-10)

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2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
Overview
The purpose of the A-10 form is to collect data on: (1) the number of passenger stations, both accessible and nonaccessible, in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA); (2) the number of elevators and escalators
within passenger stations; and (3) the number of maintenance facilities by size and ownership categories.

Reporting Requirements and Thresholds
All transit agencies must complete this form even if there are no facilities to report. Complete one form for each mode and
type of service (TOS) except for demand response taxi (DT).

What Has Changed from Prior Year
There are no changes to the A-10 form for the 2013 report year.

Approach
The reported data represents the inventory of passenger stations and maintenance facilities used for directly operated (DO)
and purchased transportation (PT) services at the end of the fiscal year.

Passenger Stations
The passenger station information is only reported for fixed route, fixed schedule services (bus modes). All passenger
stations are reported, even though the NTD reporter may not own them. All passenger stations that are served by the public
transportation services contained in the NTD Annual report must be reported.
Exhibit 15 — Reporting Passenger Stations
Example: Coaster Transit Agency provides MB service to a FB passenger station that is owned by Coast Transportation
Authority. How should the passenger station be reported?
Solution: Coaster Transit Agency should report 1 passenger station while Coast Transportation Authority also reports 1
passenger station. Stations are reported by use, not ownership.

Station Criteria
The intent of the definition of a passenger station is to capture significant structures in separate rights-of-way (ROW). This
usually means something more than a street stop or street side passenger shelter.
The following rules apply:
•

All MB and CB passenger facilities in a separate ROW that have an enclosed structure (building) for passengers for
such items as ticketing, information, restrooms, concessions, and telephones are stations;

•

Stops on streets or in medians for MB and CB are not stations if at most they have shelters, canopies, lighting,
signage or ramps for accessibility requirements, (i.e., no separate, enclosed buildings); and

•

All transportation, transit or transfer centers, park-and-ride facilities and transit malls are stations if they have an
enclosed structure (building) for passengers for such items as ticketing, information, restrooms, concessions, and
telephones.

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2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual

This is an enclosed building in a separate ROW.
It is a passenger station.

This is only a shelter, not in a separate ROW. It is not a
passenger station.

Multi-Modal Stations
Another reporting consideration is the definition of a multi-modal station. A station is defined as multi-modal if it serves one of
your transit agency’s modes and serves at least one of the following:
•

Other transit modes whether by your transit agency or another transit agency;

•

Amtrak (non-transit services);

•

Airports;

•

Intercity bus (non-transit services such as Greyhound and Trailways); and

•

Water transportation (non-transit services).

ADA Accessibility
The last reporting consideration is whether the station meets the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) accessibility
requirements. To meet other federal requirements, your transit agency probably has made this assessment.

Maintenance Facilities
Maintenance facilities are reported by:
•

Type – general purpose or heavy maintenance;

•

Ownership – owned or leased; and

•

Size – the number of revenue vehicles that can be serviced.

Type
Maintenance facilities are the garages and buildings where routine maintenance and repairs are performed (general purpose
maintenance facility) and, in larger transit agencies, where engine and other major unit rebuilds are performed (heavy
maintenance facility). General purpose maintenance facilities generally also serve as operating garages where vehicles are
stored and dispatched daily for revenue service.
In some transit agencies, the same facility is used for both general purpose and heavy maintenance. Report joint general
purpose/heavy maintenance facility as a general purpose maintenance facility.
Ownership
Maintenance facility ownership is reported based on the type of service (TOS), either DO or PT.
For DO service, the interest is in whether the facility is publicly owned, either by the transit agency itself or by another public
entity, such as a city highway department maintenance facility, or whether the facility is leased from a private entity.

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2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
For PT service, the interest is in whether there is public involvement in the maintenance facility either as a public facility
owned or leased by the buyer of the PT service, or whether the PT provider owns its own facility or leases one from a private
entity.
Size
The size of the facility is based on how many revenue vehicles can be serviced and stored. It is a measure of capacity of the
facility, not the number of revenue vehicles currently operated from the facility.
Shared Facilities
Some transit agencies operate more than one mode from a facility or use the facility for both DO and PT services. The most
common arrangement is the operation of MB and DR vehicles from a single facility.
If a facility is shared by more than one mode or TOS, allocate fractional portions of the facility among the modes and TOS so
that, in total, only one facility is reported (e.g., 0.9 for MB/DO and 0.1 for DR/DO). See Example 14 for details about
allocating facilities.

Detailed Instructions
This form is tailored to meet the different reporting requirements for:
•

Scheduled versus non-scheduled services. The fixed schedule services form for MB and CB collects information
about passenger stations. The non-scheduled services form for DR, VP, JT, and PB does not collect passenger
station information.

•

TOS. The forms for DO or PT have different ownership types for maintenance facilities.

Complete one form for each mode and TOS.

Passenger Stations
Report the number of transit passenger stations, distinguishing between Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)
accessible stations and non-ADA accessible stations, and total number of multi-modal stations. Report the number of
stations that serve transit passengers, regardless of ownership.
Report the station in each mode and TOS that it is used. This may result in the “double counting” of some stations, because
two types of MB service (e.g., MB/DO and MB/PT) serve them, or because a combination of MB and CB services serve
them.

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 Accessible Stations
Accessible stations do not have physical barriers that prevent or restrict access by individuals with disabilities, including
individuals who use wheelchairs. To meet other federal requirements, your transit agency should have identified accessible
stations.

Non-ADA Accessible Stations
Non-accessible stations do not provide easy access (i.e., do not meet accessibility requirements with regards to physical
barriers, signage and other aids to enable individuals with disabilities, including individuals who use wheelchairs) to use
public transit.

Multi-Modal Passenger Stations
Report the total number of passenger stations serving multiple modes. Modes include other transit modes, AMTRAK,
airports, water transportation, and intercity bus.

Escalators and Elevators
Report the number of escalators and elevators within the passenger stations. These are used to transfer passengers
between levels in a station or parking facility or between each other. Elevators and escalators exclude moving sidewalks.
Do not include non-passenger escalators and elevators used only for freight, or by transit staff, or as a back-up if passenger
escalators and elevators break down.

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Maintenance Facilities
Report the type of maintenance facility based on the type of work performed (for general maintenance or for heavy
maintenance). If there is only one facility that is used for both general and heavy maintenance, report the facility as a general
purpose facility.
Report maintenance facility ownership by category. The categories are different for DO and PT services. For DO modes,
there are three categories of ownership:
•

Owned facilities;

•

Facilities leased from another public agency; and

•

Facilities leased from a private entity.

For PT modes, there are four categories of ownership:
•

Owned by service provider — facility owned by seller of PT service (public entity or private operator);

•

Owned by public agency for service provider — facility owned by public agency buying PT (reporter);

•

Leased by public agency for service provider — facility leased by public agency buying PT service (reporter) from a
third party; and

•

Leased by service provider — facility leased by seller of PT service (public entity or private operator) from a third
party.
Do not report maintenance facilities where maintenance services are performed by a third-party vendor. For
example, a transit agency has a PT agreement with a private company for DR service. The DR vans are taken to
the local gasoline service station (third-party vendor) for routine repairs and servicing. Do not report the local
gasoline service or body shops as a maintenance facility.

General Purpose Maintenance Facilities
Report general purpose maintenance facilities by:
•

Ownership – owned or leased; and

•

Size – the number of revenue vehicles that can be serviced.

Size is divided into three categories based on the number of revenue vehicles that can be serviced:
•

Under 200 vehicles;

•

200 – 300 vehicles; and

•

More than 300 vehicles.

Report the facility size based on design capacity, not the number of vehicles assigned to the facility.
For PT service, these are the facilities owned or leased by the buyer for the seller, or the facilities owned or leased by the
seller for inspection, service and repair of the revenue vehicles used under the PT agreement.
If the same facility serves more than one mode or TOS, allocate the facility’s use by mode or TOS to one decimal place. See
Exhibit 31 below.

Heavy Maintenance Facilities
Report heavy maintenance facilities by ownership category. There are no size categories for heavy maintenance facilities.
For PT service, these are the facilities owned or leased by the buyer for the seller, or the facilities owned or leased by the
seller for engine and other major unit rebuilds of the revenue vehicles used under the PT agreement.
If the same facility serves more than one mode or TOS, allocate the facility’s use by mode or TOS to one decimal place. Do
not include service vehicles when allocating maintenance facilities. See the example below.

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2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
Exhibit 16 — Serves versus Capacity
Example: Coaster Transit Agency operates 175 vehicles and owns a maintenance facility that can store 225 vehicles.
What size of general purpose maintenance facility should they report?
Solution: CTA should report a general purpose maintenance facility that serves 200 – 300 vehicles.

Exhibit 17 — Reporting Maintenance Facilities
Example: Coaster Transit Agency uses one of its general purpose maintenance facilities for servicing both MB and DR vehicles
for DO services, and for DR PT service. How should maintenance facilities be reported?
Solution: Allocate the facility based on usage. One way to estimate usage is to allocate the number of vehicles available in
annual maximum service for each mode and TOS. Report facilities allocated to each mode and TOS.
Mode
MB/DO
DR/DO
DR/PT
Total

Vehicles
Serviced
240
30
20
290

Percent
of Total
82.8%
10.3%
6.9%
100%

Prorated Facilities
Reported
0.8 Line 08, column a
0.1 Line 08, column a
0.1 Line 08, column a
1.0 Serving 200 – 300 vehicles

Owned/public agency
Owned/public agency
Owned/public agency for service provider

Line by Line Instructions for Stations and Maintenance Facilities from (A-10)
Complete one form for each mode and type of service (TOS).
Form Level Help: Click on the Help tab at the top of the screen for form level help.
Form Notes: You can attach a form note to any form. Use the Add Form Note link to provide relevant information related to
a specific field, to the entire form or to multiple forms. Click on the Add Form Note link at the top of the screen and enter
your note on the Notes screen. You can review and/or edit a form note from the Notes tab. Do not use the Form Notes
feature to answer issues generated from this form. To respond to issues, from the Issues tab use the Add Comments link
next to the specific issue.
Saving or Closing the Form: Click on the Save button at the bottom of the screen to save the form. Click on the Close
button at the bottom of the screen to close the form without saving.

Passenger Stations
This section does not apply to DR, DT, JT, PB, and VP modes.
Line 01, column a: Americas with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) Accessible Passenger Stations — Number of Facilities.
•

Enter the number of transit passenger stations that do not restrict access to individuals with disabilities under
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) requirements.

Line 02, column a: ADA Non-Accessible Passenger Stations — Number of Facilities.
•

Enter the number of transit passenger stations that do not meet ADA accessibility requirements for individuals with
disabilities.
o

Report the station in each mode and TOS that it is used.

Line 03, column a: Total Stations — Number of Facilities. This is an auto-calculated field and cannot be edited. This field
displays the total number of ADA accessible and non-ADA accessible passenger stations.
Line 04, column a: Number of Multi-Modal Stations — Number of Facilities.
•

Of the total number of transit passenger stations, enter the number of those serving multiple transit modes,
AMTRAK, airports or intercity bus.

Line 05, column a: Escalators — Number of Facilities.

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2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
•

Enter the number of escalators in passenger stations whose primary purpose is to transfer passengers between
levels in a station or parking facility or between each other, exclude moving sidewalks.

Line 06, column a: Elevators — Number of Facilities.
•

Enter the number of elevators in passenger stations whose primary purpose is to transfer passengers between
levels in a station or parking facility or between each other, excluding moving sidewalks.

Maintenance Facilities - Directly Operated Service
Line 07: General Purpose Maintenance Facilities Serving under 200 Vehicles
•

Column a: Owned. Enter the number of maintenance facilities that are owned by the transit agency and that are
designed to service up to 200 revenue vehicles.

•

Column b: Leased from Another Public Agency. Enter the number of maintenance facilities that the transit agency
leases from another public agency and that are designed to service up to 200 revenue vehicles. If you are a private
company filing an NTD Annual report as directly operated (DO) service, select this category if you are using any
public agency facility for maintenance whether it is leased or owned by the buyer for your use under the PT
agreement.

•

Column c: Leased from a Private Entity. If you are a private company filing an NTD Annual report as DO service,
select this category if you are using any private facility for maintenance whether it is leased by the buyer or by
yourself for your use under the PT agreement.
o

•

Enter the number of maintenance facilities that the transit agency leases from a private entity and that are
designed to service up to 200 revenue vehicles.

Column g: Total. This is an auto-calculated field and cannot be edited. This field displays the total number of
general purpose maintenance facilities that are designed to service up to 200 revenue vehicles.

Line 08: General Purpose Maintenance Facilities Serving 200-300 Vehicles
•

Column a: Owned.
o

•

Column b: Leased from another Public Agency. If you are a private company filing an NTD Annual report as DO
service, select this category if you are using any public agency facility for maintenance whether it is leased or
owned by the buyer for your use under the PT agreement.
o

•

Enter the number of maintenance facilities that the transit agency leases from another public agency and
that are designed to service 200 to 300 revenue vehicles.

Column c: Leased from a Private Entity. If you are a private company filing an NTD Annual report as DO service,
select this category if you are using any private facility for maintenance whether it is leased by the buyer or by
yourself for your use under the PT agreement.
o

•

Enter the number of maintenance facilities that are owned by the transit agency and that are designed to
service 200 to 300 revenue vehicles.

Enter the number of maintenance facilities that the transit agency leases from a private entity and that are
designed to service 200 to 300 revenue vehicles.

Column g: Total. This is an auto-calculated field and cannot be edited. This field displays the total number of
general purpose maintenance facilities that are designed to service 200 to 300 revenue vehicles.

Line 09: General Purpose Maintenance Facilities Serving more than 300 Vehicles
•

Column a: Owned. Enter the number of maintenance facilities that are owned by the transit agency and that are
designed to service more than 300 revenue vehicles.

•

Column b: Leased from another Public Agency. If you are a private company filing an NTD Annual report as DO
service, select this category if you are using any public agency facility for maintenance whether it is leased or
owned by the buyer for your use under the PT agreement.
o

•

Enter the number of maintenance facilities that the transit agency leases from another public agency and
that are designed to service more than 300 revenue vehicles.

Column c: Leased from a Private Entity. If you are a private company filing an NTD Annual report as DO service,
select this category if you are using any private facility for maintenance whether it is leased by the buyer or by
yourself for your use under the PT agreement.

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2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
o
•

Enter the number of maintenance facilities that the transit agency leases from a private entity and that are
designed to service more than 300 revenue vehicles.

Column g: Total. This is an auto-calculated field and cannot be edited. This field displays the total number of
general purpose maintenance facilities that are designed to service more than 300 revenue vehicles.

Line 10: Heavy Maintenance Facilities
•

Column a: Owned. Enter the number of heavy maintenance facilities that are owned by the transit agency.

•

Column b: Leased from another Public Agency. If you are a private company filing an NTD Annual report as DO
service, select this category if you are using any public agency facility for maintenance whether it is leased or
owned by the buyer for your use under the PT agreement.
o

•

Column c: Leased from a Private Entity. If you are a private company filing an NTD Annual report as DO service,
select this category if you are using any private facility for maintenance whether it is leased by the buyer or by
yourself for your use under the PT agreement.
o

•

Enter the number of heavy maintenance facilities that the transit agency leases from another public
agency.

Enter the number of heavy maintenance facilities that the transit agency leases from a private entity.

Column g: Total. This is an auto-calculated field and cannot be edited. This field displays the total number of
heavy maintenance facilities.

Line 11: Total Maintenance Facilities
•

Column a: Owned. This is an auto-calculated field and cannot be edited. This field displays the total number of
general purpose and heavy maintenance facilities that are owned by the transit agency.

•

Column b: Leased from another Public Agency. This is an auto-calculated field and cannot be edited. This field
displays the total number of general purpose and heavy maintenance facilities that the transit agency leases from
another public agency.

•

Column c: Leased from a Private Entity. This is an auto-calculated field and cannot be edited. This field displays
the total number of general purpose and heavy maintenance facilities that the transit agency leases from a private
entity.

•

Column g: Total. This is an auto-calculated field and cannot be edited. This field displays the total number of
general purpose and heavy maintenance facilities.

Maintenance Facilities - Purchased Transportation Service
Line 07: General Purpose Maintenance Facilities Serving under 200 Vehicles
•

Column a: Owned by Service Provider.
o

•

Column d: Owned by Public Agency for Service Provider.
o

•

Enter the number of maintenance facilities that are leased by the public agency for the service provider
and that are designed to service up to 200 revenue vehicles.

Column f: Leased by Service Provider.
o

•

Enter the number of maintenance facilities that are owned by the public agency for the service provider
and that are designed to service up to 200 revenue vehicles.

Column e: Leased by Public Agency for Service Provider.
o

•

Enter the number of maintenance facilities that are owned by the service provider and that are designed to
service up to 200 revenue vehicles.

Enter the number of maintenance facilities that are leased by the service provider and that are designed to
service up to 200 revenue vehicles.

Column g: Total. This is an auto-calculated field and cannot be edited. This field display the total number of
general purpose maintenance facilities that are designed to service up to 200 revenue vehicles.

Line 08: General Purpose Maintenance Facilities Serving 200-300 Vehicles
•

Column a: Owned by Service Provider.

74 — Stations and Maintenance Facilities form (A-10)

2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
o
•

Column d: General Purpose Maintenance Facilities Serving 200-300 Vehicles — Owned by Public Agency for
Service Provider.
o

•

Enter the number of maintenance facilities that are leased by the public agency for the service provider
and that are designed to service 200 to 300 revenue vehicles.

Column f: General Purpose Maintenance Facilities Serving 200-300 Vehicles — Leased by Service Provider.
o

•

Enter the number of maintenance facilities that are owned by the public agency for the service provider
and that are designed to service 200 to 300 revenue vehicles.

Column e: General Purpose Maintenance Facilities Serving 200-300 Vehicles — Leased by Public Agency for
Service Provider.
o

•

Enter the number of maintenance facilities that are owned by the service provider and that are designed to
service 200 to 300 revenue vehicles.

Enter the number of maintenance facilities that are leased by the service provider and that are designed to
service 200 to 300 revenue vehicles.

Column g: Total. This is an auto-calculated field and cannot be edited. This field display the total number of
general purpose maintenance facilities that are designed to service 200 to 300 revenue vehicles.

Line 09: General Purpose Maintenance Facilities Serving more than 300 Vehicles
•

Column a: Owned by Service Provider.
o

•

Column d: General Purpose Maintenance Facilities Serving 200-300 Vehicles — Owned by Public Agency for
Service Provider.
o

•

Enter the number of maintenance facilities that are leased by the public agency for the service provider
and that are designed to service more than 300 revenue vehicles.

Column f: General Purpose Maintenance Facilities Serving 200-300 Vehicles — Leased by Service Provider.
o

•

Enter the number of maintenance facilities that are owned by the public agency for the service provider
and that are designed to service more than 300 revenue vehicles.

Column e: General Purpose Maintenance Facilities Serving 200-300 Vehicles — Leased by Public Agency for
Service Provider.
o

•

Enter the number of maintenance facilities that are owned by the service provider and that are designed to
service more than 300 revenue vehicles.

Enter the number of maintenance facilities that are leased by the service provider and that are designed to
service more than 300 revenue vehicles.

Column g: Total. This is an auto-calculated field and cannot be edited. This field display the total number of
general purpose maintenance facilities that are designed to service more than 300 revenue vehicles.

Line 10: Heavy Maintenance Facilities
•

Column a: Owned by Service Provider.
o

•

Column d: Owned by Public Agency for Service Provider.
o

•

Enter the number of heavy maintenance facilities that are leased by the public agency for the service
provider.

Column f: Leased by Service Provider.
o

•

Enter the number of heavy maintenance facilities that are owned by the public agency for the service
provider.

Column e: Leased by Public Agency for Service Provider.
o

•

Enter the number of heavy maintenance facilities that are owned by the service provider.

Enter the number of heavy maintenance facilities that are leased by the service provider.

Column g: Total. This is an auto-calculated field and cannot be edited. This field displays the total number of
heavy maintenance facilities.

Line 11: Total Maintenance Facilities
Statement and Maintenance Facilities form (A-10) — 75

2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
•

Column a: Owned by Service Provider. This is an auto-calculated field and cannot be edited. This field displays
the total number of general purpose and heavy maintenance facilities that are owned by the service provider.

•

Column d: Owned by Public Agency for Service Provider. This is an auto-calculated field and cannot be edited.
This field displays the total number of general purpose and heavy maintenance facilities that are owned by the
public agency for the service provider.

•

Column e: Leased by Public Agency for Service Provider. This is an auto-calculated field and cannot be edited.
This field displays the total number of general purpose and heavy maintenance facilities that are leased by the
public agency for the service provider.

•

Column f: Leased by Service Provider. This is an auto-calculated field and cannot be edited. This field displays the
total number of general purpose and heavy maintenance facilities that are leased by the service provider.

•

Column g: Total. This is an auto-calculated field and cannot be edited. This field displays total number of general
purpose and heavy maintenance facilities.

76 — Stations and Maintenance Facilities form (A-10)

2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
Revenue Vehicle Inventory form (A-30)

Revenue Vehicle Inventory form (A-30) — 77

2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
Overview
The A-30 form captures the characteristics of all vehicles in the revenue vehicle inventory at the end of the fiscal year.

Reporting Requirements and Thresholds
All transit agencies must complete this form. Complete one form for each mode and type of service (TOS).

What Has Changed from Prior Year
Grain additive (GR) has been eliminated as a fuel type and hydrogen (HY) has been added.

Approach
The reported data represents the inventory of all revenue vehicles (i.e., those used to transport passengers) used to provide
public transportation at the end of the fiscal year.
This inventory identifies the vehicles in total fleet. Include all revenue vehicles in the inventory:
•

Vehicles in operation, (i.e., providing revenue service);

•

Spare vehicles;

•

New vehicles purchased and delivered (but not yet put into revenue service);

•

Vehicles awaiting sale or disposal;

•

Vehicles out for long term repair;

•

Vehicles in storage; and

•

Vehicles in a Federal Transit Administration (FTA) approved emergency contingency plan.

The inventory includes only revenue vehicles at the fiscal year end (FYE). Vehicles in total fleet do not include vehicles that
were in use part of the year but were sold or deposed before FYE, and therefore, do not appear on the transit agency asset
ledger at the FYE.
The NTD requires the reporting of all revenues used to provide public transportation. The type of funding used to purchase
or lease a revenue vehicle is not a criterion for determining if the vehicle should be reported. All revenue vehicles are
reported, whether purchased with Federal, state, local or directly generated funds, or by a seller of purchased transportation
service.
The key considerations in the approach are:
•

Vehicles operating in multiple modes;

•

Purchased transportation vehicles;

•

Non-dedicated vehicles; and

•

Grouping Vehicles by Like Characteristics (Sub-Fleet).

Vehicles Operating in Multiple Modes
Report revenue vehicles used in more than one mode or type of service (TOS) in each mode by type of service (TOS). If this
is the case, use the Supports Another Mode drop-down menu to select the other mode. The vehicles reported as serving
more than one mode or type of service (TOS) should have all fields reported as identical on all applicable forms.

Purchased Transportation
For purchased transportation (PT) modes, the vehicle data cover only the revenue vehicles that the seller uses under the
purchased transportation agreement.

Non-Dedicated Vehicles
When the seller of PT service uses non-dedicated vehicles under the agreement (i.e., the vehicles are not used exclusively
for the services under contract), report data for a representative subset (or sample) of the vehicles. The subset should be
large enough to include the number of vehicles operated in annual maximum service (VOMS) and spare vehicles.

78 — Revenue Vehicle Inventory form (A-30)

2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
For example, a PT agreement is for 20 vehicles for annual maximum service and two spare vehicles. However, the seller
used 50 different vehicles at various times throughout the reporting year to satisfy the agreement. Report data for 22 (20 + 2)
vehicles that represent the type, age, and manufacturer of the vehicles predominantly used and that are still part of the
vehicle inventory at the FYE.
There are reduced reporting requirements for non-dedicated vehicles including demand response –taxi mode (DT/PT).
Taxicab operations are unique in NTD reporting. Typically vehicles are independently owned by the driver. Not all of the
vehicle characteristics apply, so the form will automatically classify vehicles for the DT/PT mode as non-dedicated. Also, it
would be unusual to have inactive vehicles (e.g., vehicles in storage or awaiting sale) or vehicles purchased with public
funding.
For DT and non-dedicated vehicles, report the following data:
•

Number of vehicles in total fleet;

•

Vehicle type code;

•

Ownership code;

•

Funding source;

•

Number of active vehicles in fleet;

•

Number of Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) accessible (lift-equipped and low floor, with ramp) vehicles
in fleet;

•

Fuel type code; and

•

Seating capacity.

Grouping Vehicles by Like Characteristics (Sub-Fleet)
Group all dedicated transit revenue vehicles in the transit agency’s total fleet at the end of the fiscal year, by mode and TOS,
if the following characteristics are identical:
•

Vehicle type;

•

Ownership;

•

Funding source;

•

Year of manufacture;

•

Year of rebuild;

•

Manufacturer;

•

Model number;

•

Fuel type;

•

Vehicle length;

•

Seating capacity; and

•

Standing capacity.

You report data for each group of vehicles on one row.

Detailed Instructions
Except for mileage data, Internet Reporting pre-fills the Revenue Vehicle Inventory form (A-30) from the prior year NTD.
Edit the pre-filled data as necessary and enter the required data for each group of vehicles. Use the Add Vehicle Fleet
button at the bottom of the form to enter data for a new group of vehicles. Use the Delete Vehicle Fleet check box at the
end of a row of pre-filled data to delete the row of data for a group of vehicles.

Number of Vehicles in Total Fleet
Report the number of vehicles in the total fleet at fiscal year end (FYE) for the group of vehicles. Total vehicles include both
active vehicles and inactive vehicles held at the end of the fiscal year. Vehicles are inactive if they are in storage, retained for
emergency contingencies, or awaiting sale. Vehicles sold during the RY should not be displayed on the A-30.
Revenue Vehicle Inventory form (A-30) — 79

2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
Active vehicles are the vehicles available to operate in revenue service. Active vehicles include spare vehicles and vehicles
temporarily out of service for routine maintenance and minor repairs.
Inactive vehicles are not readily available to be used in revenue service. They include vehicles that are:
•

In storage;

•

Emergency contingency;

•

Out of service for an extended period of time for major repairs; and

•

Awaiting sale or disposal.

Dedicated Fleet
Dedicated fleet is applicable only to PT services. Use the Dedicated Fleet drop-down menu to indicate that the fleet is
dedicated: “Yes”, i.e., the vehicles are used exclusively, for the service, otherwise, select “No”.

Vehicle Type
Select the vehicle type from the Vehicle Type drop-down menu.
Exhibit 18 — Vehicle Type menu selections
AB

Articulated bus

AO

Automobile

BR

Over-the-road bus

SB

School bus

BU

Bus

DB

Double decker bus

TS

Taxicab sedan

TV

Taxicab van

TW

Taxicab station wagon

VN

Van

Classify cutaway or body-on-chassis vehicles as buses (BU). A good rule of thumb is that if you can stand up and walk
around inside a vehicle, it is a bus and not a van.
Some transit systems operate motor buses that are designed externally to look like trolleybuses. However, these “replica
trolleybuses” are designed as motor buses and do not draw their electrical power from overhead lines but rather from an
engine under their own propulsion. If your agency operates replica trolleybuses, report these buses as MB mode.

Ownership
The ownership categories are based on how public or private entities
are involved in the ownership or leasing of revenue vehicles.

Exhibit 19 — Ownership menu selections

The three common ownership types are:

1

LPPA – Leased under lease purchase
agreement by a public agency

2

LPPE – Leased under lease purchase
agreement by a private entity

3

LRPA – Leased or borrowed from related
parties by a public agency

4

LRPE – Leased or borrowed from related
parties by a private entity

5

OOPA – Owned outright by public agency
(includes safe harbor leasing agreements
where only the tax title is sold)

6

OOPE – Owned outright by private entity
(includes safe harbor leasing agreements
where only the tax title is sold)

7

TLPA – True lease by a public agency

8

TLPE – True lease by a private entity

9

Other

•

•

•

Owned outright
o

by a Public agency (OOPA)

o

by a Private entity (OOPE).

True lease
o

by a Public agency (TLPA)

o

by a Private entity (TLPE).

Lease under a lease purchase agreement
o

by a Public agency (LPPA)

o

by a Private entity (LPPE).

There is one type not as commonly used: Leased or borrowed from
related parties by:
•

Public agency (LRPA); or

•

Private entity (LRPE).

80 — Revenue Vehicle Inventory form (A-30)

2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
Owned outright also includes safe harbor leasing agreements where only the tax title is sold.
Under a true lease, the public agency or private entity does not acquire the ownership of the vehicle. The ownership always
remains with the leasing company. Typically, at the end of the lease, the vehicle is returned to the leasing company and the
public agency or private entity enters into a new lease agreement, usually for a new vehicle.
However, some leases have the option where the vehicle can be bought at the end of the lease. If the vehicle is bought, then
the vehicle ownership becomes owned outright.
Under a lease purchase agreement the public agency or private entity acquires the capital appreciation of the vehicles with
each lease payment. When all payments are made, it owns the vehicles. When the lease is over, the vehicle becomes
owned outright.
Sometimes the vehicles are owned by another public entity and either leased to the transit agency or provided at no cost
under a leased or borrowed from related parties arrangement. This may be due to legal ownership restrictions whereby the
transit agency cannot own the title to the vehicles. It may be an economic consideration where one agency buys all the
vehicles and leases the vehicles back to the participating agencies. Since the vehicle is not owned by the reporting agency, it
is reported as leased.
From the Ownership drop-down menu, select the type of vehicle ownership. If you select other (OR) ownership, you must
describe the ownership using the Add Form Notes link.
Certain ownership codes and funding sources (listed below) often are linked. For example, a vehicle owned by a public
agency generally was purchased with some type of public funds.

Funding Source
The selection of funding source used to purchase or lease vehicles is
determined by answering the following questions in order until a
selection choice is made:
1.

Were public funds used? If no, then select choice 4 NFPE:
Non-Federal Private Entity. If yes, proceed to 2:

2.

Were federal funds used? If no, then select choice 3 NFPA:
Non-Federal Public Agency. If yes, proceed to 3:

3.

Exhibit 20 — Funding Source menu selections
1

UA – Urbanized Area Formula Program

2

OF – Other Federal funds

3

NFPA - Non-Federal public funds

4

NFPE - Non-Federal private funds

Were UAFP funds used? If no, then select choice 2 OF: Other Federal. If yes, then select choice 1 UA: Urbanized
Area.

Use the Funding Source drop-down menu to select the source of funding used to purchase or lease the vehicles.

Year of Manufacture
Report the year of manufacture for the vehicles. This is when the vehicles were originally built.
Exhibit 21 — Year of Manufacture versus Model Year
Example: A fleet of 20 buses were manufactured in 2008. The model year of the 20 buses was 2009 as they were first
manufactured in the late fall of 2008. What is the year of manufacture?
Solution: Report the year of manufacture as 2008 as this was the year that the vehicles were originally built.

Year of Rebuild
If applicable, report the year of rebuild for the vehicles. This is for work done to vehicles to extend their useful lives so that
they will operate longer at an acceptable level of reliability. For example, buses with a useful life of 12 years may be rebuilt to
extend their useful life to 17 years.
Under FTA grant rules (FTA Circular FTA C 9030.1D), the minimum extension of useful life for a rebuilding is four years for a
bus and 10 years for a rail vehicle.

Manufacturer
Report the end manufacturer of the vehicle. Cutaway vehicles have two manufacturers: the manufacturer of the chassis and
of the body. Report the manufacturer of the body. For example, if Arboc (ARB) is the manufacturer of the vehicle body with a
Ford E-450 chassis, the manufacturer is reported as ARB. If the vehicle has been modified but the body has not been rebuilt,
Revenue Vehicle Inventory form (A-30) — 81

2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
then report the manufacturer of the body. For example, if Braun installs a wheelchair lift in a Dodge Caravan, the
manufacturer would be Dodge (DTD) not Braun.
Exhibit 22 — Non-Rail Manufacturer Codes
AAI

Allen Ashley Inc.

EDN

ElDorado National (formerly El
Dorado/EBC/Nat. Coach/ NCC
Eagle Bus Manufacturing
Elkhart Coach (Division of Forest
River, Inc.)
Federal Coach

NEO

Neoplan - USA Corporation

ABI
ACF

EII
ELK

ACI

Advanced Bus Industries
American Car and Foundry
Company
American Coastal Industries

NFA
NOV

New Flyer of America
NOVA Bus Corporation

OBI
OCC

FLT
FLX
FRC
FRD
FRE
FSC
GCC
GCA
GEO

Flyer Industries Ltd (aka New
Flyer Industries)
Flxette Corporation
Flxible Corporation
Freightliner Corporation
Ford Motor Corporation
Freeport Shipbuilding, Inc.
Ferrostaal Corporation
Goshen Coach
General Coach America, Inc.
GEO Shipyard, Inc.

Orion Bus Industries Ltd. (formerly
Ontario Bus Industries)
Overland Custom Coach Inc.

AEG

AEG Transportation Systems

FIL

AII
ALL
ALX
AMD
AMG
AMT
ARB
ASK
ATC
AZD
BBB
BFC
BIA
BLN
BOM
BOY

American Ikarus Inc.
Allen Marine, Inc.
Alexander Dennis Limited
AMD Marine Consulting Pty Ltd
AM General Corporation
AmTran Corporation
Arboc Mobility LLC
AAI/Skoda
American Transportation
Corporation
Azure Dynamics Corporation
Blue Bird Corporation
Breda Transportation Inc.
Bus Industries of America
Blount Boats, Inc.
Bombardier Corporation
Boyertown Auto Body Works

GIL
GIR
GLF
GLH
GLV
GMC
GML

Gillig Corporation
Girardin Corporation
Gulf Craft, LLC
Gladding Hearn
Glaval Bus
General Motors Corporation
General Motors of Canada Ltd.

SPC
SPC
SPR
SSI
STE
STR
SUB

BRA
BRX

Braun
Breaux's Bay Craft, Inc.

GOM
HMC

SUL
SVM

Collins Bus Corporation (form.
Collins Industries Inc./COL)
Carpenter Industries LLC (form.
Carpenter Manufacturing Inc.)
Cable Car Concepts Inc.

HSC
INT

Gomaco
American Honda Motor Company,
Inc.
Hawker Siddeley Canada IKU Ikarus USA Inc.
International

CBC

IRB

CHA
CHR
CMC

Chance Bus Inc. (formerly Chance
Manufacturing Company/CHI)
Coach and Equipment
Manufacturing Company
Chance Manufacturing Company
New Chrysler
Champion Motor Coach Inc.

CMD
CVL
DAK

Chevrolet Motor Division - GMC
Canadian Vickers Ltd.
Dakota Creek Industries, Inc.

MDI
MER
MNA

DER
DIA

Derecktor
Diamond Coach Corporation
(formerly Coons Mfg. Inc./CMI)
Double K, Inc. (form. Hometown
Trolley)
Dina/Motor Coach Industries (MCI)

MOL
MTC

NAV

DUC

Dodge Division - Chrysler
Corporation
Dutcher Corporation

DUP
EBC
EBU

CBW
CCC
CCI
CEQ

DKK
DMC
DTD

FDC

TBB

Oshkosh Truck Corporation
Prevost Car Inc.
Plymouth Division-Chrysler Corp.
Pullman-Standard
Port Everglades Yacht & Ship
Rico Industries
SuperBus Inc.
Shepard Brothers Inc.
Sabre Bus and Coach Corp. (form.
Sabre Carriage Comp.)
Startrans (Supreme Corporation)
Supreme Corporation
Spartan Motors Inc.
Stewart Stevenson Services Inc.
Steiner Shipyards, Inc.
Starcraft
Subaru of America or Fuji Heavy
Industries Ltd.
Sullivan Bus & Coach Limited
Specialty Vehicle Manufacturing
Corporation
Thomas Built Buses

TEI

Trolley Enterprises Inc.

Renault & Iveco

TMC

KIA

Kia Motors

TOU

Transportation Manufacturing
Company
Tourstar

KKI

Krystal Koach Inc.

TOY

Toyota Motor Corporation

MAN
MBZ
MCI

American MAN Corporation
Mercedes Benz
Motor Coach Industries
International (DINA)
Mid Bus Inc.
Ford or individual makes
Mitsibushi Motors; Mitsubishi
Motors North America, Inc.
Molly Corporation
Metrotrans Corporation

TRN
TRT
TRY

Transcoach
Transteq
Trolley Enterprises

TTR
TTT
VAN

Terra Transit
Turtle Top
Van Hool N.V.

VOL
VTH

North American Bus Industries
Inc. (form. Ikarus USA Inc./IKU)
North American Transit Inc.

WCI

Volvo
VT Halter Marine, Inc. (includes
Equitable Shipyards, Inc.)
Wheeled Coach Industries Inc.

WOC

NBB

Navistar International Corporation
(also known as International/INT)
Nichols Brothers Boat Builders

Dupont Industries

NBC

National Mobility Corporation

WYC

ElDorado Bus (EBC Inc.)
Ebus, Inc.

NCC

National Coach Corporation

ZZZ

NAB
NAT

OTC
PCI
PLY
PST
PTE
RIC
SBI
SHI
SCC

WDS

WTI

Washburn & Doughty Associates,
Inc.
Wide One Corporation
World Trans Inc. (also Mobile-Tech
Corporation)
Wayne Corporation (form. Wayne
Manufacturing Company/WAY)
Other (Describe)

Select the manufacturer of the vehicle from the Manufacturer Codes drop-down menu, by using the manufacturer name of
the current corporation that manufactures the particular model. If the manufacturer is not listed, select ZZZ – Other
82 — Revenue Vehicle Inventory form (A-30)

2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
Manufacturers. When you select type ZZZ Other for manufacturer, the system will provide a description box for you to
describe the manufacturer.

Model

Exhibit 23 — Manufacturer versus Model

Report the model of the vehicle as used by the manufacturer.
Do not use any spaces, dashes, or other punctuation when you
enter the model.

Example: You have a fleet of El Dorado Aerotech cutaway
vehicles built on Ford F-350 chassis. What is reported as the
manufacturer and what is reported as the model?

You are not required to report vehicle model numbers for
automobiles and vans used in revenue service, such as those
used for demand response (DR) and vanpool (VP) services.

Number of Active Vehicles in Fleet
Report the number of active vehicles in fleet, which are
vehicles used in revenue service during the year and still active
at fiscal year end (FYE). These include spares and vehicles
that are in for scheduled preventive maintenance and minor
repairs. Active vehicles do not include emergency contingency
vehicles.
If vehicles reported were not active at the fiscal year end (FYE)
but remained in the fleet because they had not been disposed Solution: The manufacturer is reported as El Dorado (EDN)
of, report the number of active vehicles as zero. When while the model is reported as Aerotech.
reporting zero active vehicles for a fleet, the number of
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) accessible vehicles, the total miles on active vehicles during the period and
the average lifetime miles per active vehicle should also be reported as zero.

ADA Accessible Vehicles
Report active vehicles that meet Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) requirements for accessibility.

Number of Emergency Contingency Vehicles
Report the number of vehicles in an approved Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Emergency Contingency Plan as inactive
vehicles. These are vehicles that FTA normally requires your agency to dispose of when you replace them with vehicles
funded through FTA. However, FTA can permit your transit agency to keep the vehicles in an inactive fleet to be used in the
event of weather or other natural disasters that require more vehicles than are available in the active fleet. Your agency must
request FTA approval of its Emergency Contingency Plan for keeping replaced vehicles in an inactive fleet.

Fuel Type
Report the type of fuel used to move the revenue vehicles in revenue service. Use the Fuel Type drop-down menu to select
the type of fuel used for propulsion of the vehicles.
If a vehicle uses more than one type of fuel or a mixture of fuels, report the fuel type as dual fuel (DU) and click the Add
Form Notes link to describe the types of fuel. Report the fuel type as dual fuel only if all fuels are from sources external to
the vehicle.
There are special reporting rules for hybrid vehicles — vehicles that use two or more sources of power:
•

Internally generated electric power
o

•

Report only the primary fuel source, such as gasoline (HG) or diesel (HD) that is used to propel the
vehicle.

Externally-charged electric batteries
o

Report the vehicle as a dual fuel (DU) if the “hybrid” vehicle uses batteries charged externally

o

Click the Add Form Notes link to describe the types of fuel used which would include electric batteries
charged externally.

o

Then report each of these external fuel sources on the Energy Consumption form (R-30), for example,
kilowatt hours to charge batteries and gallons of diesel.

Revenue Vehicle Inventory form (A-30) — 83

2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
Vehicle Length
Report the total length of the vehicles in feet.
Exhibit 24 — Fuel Type menu selections

Seating Capacity

BD

Bio-diesel

Report the seating capacity of the vehicle. This is the actual number
of seats on-board the vehicle and generally is cited in the
specification used in manufacturing the vehicle.

BF

Bunker fuel (low grade of diesel fuel often
used in ferryboat operations)

CN

Compressed natural gas (CNG)

Standing Capacity

DF

Diesel fuel

Report the standing capacity of the vehicle. This is the number of
standees allowed by transit agency policy. If local policy prohibits
standing, report zero. If there is no local policy on the maximum
number of standees, report the manufacturer’s rated standing
capacity.

DU

Dual fuel

EB

Electric battery

EP

Electric propulsion

ET

Ethanol

Total Miles on Active Vehicles and Average Lifetime
Mileage per Active Vehicle

GA

Gasoline

HD

Hybrid diesel

Two statistics are reported:

HG

Hybrid gasoline

•

Total miles on active vehicles during period; and

HY

Hydrogen

•

Average lifetime mileage per active vehicle.

KE

Kerosene

LN

Liquefied natural gas (LNG)

LP

Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)

MT

Methanol

Total Miles on Active Vehicles during Period
Report the total miles accumulated by revenue vehicles in the active
fleet during the fiscal year.

Total miles on active vehicles during the period are only for mileage operated by the active vehicles during the current fiscal
year that are in the revenue fleet at fiscal year end (FYE). The total miles operated include:
•

The actual vehicle miles reported on the Service form (S-10); and

•

The other miles operated during the reporting period such as mileage accumulated in operator training when the
vehicle is not in revenue service, and mileage accumulated moving vehicles between and within maintenance
facilities/garages.

Calculate the total miles by subtracting the odometer/hubodometer readings from the beginning of the fiscal year from those
at the end of the fiscal year.

Average Lifetime Mileage per Active Vehicle
Report the average mileage on the vehicles at the end of the fiscal year.
This value is the average mileage, since the date of manufacture, on active vehicles that are in the active fleet at FYE.
Calculate the average lifetime mileage per active vehicle by dividing the cumulative mileage on the active vehicles at the end
of the fiscal year by the number of active vehicles at the end of the fiscal year.
For rebuilt vehicles, average lifetime mileage does not re-start at the year of rebuild. Average lifetime mileage
always begins with the original date of manufacture.
Calculate cumulative mileage by summing the odometer/hubometer readings, from the date of manufacture through FYE, for
all active vehicles.

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Exhibit 25 — Reporting Total Mileage During Period and Average Lifetime Mileage per Active Vehicle
Example of Working Odometers/Hubometers: A transit agency operates MB service with a fleet of 8 vehicles. The
odometer/hubometer readings for each vehicle and the vehicle status at 2013 FYE are shown below. All buses have the same
vehicle type, fuel type, ownership code, funding source, year of manufacture, manufacturer code, model number and capacity
(seating and standing). How does the transit agency report on the A-30?
Vehicle
Number
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

Odometer Reading at 2012
Fiscal Year End (FYE)
35,005
47,410
20,115
140,020
38,732
150,043
40,555
30,080

Odometer Reading at 2013
Fiscal Year End (FYE)
72,188
98,442
25,776
190,290
68,333
155,747
79,676
60,045

Mileage During
2013 Fiscal Year
37,183
51,032
5,661
50,270
29,601
5,704
39,121
29,965

Status at 2013 Fiscal Year
End (FYE)
In revenue operation
In revenue operation
Performing major overhaul
In revenue operation
Performing major overhaul
Emergency contingency vehicle
In revenue operation
Spare used in revenue
operation

Solution: Determine active vehicles at 2013 FYE:
1.

Vehicles 1, 2, 4, 7 and 8 are active vehicles at FYE (includes vehicles currently in revenue operation and temporarily out
of service for routine preventive maintenance). Vehicles 3, 5 and 6 are not part of the active fleet.

2.

Calculate and report average lifetime mileage per active vehicle and total mileage on active vehicles during the period:

Average lifetime mileage per active vehicle (column s): (72,188 + 98,442 + 190,290 + 79,676 + 60,045)/5 vehicles = 100,042
miles
Total mileage on active vehicles during period (column r): (37,183 + 51,032 + 50,270 + 39,121 + 29,965) = 207,571 miles

Exhibit 26 — Reporting Total Mileage During Period and Average Lifetime Mileage per Active Vehicle
Example: Suppose you know average lifetime miles for a fleet and wish to calculate total miles during the period.
Year
2013
2012

Active Vehicles
5
5

Total Miles during the
Period
?
55,555

Average Lifetime Mileage
135,791
123,456

The calculation can be somewhat confusing because miles during the period are a sum: the miles for all 5 vehicles added
together, whereas the lifetime mileage is an average over the 5 vehicles.
On average, 135,791 - 123,456 = 12,335 miles were traveled per vehicle.
Since there are 5 vehicles, 12,335 x 5 = 61,675 total miles were traveled during the period.

Supports Another Mode
Use the Supports Another Mode drop-down menu to indicate that all of the active vehicles are used to provide service on
another mode of service. . Report this only for vehicles that are used to provide service on both modes. Select only one
mode.
If only some of the active vehicles are used for other modes, report the grouped characteristics on two lines (rows). For
example, one grouping of vehicles has twenty vehicles with the same characteristics, except five of the vehicles are used for
both MB and DR mode. Report the vehicles on two lines — one with fifteen vehicles and the other with five vehicles.
You must report a fleet group shared between modes on both A-30 forms for each mode for which it is used. All fields, for
shared vehicles, must be identical on the A-30 forms for each applicable mode.
If you use your buses to provide a bus bridge between rail stations during breakdowns or constructions, these buses are not
reported as supporting the rail mode. Report the service as bus service and report the buses only on the A-30 form for bus.

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Delete Vehicle Fleet
Click on the Delete Vehicle Fleet check box to remove a line (or row) of information. You generally remove this information
for vehicles that were preloaded in Internet Reporting from the prior report year, but are no longer in the revenue vehicle
inventory in the current report year.

Line by Line Instructions for Revenue Vehicle Inventory form (A-30)
Complete one form for each mode and type of service (TOS).
Form Level Help: Click on the Help tab at the top of the screen for form level help.
Form Notes: A form note can be attached to any form. Use the Add Form Note link for relevant information to a specific
field, to the entire form or to multiple forms. Click on the Add Form Note link at the top of the screen and enter your note on
the Notes screen. You can review and/or edit a form note from the Notes tab. Do not use the Form Notes feature to answer
issues generated from this form. From the Issues tab use the Add Comments link next to the specific issue.
Saving or Closing the Form: Click on the Save button at the bottom of the screen to save the form. Click on the Close
button at the bottom of the screen to close the form without saving.

Vehicle Fleet Data
Each line represents one vehicle fleet. Group vehicles by vehicle type, ownership, funding source, year of manufacture, year
of rebuild, manufacturer, model number, fuel type, vehicle length, seating capacity and standing capacity. Edit pre-filled
information or enter data using the Add Vehicle Fleet button.
Column a: Number of Vehicles in Total Fleet. This field is pre-filled, unless Add Vehicle Fleet is selected. Review for
accuracy, edit as necessary.
•

Enter the number of revenue vehicles in the total fleet on the transit agency’s property at fiscal year end (FYE).
Include vehicles in storage, emergency contingency vehicles and vehicles awaiting sale.

Column b: Dedicated Fleet. This field is pre-filled, unless Add Vehicle Fleet is selected. Review for accuracy, edit as
necessary.
•

Use the drop-down menu to indicate that the fleet is dedicated, (i.e., used exclusively), for the service. This is
applicable only to purchased transportation (PT) services.

Column c: Vehicle Type. This field is pre-filled, unless Add Vehicle Fleet is selected. Review for accuracy, edit as
necessary.
•

Select only one item for vehicle type from the drop-down menu.

Column d: Ownership. This field is pre-filled, unless Add Vehicle Fleet is selected. Review for accuracy, edit as necessary.
•

Complete the information based on whether the revenue vehicle is owned outright (i.e., the vehicle is an asset) or
whether the vehicle is under a lease at the end of the fiscal year. Select only one item for ownership from the dropdown menu.

Column e: Funding Source. This field is pre-filled, unless Add Vehicle Fleet is selected. Review for accuracy, edit as
necessary. Select only one item for funding source from the drop-down menu.
•

If vehicles were purchased using funds from the Urbanized Area Formula Program (UAF) as well as funds from
other Federal programs and non-Federal sources, report the funding source as Urbanized Area Formula Program
funds (UA).

•

If vehicles were purchased using non-Federal funds from both other public and private sources, report the funding
source as non-Federal public agency funds.

•

If vehicles were not purchased using any funds from Federal and non-Federal public sources, report the funding
source as non-Federal private entity funds.

Column f: Year of Manufacture. This field is pre-filled, unless Add Vehicle Fleet is selected. Review for accuracy, edit as
necessary.
•

Enter the original year of manufacture of the vehicle.

•

Not required for non-dedicated vehicles. Non-dedicated applies only to PT TOS.

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Column g: Year of Rebuild. This field is pre-filled, unless Add Vehicle Fleet is selected. Review for accuracy, edit as
necessary.
•

Enter the year of rebuild for the vehicles, if applicable. This is for work done to vehicles to operate longer at an
acceptable level of reliability.

•

Not required for non-dedicated vehicles. Non-dedicated applies only to purchased transportation PT TOS.

Column h: Manufacturer. This field is pre-filled, unless Add Vehicle Fleet is selected. Review for accuracy, edit as
necessary. Select only one item for the original manufacturer of the vehicle from the drop-down menu.
•

See detailed list included with Manufacturer discussion. Select ZZZ-Other Manufacturers for a manufacturer not
listed in the menu. Enter the description of the manufacturer in the field that appears after selecting ZZZ.

•

Not required for non-dedicated vehicles. Non-dedicated applies only to purchased transportation PT TOS.

•

Manufacturer should be listed as the final builder of the vehicle.

Column i: Model. This field is pre-filled, unless Add Vehicle Fleet is selected. Review for accuracy, edit as necessary.
•

Enter the model number of the vehicle as used by the manufacturer.

•

Do not use any spaces, dashes, or other punctuation in the identification of the model number.

•

It is possible for the model to be a textual name. For example, “SpiritofMobility” would be an acceptable model for a
bus.

•

Not required for non-dedicated vehicles. Non-dedicated applies only to PT TOS.

•

For heavy rail cars, use the most recent edition of Roster of North American Rapid Transit Cars.

•

You are not required to report vehicle model numbers for automobiles and vans used in revenue service, such as
those used for DR and VP services.

Column j: Number of Active Vehicles in Fleet. This field is pre-filled, unless Add Vehicle Fleet is selected. Review for
accuracy, edit as necessary.
•

Enter the number of active vehicles available for revenue service, including spares and vehicles in for scheduled
preventive maintenance and minor repairs. Do not include emergency contingency vehicles.

Column k: Number of ADA Accessible Vehicles. This field is pre-filled, unless Add Vehicle Fleet is selected. Review for
accuracy, edit as necessary.
•

Of the active vehicles, enter the number that are accessible using wheelchair lifts, or using ramps or having low
floors and meet Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) accessibility requirements. Low floor buses are a
type of ramp-equipped vehicle. Low floor buses do not have stairs inside the front or rear doors. They are equipped
usually with a front door accessible ramp and a kneeling feature that permits easier access for persons with mobility
aids or who have difficulty climbing steps or who may use a wheelchair.

Column m: Number of Emergency Contingency Vehicles. This field is pre-filled, unless Add Vehicle Fleet is selected.
Review for accuracy, edit as necessary.
•

Enter the number of inactive vehicles stored and maintained under an FTA approved emergency contingency plan.

•

Not required for non-dedicated vehicles. Non-dedicated applies only to PT TOS.

Column n: Fuel Type. This field is pre-filled, unless Add Vehicle Fleet is selected. Review for accuracy, edit as necessary.
Select only one item for the fuel used to propel revenue vehicles from the drop-down menu.
•

If a vehicle uses more than one type of fuel or a mixture of fuels, select dual fuel (DU). For dual fuel type, all fuels
are from sources external to the vehicle.

•

For hybrid vehicles report only the primary fuel source, such as gasoline or diesel that is used to produce electrical
power to help propel the vehicle. If the “hybrid” vehicle uses batteries charged externally, then report the vehicle as
a dual fuel for fuel type.

•

Using the Add Form Notes link, describe other type of fuel.

Column o: Vehicle Length. This field is pre-filled, unless Add Vehicle Fleet is selected. Review for accuracy, edit as
necessary.
•

Enter the length of the vehicle in feet to the nearest whole foot.

•

Not required for non-dedicated vehicles. Non-dedicated applies only to purchased transportation PT TOS.
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2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
Column p: Seating Capacity. This field is pre-filled, unless Add Vehicle Fleet is selected. Review for accuracy, edit as
necessary.
•

Enter the number of seats on the vehicle.

Column q: Standing Capacity. This field is pre-filled, unless Add Vehicle Fleet is selected. Review for accuracy, edit as
necessary.
•

Enter the number of standing passengers that can be accommodated aboard the vehicle during a normal full load
(non-crush) in accordance with established loading policy, or, in the absence of a policy, the manufacturer’s rated
standing capacity figure. If local policy prohibits standees, enter zero.

•

Not required for non-dedicated vehicles. Non-dedicated applies only to PT TOS.

Column r: Total Miles on Active Vehicles During the Period.
•

Enter the total number of miles that active vehicles have accumulated during the report year. Include only vehicles
that are active at the end of the fiscal year.

•

Not required for non-dedicated vehicles. Non-dedicated applies only to PT TOS.

Column s: Average Lifetime Miles per Active Vehicle. This field is pre-filled, unless Add Vehicle Fleet is selected. Review
for accuracy, edit as necessary.
•

Enter the average lifetime mileage per active vehicle. This is the average mileage since the date of manufacture, on
active vehicles that are in the revenue fleet at fiscal year end (FYE).

•

Not required for non-dedicated vehicles. Non-dedicated applies only to PT TOS.

•

For rebuilt vehicles, average lifetime mileage does not re-start at the year of rebuild. Average lifetime mileage
always begins with the original date of manufacture.

Column t: Supports Another Mode. This field is pre-filled, unless Add Vehicle Fleet is selected. Review for accuracy, edit
as necessary.
•

Use the drop-down menu to indicate that all of the active vehicles are used to support another mode of service.
Select a mode from the menu. A fleet group shared between modes must be indicated on both Revenue Vehicle
Inventory forms (A-30) for each mode for which it is used.

Column u: Delete Vehicle Fleet. Click on the Delete Vehicle Fleet check-box to remove a line of information.

Totals
Column a: Number of Vehicles in Total Fleet. This is an auto-calculated field and cannot be edited. This field displays the
total number of revenue vehicles in the fleet.
Column j: Number of Active Vehicles in Fleet. This is an auto-calculated field and cannot be edited. This field displays the
total number of active revenue vehicles in fleet.
Column k: Number of ADA Accessible Vehicles with Lifts. This is an auto-calculated field and cannot be edited. This field
displays the total number of active revenue vehicles that are lift-equipped or are low floor/ramp-equipped and meet
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) accessibility requirements.
Column m: Number of Emergency Contingency Vehicles. This is an auto-calculated field and cannot be edited. This field
displays the total number of inactive vehicles stored and maintained under an FTA Emergency Contingency Plan.
Column r: Total Miles on Active Vehicles During the Period. This is an auto-calculated field and cannot be edited. This field
displays the total number of miles that active vehicles have accumulated during the report year.

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Federal Funding Allocation Statistics Module
The Federal Funding Allocation Statistics Module contains one form, the Federal Funding Allocation Statistics form (FFA-10).

Federal Funding Allocation Statistics form (FFA-10)
The purpose of the FFA-10 form is to summarize data used in apportioning funds for the Federal Transit Administration’s
(FTA) Urbanized Area Formula Program (§5307), including the Small Transit Intensive Cities program, Bus and Bus
Facilities Program (§5339), and Rural Formula Program (§5311).
This form is required from transit agencies in or serving urbanized areas (UZAs) using 2010 U.S. Bureau of the Census
information. Census UZA definitions and UZA boundary maps are now available on the NTD webpage.
Transit agencies complete separate forms for directly operated (DO) and for purchased transportation (PT) services by
mode. When completed, the FFA-10 automatically populates data from other areas of the report. For this reason, you must
check the FFA-10 for any changes before submitting if service data has changed in other areas of the report.

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Overview
The FTA uses the statistics from the Federal Funding Allocation Statistics form (FFA-10) to allocate funds for three
programs:
•

Urbanized Area Formula Program (§5307), including Small Transit Intensive Cities (STIC);

•

Bus and Bus Facilities (§5339); and

•

Rural Formula Program (§5311).

Urbanized Area Formula Program
The FTA UAF (§5307 of the Federal Transit Act) is a formula program for capital projects, planning activities, and under
limited circumstances, operating expenses.
The UAFP apportionment for all urbanized areas uses population, population density, and vehicle revenue mile data from the
NTD.

STIC (Small Transit Intensive City) Funding
For urbanized areas with fewer than 200,000 population, the UAFP apportionment uses population and population density,
as well as factors under the Small Transit Intensive Cities (STIC) formula. The STIC formula apportions funds to urbanized
areas with fewer than 200,000 population that meet or exceed the average level of service for all UZAs with populations
between 200,000 and 1,000,000 based certain factors. Those factors applicable to Small Systems Waiver reporters are:
•

Vehicle revenue miles per capita;

•

Vehicle revenue hours per capita; and

•

Passenger miles traveled per capita.

Transit agencies report these data items on the FFA-10 form.

Bus and Bus Facilities (§5339)
Under MAP-21, the formerly discretionary bus and bus facilities program is now a smaller formula grant program, precluding
both congressional earmarks and discretionary grant-making by the Administration. Grants may be used to finance capital
projects to replace, rehabilitate, and purchase buses and related equipment and to construct bus-related facilities, in
accordance with the grant requirements in section 5307.

Rural Formula Program (§5311)
The rural formula program, previously known as “Non-urbanized” formula grants, provides funding to states for public
transportation in rural areas, with most funding apportioned based on land area and population in rural areas. However, a
service factor is added to the apportionment formula and as a result, a portion of the funds will be apportioned based on land
area, revenue-vehicle miles, and low-income individuals in rural areas. The low-income population factor is included in a
similar manner as with the §5307 urbanized area formula grants, in order to account for the expanded eligibility for JARC-like
projects.
Urban reporters to NTD can receive 5311 funding if they operate in non-urbanized areas. Any data allocated to non-UZA on
the FFA-10 form is incorporated into the 5311 apportionment.

Reporting Requirements and Thresholds
All transit agencies must complete this form. Complete one form for each mode and type of service (TOS).

What Has Changed from Prior Year
For MB, CB, and RB, the new High Intensity Bus tier has been added.

Approach
There are three items that determine how to complete the FFA-10 form:
•

Mode of service; and

•

Census UZAs and non-UZA served by transit.

90 — Federal Funding Allocation Statistics form (FFA-10)

2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
Mode of Service
The FFA-10 form uses data reported on other NTD forms to develop the statistics used in the apportionment of 5307, 5311,
and 5339 funding.
Internet reporting automatically transfers the eligible annual total data from other forms. Therefore, you must complete the
source forms before completing this form.
If you change data on the source forms, you must edit any data you entered on the FFA-10 form — there
are no automatic re-calculations of UZA and non-UZA area statistics. Please recheck these forms whenever
changes are made.
The exhibit below lists the source forms and data items.
Exhibit 27 — Federal Funding Allocation Statistics Form Corresponding Data
Data Item

Source Forms

UZA number, non-UZA

B-10 Item 5

VRM

W-30 line 10, column a

VRH

W-30 line 10, column b

UPT

W-30 line 10, column c

OE

W-30 line 01, column e

Census UZAs and Non-UZAs Served by Transit
Transit agencies determine their service areas based on access to transit (see Basic Information form (B-10). As a result, the
geographic service area is not usually consistent with either political or Census-designated boundaries. To complete the
FFA-10, you must follow the new rules governing allocation of transit service that connects one or more UZAs or Non-UZAs
with one or more UZAs.
See detailed description of new rules under Detailed Instructions.

Detailed Instructions
There are two situations that can occur and dictate how your transit agency completes the FFA-10 form:
•

You serve only one UZA.

•

You also serve a non-UZA or more than one UZA. You may have to report its annual statistics among areas since
the apportionments are made by UZA.

Urbanized Area Number
UZA numbers are transferred automatically from the Identification form (B-10).
The following rules apply:
•

If you serve only one UZA, check the box under the UZA number, select an allocation method on line 02, save and
exit the form. Internet reporting automatically completes the statistics for the UZA.

•

If you serve multiple UZAs and non-UZAs, select a UZA and non-UZA reporting method for reporting the statistics
used in the funding allocations.

For this form, the number of UZAs and non-UZAs served may be fewer than those reported for the service area on the B-10
form under item 5, demographic information. The demographic information is reported based on physical location of
services, which, for apportionment purposes, may be different from the UZAs and non-UZAs served. Also, the UZAs and
non-UZAs reported for the service area on the B-10 form show the service areas served by all modes and TOS operated
which may be greater than the areas served by a specific mode and TOS.

Urbanized Area and Other than Urbanized Area Reporting Method
You must follow the reporting rules when you provide transit service in multiple UZAs or UZAs and non-UZAs (see Reporting
Rules below). There are three methods permitted for reporting statistics among UZAs and non-UZAs.
•

Actual Data is a direct measurement (or recording) of each data point by UZA.
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2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
•

VRM (passenger car revenue miles for rail modes) is a direct measurement of the actual vehicle revenue miles and
is used as the factor to allocate VRH (passenger car revenue hours for rail modes), UPT and OE among the areas.

•

Other methodology. Use the e-file tab to describe the other methodology and show your calculations.

If your service is not entirely contained within one UZA, select the reporting method you will be using for allocating your data
across UZAs and non-UZAs in your service area. If you can report actual data for each UZA and any non-UZAs in your
service area, select Actual Data from the UZA and Non-UZA Reporting Method drop-down menu.
If you use the VRM method, report your total actual VRM to each of the selected areas. Internet reporting will then allocate
the rest of your service data based on the proportions of your VRM in each area. If you use another method, select Other
methodology. Attach in the e-file tab a description of the methodology. Include the calculations for the data statistics you
report for each UZA and non-UZA.
If you used the actual data or other method of reporting, i.e., you directly entered actual data make sure that the
annual total column equals the data statistics automatically transferred from other forms—actual vehicle revenue
miles, actual vehicle revenue hours, unlinked passenger trips, and operating expenses.

Reporting Rules for More than One Urbanized Area and Other than Urbanized Areas
Areas are classified by the U.S. Census designations of:
•

UZA with 200,000 or more population (large UZA);

•

UZA with fewer than 200,000 population (small UZA); and

•

Non-UZA (i.e., fewer than 50,000 population).

Under the revised rules, the transit agency determines which UZA or non-UZA is served. The transit agency may then:
•

Allocate all the data statistics to the UZAs or non-UZAs primarily served; or

•

Allocate the data statistics proportionally to the UZAs and non-UZAs served using a reasonable and consistent
methodology.

This rule applies to transit service that connects:
•

Two or more large UZAs

•

Two or more small UZAs

•

Any combination of small and large UZAs, as long as they do not benefit from both FTA Section 5307 and 5311
operating assistance

•

One or more large or small UZAs to non-UZAs, as long as no FTA Section 5311 funds benefit the service.

There are two exceptions to the primarily served criterion, each involving FTA Section 5311 funds (operating or capital) and
benefiting the service:
•

You must report entirely to non-UZAs (UZA 0) any transit service that benefits from grants provided by FTA’s
Section 5311. If you are receiving FTA Section 5311 funding for rural service you must be allocating some service
to the non-UZA (UZA 0) since service in that area is not within a UZA boundary.

•

You must allocate service that connects non-UZAs and UZAs (large or small) if the service benefits from both FTA
Sections 5307 and 5311 operating assistance. You must use
the UZA proportion of operating expenses funded by FTA
Exhibit 28 — Funding Source menu selections
Section 5307 program (including local matching funds), to
allocate the statistics to the UZAs.
a.
Actual Vehicle Revenue Miles (VRM)
b.
Actual Data
For either of these two exceptions, select Other
methodology from the UZA and Non-UZA Reporting
c.
Other Methodology
Method menu. Attach in the e-file tab a description of the
methodology. Include the calculations for the data statistics you report for each UZA and non-UZA.

The areas where a vehicle trip starts and ends, and the size of the area help determine service location under the serve rule
requirements. The following exhibits demonstrate these rules and their application.

92 — Federal Funding Allocation Statistics form (FFA-10)

2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual

Exhibit 29 — Reporting Exclusively Urban or Exclusively Rural Trips
Scenario 1: Both ends of a vehicle trip are contained entirely within an area, either UZA A (any size) or the non-UZA.

Solution 1: All statistics for the formula allocations are reported in UZA A, or the non-UZA, where the service is located.

Exhibit 30 — Reporting Trips Between Two UZAs
Scenario 2: One end of the vehicle trip is in a small UZA B with fewer than 200,000 populations and the other trip end is in a
large UZA A with 200,000 or more population.

Solution 2:
•
FTA Sections 5307 or 5311 Operating Assistance funds for the service.
The transit agency determines whether UZA A or UZA B is primarily served. You may report all statistics for the formula
allocations in the UZA primarily served or allocate statistics between the two UZAs or among the two UZAs and the
non-UZA.
•
No FTA Sections 5307 and 5311 Operating Assistance funds for the service.
The transit agency must allocate statistics to the UZAs based on the proportion of FTA Section 5307 operating
assistance. For example, if FTA Section 5307 operating assistance for UZA B funded 35% of the operating expenses
for the service, then allocate at least 35% of all statistics to UZA B.

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2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual

Exhibit 31 — Reporting Trips Between a UZA and a Non-UZA
Scenario 3: One end of the vehicle trip is in a non-UZA and the other trip end is in UZA A (any size). The transit agency uses
FTA Section 5311 funds for the service.

Solution 3: You must report all statistics in the non-UZA.

Exhibit 32 — Reporting Trips Between two Large UZAs
Scenario 4: One vehicle trip end is in UZA A and the other trip end is in UZA B, both with 200,000 or more population, and
passing through a non-UZA.

Solution 4: The transit agency determines whether UZA A or UZA B is primarily served. You may report all statistics for the
formula allocations in the UZA primarily served or allocate statistics between the two UZAs. The statistics for the non-UZA can be
reported in either UZA A or UZA B or divided between the two UZAs.
Generally, UZAs with 200,000 or more population are not eligible for operating assistance under FTA Section 5307. If the transit
service uses operating assistance, then you must allocate statistics as described in Scenario 2.You must report all statistics in
the non-UZA.

94 — Federal Funding Allocation Statistics form (FFA-10)

2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual

Exhibit 33 — Reporting Trips Between two Small UZAs
Scenario 5: One vehicle trip end is in UZA A and the other trip end is in UZA B, both with fewer than 200,000 population, and
passing through a non-UZA.

Solution 5:
•
No FTA Section 5307 or 5311 Operating Assistance funds for the service.
The transit agency determines whether UZA A or UZA B is primarily served. You may report all statistics for the formula
allocations in the UZA primarily served or allocate statistics between the two UZAs.
•

FTA Operating Assistance funds in UZA A and UZA B and no FTA Section 5311 for the service.
The transit agency must allocate statistics to the UZAs based on the proportion of operating assistance. For example, if
FTA Section 5307 operating assistance for UZA A funded 35% and for UZA B 40% of the operating expenses for the
service, then allocate at least 35% of all statistics to UZA A and 40% to UZA B. The statistics for the non-UZA can be
reported in either UZA A or UZA B or divided between the two UZAs.

Line by Line Instructions for Federal Funding Allocation Statistics form (FFA-10)
This form is for all transit agencies that serve a UZA as designated by the U. S. Bureau of the Census.
Complete one form for each directly operated (DO) mode and for each purchased transportation (PT) mode.
Complete the W-30 Small Systems Waiver form prior to completing the FFA-10 form. In addition, if you change data on the
source forms, you must edit any data you entered on the FFA-10 form — there are no automatic re-calculations of UZA and
non-UZA area statistics.
Form Level Help: Click on the Help tab at the top of the screen for form level help.
Form Note: A form note can be attached to any form. Use the Add Form Note link for relevant information to a specific field,
to the entire form or to multiple forms. Click on the Add Form Note link at the top of the screen and enter your note on the
Notes screen. You can review and / or edit a form note from the Notes tab. Do not use the Form Notes feature to answer
issues generated from this form. From the Issues tab use the Add Comments link next to the specific issue.
Saving or Closing the Form: Click on the Save button prior to exiting the form and continuing with the report. Click on the
Close button at the bottom of the screen to close the form without saving.
Line 01, columns b - y: UZA Number. This field is pre-filled with data from the Identification form (B-10) and cannot be
edited. This field contains the UZA and non-UZA numbers for your service area. For apportionment purposes, if your transit
agency serves multiple UZAs or non-UZAs you may not have statistics reported in all the UZAs or non-UZAs based on the
serve rules for allocation of the formula data statistics.
Line 02: UZA Reporting Method. From the drop-down menu, select the methodology used for reporting vehicle revenue
hours (VRH), passenger miles traveled (PMT), unlinked passenger trips (UPT) and operating expenses (OE) between UZAs.
If the service is operated in more than one UZA, enter the statistics for each UZA.
•

Check the check-box(es) for each UZA and non-UZA to which the methodology should be applied.

Federal Funding Allocation Statistics form (FFA-10) — 95

2013 Small Systems Waiver Reporting Manual
Annual Total
Line 04: Total VRH
•

Column a: Data from Other Forms. This field is pre-filled with data from the W-30 and cannot be edited. This field
displays the total actual vehicle revenue hours for your entire service area.

•

Columns b – y: By UZA. Enter vehicle revenue hours for each UZA. Column z: Annual Total. This is an autocalculated field and cannot be edited. This field displays the sum of vehicle revenue hours from the UZA and nonUZA columns. Annual total data must equal data from other forms, column a.

Line 06: Total UPT
•

Column a: Data from Other Forms. This field is pre-filled with data from the W-30 form and cannot be edited. This
field displays the total unlinked passenger trips for your entire service area.

•

Columns b – y: By UZA. Enter unlinked passenger trips for each UZA.

•

Column z: Annual Total. This is an auto-calculated field and cannot be edited. This field displays the sum of
unlinked passenger trips from the UZA and non-UZA columns. Annual total data must equal data from other forms,
column a.

Line 13: VRM
•

Column a: Data from Other Forms. This field is pre-filled with data from the W-30 form and cannot be edited. This
field displays the total annual VRM for your entire service area.

•

Columns b – y: By UZA. Enter actual vehicle revenue miles for each UZA. Not applicable to fixed guideway modes
or bus, bus rapid transit and commuter bus modes with reporting of statistics in fixed and non-fixed guideway
operations. For bus, bus rapid transit and commuter bus modes with reporting of statistics in non-fixed guideway
operations, this field will be automatically calculated as line 03 minus line 10.

•

Column z: Annual Total. This is an auto-calculated field and cannot be edited. This field displays the sum of actual
vehicle revenue miles from the UZA and non-UZA columns. Annual total data must equal data from other forms
(column a) for non-fixed guideway modes. If you have reported bus, rapid transit or commuter bus statistics in both
fixed and non-fixed guideway operations, totals only appear for data from other forms across fixed and non-fixed
guideway operations on line 03.

Line 15: OE
•

Column a: Data from Other Forms. This field is pre-filled with data from the W-30 form and cannot be edited.

•

Columns b – y: By UZA. Enter operating expenses for each UZA. If a UZA uses the actual vehicle revenue miles or
operating assistance reporting methodology, this field will be automatically calculated.

•

Column z: Annual Total. This is an auto-calculated field and cannot be edited. This field displays the sum of
operating expenses from the UZA and non-UZA columns. Annual total data must equal data from other forms
(column a) for non-fixed guideway modes.

96 — Federal Funding Allocation Statistics form (FFA-10)

2013 Urban Reporting Manual
Declarations Module
This module contains one declaration:
•

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Certification.

Declarations
The National Transit Database (NTD) program was created to provide a comprehensive public transit database. To meet a
high standard of data quality, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) requires each transit agency to complete declarations
stating the validity of the data being reported.

Reporting Requirements and Thresholds
All required declarations must be completed with the original NTD report submission. A transit agency must file a complete
NTD Annual Report by the report due date. You should refer to the NTD Annual Reporting Timelines exhibit under When to
Report in the Introduction section to determine dates.
Requirements for submission of the declarations are as follows:
•

The CEO Certification form (D-10) is submitted with the other NTD reporting forms.

For further information, you should refer to e-File: Sending Declarations, Waivers, and General Correspondence to NTD and
Viewing Report Submission Stages in the Internet Reporting section of this manual.
The exhibit below is a summary of required declarations describing who must make the declaration and follow-up actions.
Exhibit 34 — Annual Declaration Requirements
Declaration

Performed by

Reporter Actions Required

Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Certification

Chief Executive
Officer

Annual requirement – D-10 form

What Has Changed from Prior Year
There are no changes to the Declarations for the 2013 report year.

Declarations Module — 97

2013 Urban Reporting Manual
Chief Executive Officer Certification (D-10) form

98 — Chief Executive Officer Certification (D-10) form

2013 Urban Reporting Manual
Overview
Each transit agency is required to submit a CEO Certification with its NTD Annual Report. The certification is an NTD form,
approved by the transit agency's CEO that endorses and attests to the accuracy of the data submitted in the NTD Annual
Report. A CEO Certification is not required of transit agencies with a full reporting waiver for the report year.
The D-10 should identify the title of the CEO and be electronically approved. The CEO is the principal executive in charge of,
and responsible for, the transit agency.
The following examples illustrate who is a CEO:
•

Transit authority general manager;

•

Transit authority administrator;

•

County or city government department head;

•

State Department of Transportation division head;

•

Council of Governments, commission or transit district executive director;

•

City sponsored demand response (DR) system executive director; or

•

Whomever the transit agency board designates to be authorized and accountable for the NTD Annual Report.

Examples of a CEO for purchased transportation (PT) by a private operator filing a separate report are:
•

Senior operations manager (site specific); and

•

Officers (e.g., the president, vice president or controller at the corporate level are also acceptable). This includes
equivalent positions at operating subsidiaries.

The CEO is required to complete a certification for each NTD report year. The certification must:
•

Certify the accuracy of the complete data submitted in the overall report;

•

Certify specifically the accuracy of the Federal funding allocation data used in the Urbanized Area Formula Program
(UAF) and Bus and Bus Facilities (5339) program; and

•

Describe the procedures used to estimate or collect actual passenger miles traveled (PMT) data and unlinked
passenger trip (UPT) data by mode and type of service (TOS).

Overall Report
The CEO Certification attests that all data contained in the NTD Annual Report are accurate and are collected and reported
in accordance with NTD definitions.

Unlinked Passenger Trip (UPT) Data
The CEO Certification describes the UPT data collection or estimation procedure for each mode and type of service using
one of the following:
•

6a: FTA Circular 2710.1A (estimated data);

•

6b: 100% count of UPT data (actual data) (if available and reliable, you must report 100 percent counts);

•

6c: Alternative sampling procedure determined to meet 95% confidence and
statistician (estimated data);

•

6d: None of the above. Internet Reporting will display a box for you to describe; or

•

6e: NTD Sampling Method.

For PT service, sellers for the same mode may use different data collection or estimation procedures. Therefore,, the CEO
Certification for UPT data is made for each PT mode by contract.

Chief Executive Officer Certification form (D-10)
Through this form, the CEO makes the necessary assurances of data accuracy, data recording and retention procedures,
and uniform reporting requirements. The CEO makes the following assurances:

Chief Executive Officer Certification (D-10) form — 99

10% pre cis i

2013 Urban Reporting Manual
•

Attests that the data are accurate, truthful and conform in all material respects with the USOA and Reporting
Manuals.

•

Verifies data accuracy, collection, supervision, and records retention for actual vehicle revenue miles (VRM), actual
vehicle revenue hours, and operating expense (OE) by mode and TOS used in the UAF and Bus and Bus Facilities
(5339) allocations for agencies serving UZAs with 200,000 or more population.

•

Describes the UPT data (estimate or actual) by mode and TOS.

During the validation process, the CEO should document that they concur with revisions to the transit agency's data, and
retain a copy of the revisions in the transit agency's files. The CEO should update the D-10 form with each report revision.

Line by Line Instructions for CEO Certification form (D-10)
Complete one form.
Form Level Help: Click on the Help tab at the top of the screen for form level help.
Form Note: A form note can be attached to any form. Use the Add Form Note link for relevant information to a specific field,
to the entire form or to multiple forms. You should click on the Add Form Note link at the top of the screen and enter your
note on the Notes screen. You can review and / or edit a form note from the Notes tab. You should not use the Form Notes
feature to answer issues generated from this form. Instead, from the Issues tab, you should use the Add Comments link
next to the specific issue.
Saving or Closing the Form: You should click on the Save button prior to exiting the form and continuing with the report.
You should click on the Close button at the bottom of the screen to close the form without saving.
NTD Report Year. This is an auto-generated field and cannot be edited, review for accuracy. The field displays the current
report year for which the CEO is certifying the NTD data.
Agency Name. This is an auto-generated field and cannot be edited, review for accuracy. The field displays the current
agency name as stated on the Identification form (B-10).
NTD ID. This is an auto-generated field and cannot be edited, review for accuracy. The field displays the NTD identification
number assigned by FTA.
CEO Name. Enter the name of the CEO for your transit agency.
CEO Title. Enter the title of the CEO for your agency.
Certification Completion Date. This is an auto-generated field and cannot be edited, review for accuracy. This is the most
recent save date of the D-10 form.
Line 01: Overall Data Accuracy. If the CEO certifies to the overall accuracy of the data in the NTD report, select “yes”. If “no”
is selected for each statement:
•

The financial and non-financial operating data in this submission are accurate and truthful records of the financial
transactions and operations

•

The financial and non-financial operating data in this submission conform in all material respects with the
accounting and definitional requirements of FTA Reporting Manuals and the USOA.

Internet Reporting will display a box for you to explain why the CEO will not certify the data. An explanation is required.
Line 02: Part 2 Federal Funding Allocation form (FFA-10) Data for Agencies Serving UZAs over 200,000 Population. If the
CEO agrees with each of the following verifications, select “yes” for each mode and TOS. If “no” is selected, Internet
Reporting will display a box for you to explain, by mode / type of service and data item (vehicle revenue miles, PMT,
operating costs and FG DRM), which of the verifications cannot be met and why. An explanation is required. The CEO is
asked to verify the following statements:
•

A system is in place for recording these data in accordance with FTA definitions. The system records complete data
without systematic errors in data definitions or comprehensive coverage.

•

Data gathering is an ongoing effort and is collected on a continuing basis throughout the year.

•

Source documents are available to support the reported data and will be maintained for at least three years. The
source documents are reviewed and signed by a supervisor, as required.

•

A system of internal controls is in place to ensure the accuracy of the data collected and reported to the NTD.
Documents are reviewed and signed by a supervisor, as required.

100 — Chief Executive Officer Certification (D-10) form

2013 Urban Reporting Manual
•

Data collection methods for these data are those suggested by FTA or equivalent.

•

FTA standards for precision and accuracy in these data have been satisfied.

•

These data are consistent with prior reporting periods, and other facts known about transit agency operations.

Line 06: Unlinked Passenger Trip Data Collection: For each mode / type of service you should describe how unlinked
passenger trips were collected or estimated for the current report year (year is pre-filled and cannot be edited) using 6a, 6b,
6c or 6d. For purchased transportation or purchased transportation reported as directly operated the contractor name is
auto-filled. If there are multiple providers, you should select all that are used. Note that contractors for purchased
transportation reported as directly operated applies to only a few reporters. Usually contracted service in an agency’s NTD
report is reported as purchased transportation type of service.
•

6a: FTA Circular 2710.1A (estimated data).

•

6b: 100% count of UPT data (actual data). If available and reliable, you must report 100 percent counts.

•

6c: Alternative sampling procedure determined to meet 95% confidence and ±10% precision levels by a qualified
statistician (estimated data).

•

6d: None of the above. Internet Reporting will display a box for you to describe

•

6e: NTD Sampling Method

Chief Executive Officer Certification (D-10) form — 101