The United States Department of Transportation has made available roughly $5 million for the creation of four new tier one university transportation center (UTC) programs. The funding was a part of the FY ’20 transportation appropriations bill that passed at the end of last year. The notice specifically calls for Universities to make proposals based on four issue areas:
- Highly Automated Transportation Systems Research;
- Communications Technology and E-Commerce Effects on Travel Demand;
- Implications of Accessible Automated Vehicles and Mobility Services for People with Disabilities; or
- Strategic Implications of Changing Public Transportation Travel Trends.
Only U.S. non-profit institutions of higher education are eligible to apply or to be members of a proposed UTC consortium. Non-profit institutions of higher education may include qualifying two-year institutions. Existing Tier-1 UTC leads are not allowed to propose as a lead in this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO).
The NOFO is available now at https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/search-grants.html?keywords=UTC.
