Opportunity Information: Apply for FTA 2016 006 TRI
The Mobility on Demand (MOD) Sandbox Demonstration Program is a discretionary funding opportunity from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Transit Administration (FTA) designed to help public transit agencies and their partners test and evaluate new mobility services in real-world environments. It sits within a broader DOT and FTA research push around Mobility on Demand, which focuses on how communities can adapt to a fast-changing transportation landscape shaped by new travel options, emerging technologies, and increasing expectations for seamless, traveler-focused trips. The core idea is to move beyond traditional single-mode transit planning and instead support integrated, multimodal networks that make it easier for people to get where they need to go, especially when a single bus or rail trip does not solve the whole journey.
The program is structured as a "sandbox" to encourage experimentation, meaning it is meant for practical demonstrations rather than purely theoretical studies. FTA is looking for project teams that can combine new service models with existing and emerging technologies to deliver better mobility outcomes. In practice, that can include partnerships between transit agencies and private mobility providers, new approaches to first-mile/last-mile connections, or coordinated trip planning across multiple transportation options. The emphasis is on a traveler-centric approach, where the system is designed around the customer's experience of making a trip, rather than around agency boundaries or modal silos.
FTA specifically highlights several areas of innovation it wants to see explored. These include building and testing partnerships, creating and validating new business models for delivering mobility services, and integrating traditional public transit with MOD solutions such as on-demand services or other flexible options. The opportunity also encourages applicants to investigate enabling technical capabilities that can make an integrated network function smoothly, such as integrated payment systems (so a traveler can pay once across modes), decision-support tools (to help agencies manage service and respond to demand), and incentive structures that can shape traveler choices (for example, encouraging off-peak travel, shared rides, or mode shifts that reduce congestion and improve efficiency). The intent is not just to deploy technology for its own sake, but to use these tools to make mobility more accessible, reliable, and convenient.
A major component of the MOD Sandbox Program is evaluation. FTA intends to evaluate each demonstration to understand what worked, what did not, and what measurable impacts resulted from the new service model. Beyond outcomes like ridership, cost-effectiveness, customer experience, access to jobs and services, or service equity, FTA also wants to learn how existing FTA policies and regulations affect these emerging models. In other words, part of the program's value is identifying whether current rules support innovation or unintentionally create barriers, and using evidence from demonstrations to inform future policy decisions.
The funding instrument for this opportunity is a cooperative agreement, which generally signals that the federal government expects to be more involved than it would be in a standard grant, often through collaboration, oversight, and shared learning during the project. The opportunity is categorized under transportation and is tied to CFDA number 20.514. The funding opportunity number is FTA 2016 006 TRI, and it was created on May 3, 2016, with an original closing date of July 5, 2016. FTA anticipated making around 10 awards. While an award ceiling is not listed in the source data provided, the competitive nature and expected number of awards suggest that FTA intended to select a limited group of strong demonstration sites that could produce meaningful, transferable lessons for the transit industry.
Eligibility is limited to providers of public transportation, which includes public transit agencies, state and local departments of transportation, and federally recognized Indian tribes. While private companies are not listed as direct eligible applicants in the provided summary, the program clearly encourages local partnerships, which typically allows private mobility providers, technology firms, universities, or non-profits to participate as partners or subcontractors under an eligible lead applicant. Overall, the MOD Sandbox Program is aimed at accelerating practical, evidence-driven innovation in public transportation by helping communities pilot integrated mobility concepts, learn from them, and clarify what is needed to scale successful models nationwide.Apply for FTA 2016 006 TRI
- The DOT/Federal Transit Administration in the transportation sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Mobility on Demand (MOD) Sandbox Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 20.514.
- This funding opportunity was created on 2016-05-03.
- Applicants must submit their applications by 2016-07-05. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 10 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Others.
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