Job Access and Reverse Commute (JARC) Program

Letter of Intent Submission Guidelines

Regionwide Grant Application Process for New and Continuation Projects

South Jersey Transportation Planning Organization (SJTPO)

October 24, 2005  

Letters of Intent (LOI) from potential applicants are due at SJTPO by 5:00 PM on Friday, December 9, 2005.  The purpose of the LOI is to provide sufficient information to enable the SJTPO Board to select qualified applicants, determine project plan consistency and rank proposals for both new and continuation projects.  The LOI also enables New Jersey TRANSIT to begin working with potential sub-recipients to develop a full application to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).  LOIs should not exceed five (5) pages in length.  

Address LOI’s to:  Michael D.  Reeves, SJTPO, 782 S. Brewster Road – Unit B6, Vineland , NJ 08361 .  LOI’s received by fax (856) 794 - 2549 or email at mreeves@sjtpo.org by the deadline will also be accepted.  

Letter of Intent Contents Outline

On your organization’s letterhead, please respond to the following subject areas and questions:

• Organization Description and Capacity:  Who are you?  What do you do?  Have you ever managed a transportation service project before?  (Briefly describe your experience; also see the Evidence of Performance section on page 2.)  Administrative and marketing costs for existing or proposed services should not exceed an average of 15% annually.

• Project Description:  What do you want to do?  What type of project is it?  (Access to Jobs, Reverse Commute or both).  Is this a continuation project and will it extend into FY 2007?  What are the general geographic origins and destinations of potential users of the proposed service?  How many riders will your project serve and what are the proposed hours of operation?  To operate your proposed service, do you know how many vehicles you will need, what types and whether they would be purchased or leased?  What specific existing transit services would your project connect with, if any?  Who are your partners, if any, including employers, job training, child-care or similar agencies?  Is your project intended to be short-term or long-term?  (If long-term, what other funding sources are committed/will be explored to attain sustainability beyond any federal grant?)  Will buses/vans be lift-equipped or otherwise accessible to those with disabilities?

• Plan Consistency:  How does your proposed project relate to the FTA’s JARC Program goals and SJTPO’s Areawide Job Access and Reverse Commute Transportation Plan?

• Funding and Local Match:  What is the total cost of your proposed project?  How much of the total would be from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) grant?  Required match must be at least 50% non-Department of Transportation funds.  What are the source(s) of your matching funds?  Fare box revenues from the proposed service(s) cannot be used to match the FTA grant.  Is there funding commitment from the private sector (such as a contribution from any defined employer(s) to be served) to help ensure the sustainability of the proposed service(s)?  Potential applicants should assume and base their proposed project budget on a 12 month service period that extends to December, 2007.  Any questions about matching funds should be directed to:

Richard D. Kerr, Director, Innovative Service and Sales Programs, NJ Transit (973) 491-7459.  Email: rkerr@njtransit.com.  

• Evidence of Coordination:  Have you discussed your proposal with pertinent public transportation provider(s) and/or county government agencies?  Do they support or are they partnering in your proposal? (If yes, please explain how this will occur?)  Do you have commitments or expressions of interest from any specific employers, job developers or similar organizations?  Please provide documentation (letter, memo, etc.) with the names and phone numbers of county/agency/employer contacts and those partnering in your proposal (if any).

• Evidence of Performance:  Previous Job Access and Reverse Commute grant recipients, must include a brief performance report on the status of such services with your Letter of Intent, even if your proposed FY 2005 project is for a different service.  Is any previously approved and funded service(s) currently underway?  If not, please provide a status report and estimated start date(s).  If service has begun, what is the current and forecasted ridership (trips/day)?  Sub-recipients should elaborate on how they will evaluate the effectiveness of their service program.  For Access to Jobs service, do you have the capability of identifying your ridership and monitoring program success for welfare-to-work or lower-income riders?  If not, why not?  If yes, please begin/continue to monitor the duration of individual users of the transportation services and their employment sustainability to help us with future service effectiveness reporting.  Please explain if and how you have formed and maintained partnerships with job training, child-care or similar support services during the implementation of the transportation services?

• Key Contact Person:  Who is the project manager or other contact person?  What are their telephone and fax numbers and email address?

• Copies:  Please send a copy of your LOI to:

Richard D. Kerr, Director
Innovative Service and Sales Programs
New Jersey TRANSIT
One Penn Plaza East
Newark , NJ 07105-2246
rkerr@njtransit.com  

• For Questions:  Any questions about the information to be provided in the Letter of Intent, the LOI review process or the timetable should be directed to:

Michael D. Reeves, Special Projects Coordinator
SJTPO
782 S. Brewster Road – Unit B6
Vineland , NJ 08361
(856) – 794-1941

            Or  

James P. Flynn
Community Transportation Administrator
NJ Transit
One Penn Plaza East
Newark , New Jersey 07105-2246
(973) 491-7382