{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.02430939226519337, 'fraction_numerical': 0.013259668508287293, 'mean_word_length': 5.711111111111111, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
New Starts: Lessons Learned for Discretionary Federal Transportation Funding Programs

The 49 USC Section 5309 “New Starts” Program is currently the federal government’s primary method of supporting and encouraging local investment in fixed-guideway transit investments. State and local agencies sponsoring commuter rail, heavy rail transit, light rail transit, bus rapid transit, and streetcar projects are eligible to apply for financial assistance from this capital program. The capital costs of these projects range from tens of millions to several billions of dollars. In FY2010, $2.0 billion was authorized and appropriated for the program. This paper analyzes the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA’s) discretionary New Starts program to identify the lessons learned and components that might be relevant to these new competitive programs, particularly with respect to federal funding decisions.