Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority

Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority, doing business as Max Transit, is a U.S. local government transit authority that serves as a prime recipient of federal transit infrastructure and operations grants from the Department of Transportation's Federal Transit Administration (FTA), with no involvement in federal contracts. The authority operates as Max Transit and is headquartered at 1735 Morris Ave, Birmingham, Alabama.

Max Transit's federal footprint consists exclusively of FTA grants under programs CFDA 20.507 (Federal Transit Formula Grants), CFDA 20.526 (Buses and Bus Facilities Formula, Competitive, and Low or No Emissions Programs), and CFDA 20.500 (Federal Transit Capital Investment Grants). The authority has received 90 prime grants totaling $275.9 million since 1999, with a single sub-recipient grant from the City of Birmingham for expanded microtransit services in North Birmingham and Pratt-Ensley. All awards name the FTA as the sole federal customer except for one EDA award; the customer concentration is absolute—FTA funding accounts for 100% of the grant portfolio by award count.

Recent grant work centers on transit fleet modernization, service restoration, and infrastructure expansion. Representative awards include a $16.663 million Project Grant (August 2024) for compressed natural gas bus procurement, CNG fueling station construction, and workforce development; a $12.413 million Formula Grant (May 2024) for preventative maintenance, bus shelter rehabilitation, IT upgrades, and fleet expansion; an $11.712 million Formula Grant (May 2025) for preventative maintenance, safety upgrades, IT and communications systems, bus stop replacement, and microtransit initiatives; a $933,231 Formula Grant (January 2026) combining intermodal office expansion and micro-transit vehicle fleet additions; and a $800,000 Formula Grant (July 2024) for bus rapid transit station construction on 1st Avenue North and 20th Street. COVID-19 recovery grants include three years of operating assistance ($2 million, March 2023), route restoration planning ($780,115, June 2023), and two pandemic-relief project grants totaling $4.105 million (June 2022, January 2022). The authority also received $2 million (August 2023) under the Federal Transit Capital Investment Grants program for transit-oriented development planning at the eastern terminus of the Birmingham Xpress bus rapid transit line.

Activity remains light but consistent, with two awards in 2022, four in 2023, five in 2024, two in 2025, and two in 2026. Only one award faces ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, creating minimal recompete pressure in the near term. All grants obligate funds with no subrecipient involvement except the single sub-award routed through the City of Birmingham. The authority serves the Birmingham metropolitan area with approximately 3 million annual passengers across fixed-route and demand-response transit networks.