Central Midlands Regional Transi

Central Midlands Regional Transit, a U.S. local government transit authority headquartered in Columbia, South Carolina, is a recipient of federal grant funding from the Department of Transportation's Federal Transit Administration (FTA) for capital fleet modernization, operational support, and transit infrastructure projects serving the Columbia metropolitan area and surrounding counties. The organization does not hold federal contracts as a prime or subcontractor and operates as a grant recipient (88% of awards are prime grant recipients; 12% are sub-grant awards).

The vendor's federal grant portfolio centers on FTA formula and project grants under CFDA 20.507 (Federal Transit Formula Grants), CFDA 20.526 (Buses and Bus Facilities Formula, Competitive, and Low or No Emissions Programs), and CFDA 20.530 (Public Transportation Innovation). Recent representative awards include a $6.52 million Federal Transit Formula Grant (Aug 6, 2025, completion Mar 30, 2033) funding replacement paratransit and fixed-route vehicles, ADP hardware and software for scheduling and performance monitoring, advanced training equipment, and an employee incentive program; a $7.918 million Federal Transit Formula Grant (Sep 3, 2024, completion Mar 31, 2029) covering vehicle replacements, fareboxes, ADP systems, bus shelters, ticket vending equipment, and route scheduling studies; a $669,315 Buses and Bus Facilities grant (Jun 23, 2025, completion Mar 30, 2035) for five cutaway fixed-route replacement vehicles; a $7.065 million Low or No Emissions grant (Sep 21, 2022, completion Mar 30, 2029) for two battery-electric and two fuel-cell electric buses plus charging and hydrogen refueling infrastructure, with subrecipient technical assistance from the Center for Transportation and the Environment; and a $782,839 project grant (Jul 5, 2023, completion Mar 30, 2034) for bus shelter installation and amenities. The organization also received a $379,440 Public Transportation Innovation grant (Sep 9, 2022, completion Mar 30, 2029) for enhanced public safety officers and human trafficking awareness programming, and a $300,000 grant (Jun 21, 2023, completion Mar 30, 2032) for ADP software maintenance and upgrades supporting route and trip scheduling systems. Sub-grant awards, dating 2022–2024, support the Access to Care Program serving seniors and individuals with disabilities with door-to-door and first/last-mile transportation to healthcare appointments, operations assistance under the American Rescue Plan, and Section 5311 rural transit service in Lower Richland.

The FTA accounts for 42 of 51 total awards (84% by count); the Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration Veterans Integrated Service Network 7 accounts for one award ($6 thousand potential value). Activity has declined year over year—five awards in 2022 to one award in 2026—with three awards reaching ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, representing recompete opportunity for transit vehicle and infrastructure vendors. Combined potential value across all awards is $16 thousand, though obligated dollars total $117.3 million, indicating substantial drawdown against grant ceilings and active deployment of federal funding for fleet and infrastructure projects across fiscal years 2022–2026.