Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority

Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority, doing business as Carta, is a U.S. local government transit authority based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, that receives federal grant funding as a prime recipient under transit and mobility programs administered by the Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration (FTA). Carta does not hold federal contracts; its federal footprint consists entirely of grants (111 prime awards, 97% of the total), with minimal sub-recipient activity (3 sub-awards). The organization operates fixed-route bus service, paratransit, specialized mobility services, and the Lookout Mountain Incline Railway for the Chattanooga urbanized area.

Carta's customer concentration is heavily skewed toward FTA. The Federal Transit Administration accounts for 106 of 114 total awards (99% coverage), with the remaining exposure split across the Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (3 awards), the National Science Foundation (2 awards), and single awards from the Transportation Immediate Office of the Secretary and the Federal Highway Administration. Combined obligated dollars across all awards total $224.3 million, driven almost entirely by FTA formula grants and project grants.

Carta's grant portfolio spans multiple FTA program vehicles. Recent prime awards include a $7.374 million Federal Transit Formula Grants program (CFDA 20.507) operating-assistance award issued February 23, 2026, to support fixed-route, paratransit, and specialized mobility services through March 30, 2031; a $5.586 million CFDA 20.507 formula grant from August 6, 2025, for preventive maintenance, job-access operating assistance, and security equipment ($105 thousand for security cameras and DVRs); a $2.877 million CFDA 20.507 pass-through award to Catoosa County Transit for bus and shelter purchases; and a $1.415 million Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities (Section 5310, CFDA 20.513) award on July 16, 2026, to purchase up to nine replacement paratransit vehicles for Carta's Care-a-Van service. Capital projects span the Buses and Bus Facilities Formula program (CFDA 20.526), which funded a $450 thousand award on July 30, 2026, for AI-enabled driver monitoring and panic-button installation across the fleet. Long-range planning grants include a $1.655 million CFDA 20.507 award on February 2, 2026, for transit development planning and operational analysis, and a $787.5 thousand Federal Transit Capital Investment Grants (CFDA 20.500) project grant issued May 20, 2026, for a Brainerd Road/Lee Highway Corridor transit-oriented development capacity study. Carta also receives state of good repair funding, including a $1.029 million project grant on July 28, 2023, for Incline Railway station renovations and line equipment rehabilitation.

Award activity has grown from 2 awards in 2022 to 6 in 2026, reflecting steady annual increases. Only 2 awards carry ultimate completion dates within the next twenty-four months, indicating minimal near-term recompete exposure. Carta holds a sub-recipient role on a Vanderbilt University cooperative agreement (award date June 4, 2025) for project management and community outreach on an on-demand transit categorical demand model, and on an April 26, 2023, Section 5310 sub-award related to transportation needs for seniors and individuals with disabilities. The organization's work in federal grants is primarily operational (transit service delivery, fleet maintenance, paratransit operations, and planning) rather than equipment or service contracting to other federal agencies, positioning it as a grant recipient rather than a prime contractor or vendor to the federal government.