FT - Jackson Transit

Jackson Transit Authority (JTA), a U.S. local government transit agency based in Jackson, Tennessee, receives federal transit operating and capital grants from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) as a direct recipient under the Section 5307 Urbanized Area Formula Grants program (CFDA 20.507), the Section 5339 Bus and Bus Facilities Formula Grant program (CFDA 20.526), and related FTA formula grant vehicles. JTA operates exclusively as a prime grant recipient — it neither contracts with the federal government nor subcontracts to private vendors — and functions as the designated direct recipient for Tennessee's Jackson Urbanized Area.

JTA's recent grant portfolio spans operating assistance, preventive maintenance, paratransit vehicle procurement, and intelligent transportation systems implementation. The June 2026 award of $152,147 under Section 5339(a) will fund implementation of new intelligent transportation system software to replace JTA's existing Route Genie system, supporting transit route planning, service design, and operational optimization through March 2032. Earlier Section 5339 awards funded paratransit bus procurement: $208,000 (later amended to $317,098 total) for three replacement buses and spare components for the LIFT demand-response ADA service, with completion scheduled for March 2031. JTA also received a $2.3 million federal Section 5307 allocation in August 2023 (amended twice through March 2032) for FY24–FY26 operating assistance, preventive maintenance, and Jobs Access/Reverse Commute funding covering salaries, benefits, services, materials, utilities, and insurance. A $1.6 million ARPA-funded emergency operating grant (CFDA 20.507) provided July 2022 through January 2023 assistance during COVID-19 recovery.

All 41 federal grants in the source data flow from the Federal Transit Administration to JTA; no other customer agencies are named. Combined dollars obligated across all awards total $55.6 million. Activity has been sporadic—two awards in 2021, one in 2022, three in 2023, one in 2024, and one in 2026—rather than a consistent annual grant cycle. One award reaches ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months. JTA carries no subrecipient relationships and does not subcontract the execution of federal grant work; all work is performed in-house at Jackson Transit Authority's operations in Jackson, Tennessee.