Sponsors (23)
The bill expands and coordinates federal transit grant use for workforce training—giving transit agencies more flexibility and improving staff capacity—while trading off reduced capital funding for vehicles/infrastructure and a risk of weaker focus on zero-emission transition.
Local transit agencies and transit workers can use a larger share (up to 10%) of federal transit grant funds for workforce training, increasing staff skills and capacity for bus operations and facility work.
Transit agencies gain greater flexibility because multiple grant streams (including §§5307, 5337, and 5339 and the subsections expanded by the bill) become explicitly eligible to support workforce development.
Recipients can coordinate training across programs by using §5339 funds (in addition to other program funds) for workforce development, supporting more consistent and comprehensive training opportunities.
Local governments and transit authorities will have less money available for buying buses and capital projects because the allowable share for training increases from 5% to 10%, potentially delaying vehicle replacements and infrastructure upgrades.
Transit workforce training may become less focused on zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) transition, which could slow EV-specific workforce readiness and favor maintaining conventional fleets over low-emission technologies, weakening alignment with decarbonization goals especially in rural areas.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Increases the workforce training set‑aside for certain federal bus grant funds from 5% to 10% and allows training funds to be used for buses, equipment, and bus‑facility construction.
Official title: To amend sections 5314 and 5339 of title 49, United States Code, to allow for the use of a portion of grants available for buses and bus-related equipment and facilities to be used for workforce development and training, and for other purposes.
Introduced April 16, 2026 by Frederica Wilson · Last progress April 16, 2026
Expands how certain federal transit grants can be used for workforce development tied to buses and bus facilities. It raises the set‑aside for workforce training from 5% to 10% of certain bus grant funds and allows that training money to be spent on buses, related equipment, and construction of bus‑related facilities, and makes the training set‑aside apply to more categories of §5339 funding.