What criteria are likely to be used in making future decisions?
• The best projects are selected for funding through the application of criteria that establish a project’s benefits relative to other projects. The rating system is dividing in two principal parts: local financial commitment and project justification. • For Local Financial Commitment, TEA-21 requires that New Starts project sponsors demonstrate adequate local support for the project, as measured by: • The proposed share of total project costs from sources other than from the New Starts program; • The strength of the proposed project’s capital financing plan; and • The sponsor’s ability to fund operation and maintenance of the project once it is built. • Project Justification falls into a number of categories, including: • Mobility improvements, defined as travel time savings and low income households served; • Environmental benefits, defined as changes in pollutant and “greenhouse gases” emissions and regional energy consumption; • Operating efficiencies, defined as change in the oper
