WASHINGTON -- The Federal Transit Administration has begun accepting applications from private bus operators for grants to help pay for installing wheelchair lifts in coaches.

The long-delayed 2009 federal Over-the-Road Bus Accessibility Program will award grants totaling $10.7 million for fiscal 2009, which ended last September.

The amount being awarded is an increase from previous years largely because $1.9 million in fiscal 2006 money that wasnt spent has been added to this years base of $8.8 million.

Prior-year totals averaged around $7 million to $7.5 million. Typically, around 100 operators end up receiving grants each year.

The grants awarded under the program usually range from $25,000 to $180,000, with most being less than $40,000, or about enough to pay for one lift on one coach.

Since the program originated early in this decade, roughly half the money each year has gone to large, fixed-route operators, notably Greyhound, which under federal rules must have 100 percent of its coaches wheelchair-lift equipped by the end of October 2012.

Line-run outfits with annual revenue of $8.6 million or more must meet that requirement. Smaller and non-line-run operators have far less demanding accessibility mandates.

The money awarded through the grant program can be used to retrofit lifts, help offset the cost of a new lift-equipped coach, and pay for training.

Applications for the grant money must be submitted by April 15.

For details, go to http://www.fta.dot.gov/laws/leg_reg_86.html. Scroll down to Over-the-Road Bus Accessibility Program Grants, click on one of the links at far right.

Or, go to the FTA website, www.fta.dot.gov, click on "Legislation, Regulations & Guidance," and then on "Federal Register," and scroll down to Over-the-Road Bus Accessibility Program Grants and click on one of the links.

Grant applications can be mailed to the FTA regional office in the area where the operator is based, or sent electronically through the federal government grants Website: www.grants.gov.

Contact information for the FTA regional offices is at http://www.fta.dot.gov/regional_offices.html.

The application process is not simple, but some industry trade groups have developed grant application materials to help members through the process.

For general program information, contact Blenda Younger, FTA Office of Program Management, at (202) 366-2053, or by e-mail at blenda.younger@dot.gov.

UMA members with questions can contact Ken Presley at (800) 424-8262, or by e-mail at kpresley@uma.org.