Deadline looms for wheelchair lift grants

If you're thinking of adding a wheelchair lift to an existing coach or adding ADA-compliant coaches to your fleet, the federal government may help you help the disabled in your community. The Federal Transit Agency will take grant applications through November 13 for its Fiscal Year 2007 Over-the-Road Bus Accessibility Program. Nearly $7.6 million is available to intercity fixed-route and other operators. Operators can use the grants to retrofit existing coaches with wheelchair lifts, defray costs of installing lifts on new coaches and train staff on accessibility issues. Successful grants may cover up to 90 percent of project costs.

Both the United Motorcoach Association (www.uma.org) and the American Bus Association (www.buses.org) have put together helpful application guides for their respective members, including forms, templates and sample grants. Completed grant applications must be submitted either by mail to a FTA regional office (find your nearest one at http://www.fta.dot.gov/regional_offices.html) or electronically through www.grants.gov. Or, you can contact MCI's Donna Richardson at 847-285-2060 for assistance in filling out your grant application.

To obtain equipment specifications, phone or email Lynn Asquith at 847-285-2089 for your copy of the MCI Wheelchair Lift Guide. Be sure to include your coach model, as there are two versions of the guide on Ricon wheelchair lifts; one for MCI® D-Series coaches and the other for MCI® E4500 and J4500 coaches. To learn more about MCI's wheelchair lifts on new coaches, call your sales representative. To inquire about retrofit services, call your nearest MCI service center.

General tips for writing grants:

1. Follow the instructions. It may seem obvious, but read the guidelines carefully and provide all information that is requested. Make your proposal fit the guidelines as closely as possible.
2. Make sure your request is a good fit. Don't ask for funds that over-stretch the purpose of the grant.
3. Be specific, and don't automatically ask for the maximum available funding. A budget number that shows real projected figures will look more credible than a high round number (i.e. a request for $18,307.46 may look better than one for $20,000).
4. Get help if you need it. If you're unsure about how to write a grant, call upon others' expertise. Associations including the UMA, the ABA, agencies and friendly fellow operators are all good sources of tips and advice.
5. If you need help writing about equipment specifications and the like, call your friendly manufacturer.
6. Be clear and concise. Make it easy for the FTA to read and understand your request. Proofread it for errors.
7. Keep a copy for your files.

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