Funding Shared Micromobility in the US: Congressionally Directed Spending

Bikeshare and scootershare systems in the US have to navigate a complicated landscape of federal funding opportunities, with one being particularly unique because it doesn’t have a formal application period or Notice of Funding Opportunity, and didn’t exist for over a decade. This funding stream is known as Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) or Community Project Funding, or more commonly, earmarks.

What are Earmarks?

Congressionally Directed Spending, or earmarks, allow members of Congress to request federal funding for specific projects in their district or state. After a decade-long ban, Congress reinstated this practice in 2021 with enhanced transparency requirements and accountability measures.

In the House of Representatives, this funding is called “Community Project Funding” (CPF), while the Senate refers to it as “Congressionally Directed Spending” (CDS). Both terms describe the same process: directing federal dollars to locally prioritized projects without requiring applicants to go through competitive grant processes.

Why Earmarks Matter for Shared Micromobility

Unlike competitive grant programs where shared micromobility projects must compete against numerous other applications nationally, earmarks provide a more direct path to federal funding directly through your member of Congress. Recent appropriations bills have included millions of dollars in earmark funding for transportation projects, including shared micromobility.

Earmark requests are generally limited to state governments, local governments, tribal governments and nonprofit organizations. For-profit shared micromobility operators cannot apply directly, but they can work with eligible government partners who can submit requests on behalf of a bikeshare or scootershare project.

How to Apply

The earmark process requires working directly with your Representative and/or Senator. It is important to create a relationship with your member’s office prior to submission, so that they have a clear understanding of the importance of your shared micromobility system and how it impacts their constituents. To assist in this relationship building work, NABSA has an Advancing Advocates Federal Advocacy Toolkit exclusively for members, including sample outreach emails, and more.

Here’s the general timeline and process to utilize earmarks:

1. Check Application Windows: Each fiscal year, appropriations committees announce when they’ll accept CDS requests. Deadlines typically fall between April and July for the following fiscal year’s funding, though often individual congressional offices may set earlier internal deadlines.
2. Contact Your Member of Congress: Visit your Representative’s or Senator’s website to find their specific earmark application guidance and forms. Each office may have slightly different requirements, so review their materials carefully. If you don’t find any information on the website, you can reach out directly via phone or email to learn more. Keep in mind that every municipality is represented by two US Senators and many are represented by multiple members of the House of Representatives, with each one likely running their own earmark process.
3. Federal Nexus Requirement: Your project must align with an eligible federal program. For shared micromobility, this means demonstrating how your project fits within STBG or CMAQ eligibility criteria.
4. Include in Transportation Plans: For transportation projects, inclusion in your region’s Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP) or Statewide Transportation Improvement Plan (STIP) strengthens your application, though it may not be strictly required for all earmark requests. The processes for getting a project included in these plans varies by region and state, and are usually run by your local Metropolitan Planning Organization. 

Key Considerations

Earmarks are a unique funding avenue that create a lot of opportunities for shared micromobility systems, particularly those with already established relationships with their members of Congress, but because it is not a traditional grant program, there are a few additional factors that you should consider.

One-Time Funding: Earmarks provide one-time allocations, not operational support. Projects should have a plan for (and be able to demonstrate) sustainability after the earmark funds are expended.

No Guarantees: Submitting an earmark request does not guarantee funding. Members of Congress have limited spots for requests, and appropriations committees set caps on the total amount and number of projects that can be funded. Even if your project is selected by your member, it doesn’t mean that the final appropriations request will be approved by Congress.

Bipartisan Support Helps: Projects with support from both parties or multiple members of Congress may have stronger chances of success.

Resources

NABSA just launched a new congressional look-up tool exclusively for members, which provides information on all the members of Congress representing municipalities that currently have a shared micromobility system. You can use this tool to reach out to your representatives, get more information on their own individual earmark process, and get a better picture of who represents your community.