A section of the Federal Transit Act which provides assistance to local governments for conducting transportation planning activities in urban areas with populations greater than 50,000. FTA apportions Section 5303 funds to MPOs to support the costs of preparing long range transportation plans and financially feasible Transportation Improvement Programs (TIPS), that are required as a condition of obtaining federal capital and Urbanized Area Formula funds. The Section 5303 Metropolitan Planning Program helps develop transportation systems that embrace all modes of transportation and efficiently maximize the mobility of people and goods throughout the urbanized area. The FTA apportions funds based on a set of formulas: 80% of the funds available are apportioned according to an urbanized area population-based formula; the remaining 20% of the funds are provided to the states based on an FTA administrative formula to address planning needs in larger, more complex urbanized areas with a population of one million or more.