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From the Acting Director, Department of Transportation, and the Managing Director, Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS), submitting an informational report regarding Transit Vehicle Replacement Funding. (12/02/11: Committee requested a follow-up report on the State of Good Repair Contract to support a bus replacement program in 2013.) (INFORMATIONAL ONLY UNLESS OTHERWISE DIRECTED BY THE COMMITTEE)
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POLICY
This report is in response to a request for information from the December 2011 cycle.
BACKGROUND
At the December 2011 Transportation, Public Works and Transit Meeting, a request was made to provide the committee with information regarding recent bus procurement activity and funding sources used. In addition, the committee requested information regarding future vehicle procurement needs. Milwaukee County has used a variety of federal funding sources to assist in the procurement of transit vehicles. The following table shows the number of vehicles replaced, or to be replaced, with federal grant funds received:
Year Purchased Number of Buses Federal Funding Source Federal Share Local Share
2010 45 ARRA 100% 0%
2010 31 5307 formula 83% 17%
2010 14 State of Good Repair 83% 17%
2011 35 STP 80% 20%
2012 55 ICE 85% 15%
2013 55 ICE 85% 15%
2014 26 State of Good Repair 83% 17%
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Federal Funding Sources
Section 5307 funds are received annually based on a formula established for the Milwaukee Urbanized Area. These funds have largely been used to offset vehicle maintenance activities in recent years; however, these funds are available for vehicle purchasing. Surface Transportation Program (STP) funds were allocated to the Connector project in 2002 for future capital needs of that transit program. In 2010, the department requested these funds be moved so that they could be used for transit vehicle purchasing.
State of Good Repair is a recent program that was initiated in 2010 to address aging capital needs. It is an annual competitive program so dollar amounts are unpredictable from year to year.
Vehicle Replacement Need
Federal law establishes that the useful life for 40-foot transit vehicles is 12 years or 500,000 miles. Currently, there are 416 active buses in the transit fleet. The following table illustrates the number of buses in the fleet, the year the buses were delivered, the age of the buses in year 2012, the current mileage, and when the buses will reach their 12-year life cycle.
Bus Series Active Bus Count Year Delivered Age in Year 2012 Average Mileage as of 12/20/11
4300 69 2000 12 494,955
4400 69 2001 11 478,794
4500 8 2002 10 312,902
4600 39 2002 10 456,611
4700 51 2003 9 428,187
4800 30 2004 8 379,012
4900 15 2005 7 341,445
5000 9 2006 6 299,170
5100 90 2010 2 60,091
5200 35 2011 1 28,303
Total 416
Average 7.6 327,947
The next table reflects the current bus replacement plan through year 2019. The table shows the fleet size assuming service levels remain constant, how many buses need to be replaced each year, how many buses are actually projected to be replaced each year, and what the future bus replacement needs are expected to be.
RECOMMENDATION
This report is for information purposes.
Report Prepared by: Brian Dranzik, Director of Administration
and Lloyd Grant, Managing Director
Approved by:
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Frank Busalacchi, Acting Director, Department of Transportation
Cc: Chris Abele, Milwaukee County Executive
Supervisor, Lee Holloway, Chairperson, County Board of Supervisors
Terrence Cooley, Chief of Staff, County Board of Supervisors
Jeff Bentoff, Deputy Chief of Staff, Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele
Pat Farley, Director, Department of Administrative Services
Pam Bryant, Interim Fiscal and Budget Administrator, Department of Administrative Services
Vince Materson, Fiscal and Budget Analyst, Department of Administrative Services