Memorandum

City of Lawrence

Public Transit

TO:	Dave Corliss, City Manager
FROM:	Cliff Galante, Public Transit Administrator
CC:	Debbie Van Saun, Assistant City Manager
Date:	November 7, 2006
RE:	T-Lift Paratransit Vehicle Replacement

Staff Recommendation:

Staff recommends that the City this year pursue acquiring six T-Lift paratransit vehicles through the FY07 KDOT state contract, as it has done in the past to replace vehicles that have reached their service life in either age or miles. 

Currently, the Transit Department has budgeted sufficient State of Kansas Comprehensive Transportation Program funding to acquire six paratransit vehicles at a unit cost of $48,000 plus an additional $4,500 for security cameras per bus for a total of $52,500.  The total acquisition cost will be approximately $315,000.    No City of Lawrence funding is required to replace these vehicles since the acquisition cost will be 100% state funded.  The vehicles to be replaced are bus #’s 657, 730, 731,732, 733, and 737 since they have fulfilled Federal and State service life requirements. 

Staff recommends that three of the six vehicles be kept by the City upon replacement to be used for other purposes.  Two vehicles (Bus #’s 730 & 732) would be converted to handicapped accessible Road Supervisor vehicles for MV Transportation, Inc. to utilize.  MV would be responsible for maintaining and insuring the vehicles.  In addition, one vehicle (Bus #731) would be reassigned from the Transit Department to the Public Works Department to be used for special event transportation.  The City would be responsible for insuring and maintaining this vehicle.  The City can contract out the operation of the vehicle to a private transportation provider.  It is important to note that as these buses continue to age they can be replaced with other vehicles in future years that have reached their service lives.

Staff recommends that the three remaining vehicles (Bus #’s 657, 733 & 737) be sold through competitive bidding and any proceeds be used towards addressing future fixed-route bus replacement needs.

Background:

The City currently owns fourteen (14) paratransit vehicles to be used for T-lift service.  These vehicles are operated and maintained through a contract with MV Transportation, Inc.

The Federal Transit Administration and Kansas Department of Transportation consider the service life of paratransit vehicles to be five (5) years or 100,000 miles.  According to Diamond Coach Corporation, the manufacturer of the paratransit vehicles acquired by the City, the service life is four (4) years or 100,000 miles based on Altoona testing.

Below is Table A that lists vehicle bus number, service type, make, model number, acquisition date, current total mileage through October 2006, and recommended year for replacement.

Table A:

City Bus #	Service Type	Make	Model Number	Acquisition Date	Total Mileage through 10/31/06	Recommended City Year for Replacement
657	Paratransit	Ford	E-Super Duty Diamond 2500	10/19/99	95,895	FY07
730	Paratransit	Chevy	3500 Diamond	5/30/01	114,076	FY07
731	Paratransit	Chevy	3500 Diamond	6/1/01	128,486	FY07
732	Paratransit	Chevy	3500 Diamond	6/15/01	116,846	FY07
733	Paratransit	Chevy	3500 Diamond	6/26/01	134,407	FY07
734	Paratransit	Chevy	VIP2200 Diamond	5/21/02	128,565	FY08
735	Paratransit	Chevy	VIP2200 Diamond	5/21/02	107,867	FY08
736	Paratransit	Chevy	VIP2200 Diamond	5/21/02	114,854	FY08
737	Paratransit	Chevy	VIP2200 Diamond	5/21/02	108,079	FY07
738	Paratransit	Ford	PT2000 Diamond	6/24/04	58,900	FY09
739	Paratransit	Ford	PT2000 Diamond	6/24/04	61,039	FY09
740	Paratransit	Ford	PT2000 Diamond	6/30/04	63,604	FY09
741	Paratransit	Ford	PT2000 Diamond	6/30/04	63,951	FY10
742	Paratransit	Ford	PT2000 Diamond	6/29/04	60,060	FY10

The table above indicates that currently eight (8) of the fourteen (14) paratransit vehicles in the fleet have reached their service life, exceeding 100,000 miles.  Furthermore, five (5) of the fourteen (14) paratransit vehicles in the fleet reached their service life in age based on the FTA and KDOT requirement.

Below is Table B that illustrates a capital replacement schedule for paratransit vehicles based on the City fiscal year.

FY07	FY08	FY09	FY10
6 Buses	3 Buses	3 Buses	3 Buses*
$315K (State 100%)	$157.5K (State 100%)	$157.5K (State 100%)	$157.5K (State 100%)**

*    assumes adding one bus into service to continue to meet service demands.

**  assumes CTP will be renewed.

The City’s Transit Department will utilize existing State of Kansas CTP funds it receives annually through KDOT to fund the entire acquisition cost for vehicles.  The six (6) paratransit vehicles to be replaced this year will be acquired with $315,000 from a portion of FY05, FY06 and FY07 CTP funding already budgeted for this purpose.  The Transit Department beginning in FY08 (state fiscal year) will set aside $157,500 of the $250,986 CTP funds the City receives annually.  This amount is sufficient to acquire three (3) vehicles annually based on an acquisition cost of $52,500 each. The replacement schedule will ensure that the current fourteen (14) vehicle fleet is replaced entirely over a four-year period.  Thereafter, vehicle replacement will be on a five-year cycle.

Seeking City Commission Approval:

At this time, the Transit Department respectfully seeks City Commission approval to:

· authorize the City Manager to approve staff action to move forward on procuring six (6) paratransit vehicles through the KDOT FY07 transit vehicle bid to replace six (6) vehicles that have fulfilled their service life requirements through utilizing available State of Kansas Comprehensive Transportation Program funding the City has already received at a cost not to exceed $315,000;

· authorize the City Manager to approve a change order to the current contract with MV Transportation, Inc. that allows the company to utilize two (2) replaced paratransit vehicles as Road Supervisor vehicles; the change order will clarify that MV Transportation, Inc. will remain responsible for insuring and maintaining the vehicles

· authorize the City Manager to transfer one (1) replaced paratransit vehicle to the Public Works Department to be utilized for special event transportation; this vehicle would be insured and maintained by the City and operation of the vehicle would be provided through a contract with a private transportation provider.