08-08-16 Public Works and Property Vacation

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natural gas. It was a $5.5 million project, with a long term plan to sell compressed natural gas to the public. Eventually that will be a revenue source for the City of South Bend and for Transpo. As of Friday, Transpo's transit feature is now on Google Maps, so now Google Maps will tell people how to get from point A to point B using public transit's schedule based information. When you see the busses in the morning and evening, they are jam packed. That really shows you why public transit is important, it provides that vital connection to get people to jobs and to healthcare, to shopping, wherever they need to go. Over the past six (6) years, Transpo has invested over $70 million in federal and state dollars in our region, whether it is our new CNG facility, or buying our busses. We switched our bus manufacturers to have as much of a local impact as possible. The company is out of Winnipeg, Canada, but it has strong ties to the state of Indiana, with subsidiaries in the Elkhart area. The American Public Transportation Association states that for every one (1) dollar invested in public transportation, we get four (4) dollars in economic return. Public transit is about getting people from point A to point B, but it is an economic development tool as well. Challenges that are coming up include the uncertainty over funding as we start seeing the circuit breakers come into effect in the next couple of years. Transpo is still running vehicles that are well beyond their useful life. The average useful life on a transit bus is twelve (12) years; we're still running busses that are sixteen (16) years old. The average useful life of the paratransit busses is four (4) years, and we're still running vehicles from 2005. We keep spending the dollars to maintain them because it is our only option. We are also always looking at ways to meet the need for later bus service, and service on Sundays. Councilmember Dr. Varner asked if the state funding comes from the gasoline tax. Mr. Cangany stated that it does not; it comes from the General Fund, but it used to be attached to the sales tax. Committeemember John Voorde asked how many vehicles are in the fleet, and Committeemember Randy Kelly asked how many are new. Mr. Cangany answered that there are sixty (60) vehicles total in the fleet. Nineteen (19) busses run on compressed natural gas, and six (6) are paratransit buses that have been purchased in the last two (2) years. One (1) of them was built by AM General. Committeemember Voorde asked Mr. Cangany to explain how the paratransit service works. Mr. Cangany stated that there is an application process, and people have to be approved for the service. If granted access, you become a rider and can call up to fourteen (14) days in advance, and as long as it is within the boundaries, we'll pick you up and come to the outermost door of the location we are taking them to. Committee Chair Broden asked if there is a special bus pass for students during the summer.