HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-08-16 Public Works and Property VacationOFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK
KAREEMAH FOWLER, CITY CLERK
PUBLIC WORKS AND PROPERTY VACATION AUGUST 8, 2016 3:56 P.M.
Committee Members Present: Jo M. Broden, John Voorde, Randy Kelly, Gavin Ferlic
Other Council Present: Regina Williams- Preston, Oliver Davis, Dr. David Varner,
Others Present: Kareemah Fowler, Jennifer Coffman,
Kathleen Cekanski - Farrand, Adriana Rodriguez
Agenda: Transpo Briefing, David Cangany- General Manager and CEO of
Transpo
Committee Chair Jo M. Broden called the meeting of the Public Works and Property Vacation
Committee to order at 3:56 p.m. with one item on the agenda.
Transpo Briefing, David Cangany- General Manager and CEO of Transpo
David Cangany, General Manager and CEO of Transpo explained that Transpo is a municipal
corporation, known as the South Bend Public Transportation Corporation, but does business as
Transpo. Transpo has been operating under municipal ownership since 1968 under state code.
Prior to that it was a private agency that was making money. As urban sprawl began, businesses
that ran public transportation became bankrupt, and transit corporations throughout the state
became known as PTCs. Transpo is governed by a board of directors with nine (9) members.
Transpo has about one - hundred and twenty (120) diverse employees, and has been focusing on
veterans as candidates for positions.
Forty percent (40 %) of Transpo's workforce is eligible for retirement in the next four (4) years.
When looking for replacements, Transpo is looking for people with the same dedication who will
hopefully spend another thirty (30) to forty (40) years working here.
Transpo provides fixed -route and para- transit bus service in the South Bend and Mishawaka City
limits. It provides over 2 million fixed -route rides per year, and 60,000 trips per year on the
access paratransit service. The paratransit service is a specialty origin to destination service
based on reservations that operates within the same hours as the fixed route.
455 County -City Building • 227 W. Jefferson Boulevard • South Bend, Indiana 46601
Phone 574- 235 -9221 • Fax 574- 235 -9173 • TDD 574- 235 -5567 • www.SouthBend[N.gov
JENNIFER M. COFFMAN ALKEYNA M. ALDRIDGE EMILY SEXTON
CHIEF DEPUTY/ CHIEF OF STAFF DEPUTY/ DIRECTOR OF POLICY ORDINANCE VIOLATION CLERK
Transpo's fare is one of the lowest in the state. It costs riders one (1) dollar to ride the regular
fixed -route bus, and two (2) dollars to ride the access service. The state guidelines state that
Transpo can charge no more than two (2) times the base local fare. It costs Transpo four (4)
dollars per ride on fixed- routes, and it costs about thirty -five (3 5) dollars to provide each ride on
paratransit as well. It is heavily subsidized, so we try to make sure that everyone riding the
paratransit service really needs it so we can deliver the best quality service that everyone
deserves.
Transpo's 2016 budget was 10.8 million dollars. Passenger fares account for 14 %, and 18%
comes from the state of Indiana through the Public Mass Transit Fund. Transpo has taken about
a $1 million hit over the last seven (7) years. In 2012, Transpo cut about $1 million worth of
service, and then every year we borrow against our capital fund that we receive from the federal
government.
About thirty -one (31 %) comes from local funds. We receive no direct funds from the Cities of
South Bend and Mishawaka. Because we are a PTC, we have the ability to levy property taxes,
we receive some COIT and some license and wheel tax funds. Another 31% of our budget
comes from the federal government. We are able to convert capital dollars over to operating; we
try to limit that as much as possible, but at the end of the day we do not want to cut service or
raise fares. The remaining five percent (5 %) is through some leases that Transpo has. We lease
out space at our building, and we are actually losing tenants at the end of this year, so that will
play a role in how we form our budget for 2017. Transpo also has two (2) parking garages that
the City leases back from us. One of the leases matured in 2016, so we are working on getting
that transferred back to City ownership. One garage brings in about $20,000 per year, and that
will expire in 2018 or 2019, so we will lose that revenue as well. We make about $80,000 per
year selling advertising on the side of the busses and while it is nice to bring in that income, it
dilutes our brand, so we are not advertising on our new fleet of busses.
Fifty -one percent (51 %) of our budget goes to pay the one - hundred and twenty (120) employees
that we employ. Most of those employees are our front -line workforce, and they are represented
by the Amalgamated Transit Workers Local 996. Last year we signed a three (3) year agreement
with the union. Benefits account for twenty -one (21 %) of the budget, and we are always looking
for ways to cut funds from the benefit side by combining with other municipalities for healthcare
as we keep seeing the costs go up. Fuel accounts for about eight (8 %) of our budget, but as we
move from diesel to CNG, our fuel costs keep going down. Services account for seven (7 %), but
that will change as we have recently ended our relationship with our management company that
provided professional management services.
Transpo replaced about one -third (1/3) of its fleet in 2014 and 2015, so we borrowed the local
share for that purchase. Any time we buy a capital item, the federal government funds eighty
percent (80 %) and we are responsible for the remaining twenty percent (20 %). We took out a
loan for $1.5 million to fund the local share of our busses because it was the best option.
Materials and supplies accounts for about four (4 %) of our budget.
When we moved in to the new building six (6) years ago, we lowered our utility rates by thirty
percent (30 %). We just finished building the largest fast fill public station for compressed
2
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.
Mr. Cangany stated that three (3) years ago, the summer travel pass was launched. For thirty
(30) dollars, students from K -12 can ride Transpo all summer long on our fixed -route service.
The parks have a summer lunch program, so we can get them wherever they need to go to get
what they need. This year was not as successful as it was in the past few years.
Committeemember Broden asked how many students are taking advantage of the program, and
Mr. Cangany stated that this year they have sold less than one - hundred (100) student bus passes,
whereas last year we sold over three - hundred (300) passes.
Councilmember Regina Williams- Preston asked if the thirty (30) dollar pass was just for a month
long, and Mr. Cangany clarified that during the school year, Transpo offers a pass that is good
for thirty -one (31) days for thirty (30) dollars. During the summer, the thirty (30) dollar pass is
good all summer long.
Transpo also provides bus service for School City of Mishawaka, because they do not provide
bus service for students. Their students just buy our thirty (30) dollar monthly passes. The thirty
(30) dollar pass is available to South Bend students as well, and the monthly adult pass is thirty -
five (35) dollars.
Councilmember Dr. Varner asked if Transpo would see more revenues if it were able to work
with the South Bend School Corporation, and what that would take to facilitate.
Mr. Cangany stated that he has had conversations with the Director of Transportation, and their
system is a lot more complex than Transpo's, but there are opportunities for savings because they
go down the same streets. Transpo goes right by every high school except for Clay, and if that
opportunity were to present itself, Transpo could look into going by Clay.
Councilmember Williams- Preston asked if Transpo could make it out to Rise Up Academy
because there are a lot of problems with getting there. Mr. Cangany stated that Rise Up sends a
yellow bus to the bus station every day, so there are opportunities for anything.
Committeemember Voorde asked if there are bike racks, and Mr. Cangany stated that there are
bike racks on every bus, and Transpo is adding to them on their next orders.
A gentleman from the public asked how Transpo plans to replace all of the retiring bus operators.
Mr. Cangany explained that people do not have to have a CDL license to apply for a job with
Transpo. Anyone who has a knack for safety, good customer service skills, and the eligibility to
drive can be trained to get their CDL. We want them to be safe and courteous when they are on
the roads, and we have a six (6) week long training program which is even longer if they are
training for their CDL. Those positions will be advertised as they come up.
Paul Tipps, 1930 Ribourde Drive, asked if every time someone boards an Access bus, Transpo
loses thirty-three (33) dollars.
Mr. Cangany said yes, our goal is to restrict and add more processes and layers into the
application process so when someone applies for the access service, we have more than just an
application to look at. We are also partnering with MACOG, and we're in the process of issuing
an RFP for new paratransit scheduling software to be more efficient. Traditionally, paratransit
service is the most expensive service that public transit agencies operate,-so we are trying to
make sure that we are only using the service for the folks who need it.
With no other business on the agenda, Committee Chair Jo M. Broden adjourned the meeting at
4:18 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Jo roden, Committee Chair