08-08-16 Public Works and Property Vacation

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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