TO: AC Transit Board of Directors
FROM: Michael A. Hursh, General Manager
SUBJECT: Funding Agreement with the City of Emeryville
ACTION ITEM
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
Title
Consider authorizing the General Manager or his designee, to execute a funding agreement with the City of Emeryville for the purchase of Transit Signal Priority (TSP) equipment.
Body
STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE:
Goal - Convenient and Reliable Service
Initiative - Service Quality
The funding will provide for installation of TSP equipment that will in turn result in reductions in travel time and improve service speed and reliability.
BUDGETARY/FISCAL IMPACT:
The District will receive funding of up to $177,747 from the City of Emeryville to purchase TSP equipment for thirty (30) AC Transit buses. The District will have to provide 15% local match or approximately $31,500 for the purchase and installation of the TSP equipment on these 30 buses. The District’s local match will be paid for with existing Low Carbon Transit Operations Program grant funds from the Rapid Corridors project.
The District will be responsible for maintenance of the TSP equipment installed on its 30 buses.
BACKGROUND/RATIONALE:
The City of Emeryville secured $726,913 in Surface Transportation Program (STP) funds allocated to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) under the MTC’s Innovative Deployment to Enhance Arterials (IDEA) program. This purpose of this program is to advance deployment of technologies to improve arterial operations and enhance safety along transit corridors.
The City of Emeryville approached AC Transit for a partnership for their Emeryville Next Generation Traffic Signal Project to deploy the Automated Traffic Signal Performance Measures (ATSPM) system and TSP equipment to improve travel time and travel time reliability along arterials for autos and transit vehicles on 40th Street, Shellmound Street and Powell Street.
The City of Emeryville will purchase and install TSP equipment at its intersections that will be compatible with the District’s existing onboard TSP equipment. The City of Emeryville will maintain the TSP equipment at its intersections. The city will provide STP funds to the District through the agreement shown in the attachments for the purchase and installation of TSP equipment on the AC Transit buses in order to ensure compatibility with the existing AC Transit TSP system.
ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES:
Partnering with the City of Emeryville gives the District the opportunity to have thirty (30) of its fleet equipped with the TSP equipment for only the 15% match, saving 85% of the cost. The cost of equipping the thirty (30) buses with TSP equipment is not currently funded otherwise. Additional TSP-equipped buses assist the staff with regular deployment of TSP buses on routes where they are required.
ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS:
The District could decline the partnership with the City of Emeryville and procure its own source of funds for the installation of TSP equipment on its 30 buses. This is not recommended due to the increase in cost.
PRIOR RELEVANT BOARD ACTION/POLICIES:
None
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Grant Subrecipient Contract between AC Transit and the City of Emeryville
2. Exhibit A - Grant Subrecipient Contract
3. Exhibit B - Supplement 1 to Master Funding Agreement between MTC and the City of Emeryville
4. Exhibit C -Master Funding Agreement between MTC and the City of Emeryville
Prepared by:
Seema Prasad, Senior Capital Planning Specialist
In Collaboration with:
Evelyn Ng, Capital Planning and Grants Manager
Mika Miyasato, Senior Transportation Planner
Approved/Reviewed by:
Claudia L. Allen, Chief Financial Officer
Chris Andrichak, Acting Deputy Chief Financial Officer
Robert del Rosario, Director of Service Development and Planning
Jill A. Sprague, General Counsel