STAFF REPORT
DATE: March 28, 2023
TO: Justin Hess, City Manager
FROM: Patrick Prescott, Community Development Director VIA: David Kriske, Assistant Community Development Director BY: Karen B. Pan, Transportation Services Manager
SUBJECT: Approval of a Buyer’s Order Contract with Creative Bus Sales to Replace Six BurbankBus Transit Vehicles and Amend Fiscal Year 2022-23 Budget
RECOMMENDATION
Approve a Buyer’s Order Contract between the City and Creative Bus Sales (Attachment 1) to procure six grant-funded 35-foot compressed natural gas (CNG) powered buses for BurbankBus fixed-route operations, authorize the Community Development Director, as the City Manager’s designee, to execute and make any minor modifications to the agreement, and amend the Fiscal Year 2022- 23 Budget by appropriating funds in the amount of $4,563,890.
BACKGROUND
BurbankBus provides fixed-route transit services for residents and commuters. The City's transit system provides local multi -modal connections between regional transit facilities, offices, and commercial centers near the major employment areas of Burbank.
BurbankBus bridges local transit service gaps, supplements the regional Metro bus networks, and provides regional transfer opportunities with Metro Local, Metro Rapid (Orange Line), Metro Red Line, Metrolink, Amtrak, Glendale Beeline, Santa Clarita Transit, and Los Angeles Department of Transportation ( LADOT) Commuter Express .
BurbankBus allows Burbank residents and those working in Burbank the ability to commute without a car.
BurbankBus requires a fleet of 17 buses to provide daily service. These buses have been purchased over several years since the City has operated fixed-route transit services. Six of the oldest buses are approximately 20 years old and are at the end of their service life.
COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT
2 These buses should be replaced to maintain service reliability , high customer service, and save on maintenance costs.
In anticipation of the need to replace these vehicles, the City was awarded with two grants to procure these buses: 1) 2015 Metro Call for Projects for $1.2 million (Attachment 2); and 2) Measure M for $1.8 million (Attachment 3). This is a total of $3 million in grant funds. In October 2018, the City Council approved the Measure M Funding Agreement, and in July 2020 approved the Call for Projects Letter of Agreement authorizing the City to accept grant funds.
DISCUSSION
There are two procurement options : 1) Develop specifications, produce a request for proposals, evaluate, and procure the buses directly (direct procurement); or 2) Utilize a cooperative purchase agreement through the California Association for Coordinated Transportation (CalACT). Staff concluded that the cooperative purchase option is the most beneficial as it results in a lower price, ensures a more timely delivery of the buses, and saves staff time and administrative costs to the City . The cooperative purchase procurement process is also federally and California State compliant so the City will not need to conduct its own separate federal and state-compliant solicitation process.
The City is currently a member of CalACT, an industry group that represents the interests of small urban and rural transit systems. As a member, the City has the ability to purchase vehicles using a cooperative purchase through a previous transit vehicle procurement conducted by another transit agency. The advantage of using a cooperative purchase is that the purchase has already been approved by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) as meeting the procurement requirements of federal grants. The bus price through the cooperative purchase is also cheaper than the bus prices quoted by the bus manufacturers directly. Finally, because the purchase has already been approved by the FTA because the bus specifications are pre -set as part of the cooperative purchase, manufacture and delivery are faster than purchasing though a manufacturer directly. The CalACT cooperative procurement is provided via a local transit vehicle dealer, Creative Bus Sales.
Staff recommends approving the Buyer’s Order Contract with Creative Bus Sales to provide the buses specified through the CalACT cooperative purchase, and secure the specified pricing rates. There may be minor modifications to the Buyer’s Order Contract, as approved by the City Attorney, to ensure that purchasing the CNG buses meet federal, state, and local requirements, including but not limited to applicable grant requirements.
Upon execution of the Buyer’s Order Contract (Attachment 1), it is anticipated that the City will receive the buses 12 to 15 months from this date. The 15-month timeframe is due to supply chain and labor constraints from the COVID -19 Pandemic that forced automakers to cut new-vehicle production and increase costs. Staff plans on retiring the 3 oldest buses and using their parts, and/or selling them at an auction by the Public Works Department as required by City policies.
Under the CalACT cooperative purchase, the new buses will be CNG low- emission vehicles manufactured by ElDorado (National Axess Model), ADA compliant, include new bicycle racks, and will incorporate fare management system technologies (TAP). The unit cost per bus under the cooperative purchase option is $750,471.58, which includes all fees, taxes and delivery charges, totaling $4,502,830 for all six buses. In addition, as required by the executed FTA Pass -Through agreement with Metro (Attachment 4), the City is required to pay Metro an administrative fee of $61,059.50 for assisting the City in securing FTA grant funds on behalf of the City. The total purchase price of these buses is $4,502,830, of which $3,021,190 will be reimbursed by the two Metro grants. Fund 532 vehicle replacement funds will cover $1,176,342
1 and Transportation Development
Impact Fees will cover $366,358 of the remaining cost to purchase the vehicles. Below is a summary of the grant and local funds used to purchase the buses:
Federal
Grant
Measure M
Grant
City Fund 532
Vehicle
Replacement
Trans.
Development
Impact Fees
Total
LACMTA Administrative
Cost
0 0 0 61,060 61,060
LACMTA Call for Grants
ID# F9436, FTIP#
LAF9436
1,221,190 0 0 305,298 1,526,488
Measure M BurbankBus
State of Good Repair –
Bus Replacement,
LACMTA Project ID#
MM4102.01
0 1,800,000 0 0 1,800,000
City’s Vehicle
Replacement Fund -
532.CD32B.15101
0 0 1,176,342 0 1,176,342
TOTAL $4,563,890
Next Steps for BurbankBus
Purchasing the CNG buses today is critical in maintaining current operations. In the upcoming years, the City will be transitioning to a zero- emission fleet to ensure the City reduces its share of greenhouse gas emissions . As required by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) that adopted the Innovative Clean Transit (ICT) Regulation, all public transit agencies are required to gradually transition to a 100-percent (100%), zero-
1 Like all City vehicles, when the City purchased the current buses in 2003, it paid transportation local return funds each year into Fund 532 equal to a portion of the depreciated value of the vehicles. These funds have been accruing since 2003 to help fund replacement vehicles. The funds accrued from this depreciation will be used to pay for a majority of the local match portion of the grant . 4 emission bus fleet. Small transit agencies, such as BurbankBus, must start their zero - emission bus purchases by 2026. In 2029, all new bus purchases by transit agencies must be zero-emission buses. CARB’s goal is that 100% of transit buses in California are zero emission by 2040.
As a first step, the City Council reviewed the Arroyo Verdugo Transit Op erators Bus Electrification Feasibility Study in March 2022 (Attachment 5). The purpose of the study was to outline the steps required by BurbankBus, Glendale Beeline, and Pasadena Transit to transition from a fossil fuel bus fleet to a zero- emission bus f leet. The report summarizes the results of that feasibility study as well as provides a menu of options for the BurbankBus on how to proceed. The City Council voted to c ooperate with Glendale to electrify the Glendale Beeline transit facility , co -locate by 2026, and include the continuance of the City’s PASS income- eligible subsidy program for Burbank residents.
This effort would be a $12 million investment for Burbank, and the estimated cost of this policy includes the cost to transition to Battery Electric Buses (BEBs) and construction of associated infrastructure. To meet this goal, staff will be presenting a zero- emission bus rollout plan at a future City Council meeting in summer 2023. While Council’s long-term goal is to convert BurbankBus to a BEB fleet, Council acknowledged that today’s service needs require the acquisition of CNG buses to bridge the gap until BEBs can be fully implemented in accordance with the City’s electric vehicle transition policy.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This activity has no potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, and as such, is not a “project” subject to the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) 14 Cal. Code Regs § 15378.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact on the City’s General Fund in purchasing these vehicles since the cost is fully covered by Transportation Special Revenue Funds and grants. Staff is recommending that City Council amend the Fiscal Year 2022-23 Budget by appropriating as follows:
• Appropriating $1,587,548 Metro Call for Projects Grant Funds from revenue account 127.ND000.48000.1015.24746 (Public Improvements Fund, Non-Departmental, MTA Revenue, CNG Bus, FY15 Metro Call - Bus Replacement) to expenditure account 127.CD33A.70010.0000.24746.00000 (Public Improvements Fund, Transportation, Automotive Equipment, FY15 Metro Call - Bus Replacement). • Appropriating $1,800,000 Measure M Grant Funds from revenue account 127.ND000.30011.0000. 24740 (Public Improvements Fund, Non- Departmental, Assigned Fund Balance , Measure M Grant - Bus Replacement ) to expenditure account 127.CD33A.70010.0000. 24740.00000 (Public Improvements Fund, Transportation, Automotive Equipment, Measure M Grant - Bus Replacement) to augment previously budgeted funds.
5 • Appropriating $ 1,176,342 from revenue account 532.ND000.30011.0000. 24746 (Vehicle Equipment Replacement Fund, Non-Departmental, Assigned Fund Balance, FY15 Metro Call - Bus Replacement ) to expenditure account 532.CD32B.15101.0000.24746 (Vehicle Equipment Replacement Fund, BurbankBus, Vehicles – Clearing, FY15 Metro Call - Bus Replacement).
Funds will initially be drawn from 127.ND000.30011.0000.00000 (Public Improvements Fund, Non-Departmental, Assigned Fund Balance) until reimbursed.
The City’s current policy for replacing its fixed route transit vehicles is for Fund 105 (Prop C) to pay 20 percent of the total purchase price of the vehicles into the City’s vehicle replacement fund. Thus, the City must rely on future grant revenues to pay for the remaining 80 percent of the replacement costs when the buses are replaced in 12 years.
If grant funds are not available at that future time, the City will be required to pay additional one-time Prop C funds or reduce its fleet size (including a corresponding reduction in service) at that time to preserve Prop C local return funds. Alternatively, if full replacement costs were paid instead, the City would be required to reduce service today to ensure that Prop C expenditures matched revenues. Staff believes the current policy of capturing 20 percent is preferable as it allows for the city to provide more transit service today while securing grant funds to replace vehicles in the future.
CONCLUSION
BurbankBus is a critical component of the City’s transportation network and infrastructure and maintaining its rolling stock is critical in delivering reliable transit service to its patrons and residents. Approval of the Buyer’s Order Contract with Creative Bus Sales will enable the City to continue to provide efficient and high- quality BurbankBus fixed- route transit services. Staff will continue to work on a zero- emission bus rollout plan that will be presented at a future City Council meeting in summer 2023.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 – Buyer’s Order Contract Between the City of Burbank and Creative Bus Sales, Including Local Amendment, Bidding, and Pricing Information Attachment 2 – Letter of Agreement Between City of Burbank and Metro Attachment 3 – Metro Measure M Funding Agreement
Attachment 4 – Metro Federal Transit Administration Pass-Through Agreement Attachment 5 – March 15, 2022 Staff Report – Review of the Arroyo Verdugo Transit Operators Bus Electrification Feasibility Study Policy to cover the City’s BurbankBus services to zero- emission electric vehicles in accordance with California Air Resources Board regulations