October 17, 2023
Library and Community Services
DATE: October 17, 2023
TO: Mayor Martinez and Members of the City Council
FROM:
LaShonda White, Deputy City Manager – Community
Services
Denée Evans, Transportation Services Project Manager
Subject:
Resolution to Accept and Appropriate California State
Transportation Agency Funds
FINANCIAL IMPACT: The grant funds awarded from the California State Transportation Agency in the amount of $3,117,500, in
combination with the City’s match of $3,117,500 from the Environmental and Community Investment Agreement
(ECIA) Transportation Fund (Fund 1017), will cover the
cost of the amended contract to expand shuttle service to additional areas of Richmond. City staff will work with Finance to encumber the total amount of funds for the
grant match or allocate funds annually.
If the Resolution is not approved, the Transportation
Division will be ineligible to expand operations for the Richmond Moves shuttle program, leveraging the grant
funds and the ECIA grant match funds, as prioritized
within the adopted First Mile Last Mile Strategic Plan.
PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:
July 6, 2021, October 1, 2021, April 17, 2022, and
September 12, 2023.
AGENDA
REPORT
October 17, 2023
STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:
The City received a notice of award from the California State Transportation Agency (CALSTA) to receive funds
to expand the existing Richmond Moves shuttle service
citywide. The awarded funds, in combination with ECIA
transportation grant match funds, will cover the cost of an amended contract with Nomad Transit, LLC (dba Via) to
add five vehicles, and to extend shuttle operations to
better serve the entire city.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
ADOPT a resolution authorizing the city manager or their designee to enter a master funding agreement with the
California State Transportation Agency and fulfill all
related grant requirements; ACCEPT and
APPROPRIATE $3,117,500 in grant funds awarded by
the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program;
AUTHORIZE and APPROPRIATE a grant match in the
amount of $3,117,500 from the Environmental and
Community Investment Agreement (ECIA) transportation
budget; and APPROVE a sole-source fourth contract
amendment with Nomad Transit, LLC (Via) to increase
the contract limit by $6,235,000, for a new total contract limit not to exceed $8,335,731, and extend the term
through July 7, 2027 – Community Services Department
(LaShonda White 510-620-6828/ Denée Evans 510-621-
1718).
DISCUSSION:
On April 24, 2023, the Richmond Transportation Department was notified via email that the California State Transportation Agency (CALSTA) had selected the City of Richmond to receive a grant for the citywide expansion of the Richmond Moves Electric Shuttle program. The funds are provided through the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP) in the amount of $6,235,000.
The total grant award includes direct funds from the TIRCP in the amount of $3,117,500 which requires a City of Richmond grant match in the amount of $3,117,500, for a total grant award of $6,235,000.
The Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP)
The Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP) was created by Senate Bill (SB) 862 (Chapter 36, Statutes of 2014) and modified by Senate Bill 9 (Chapter 710, Statutes of 2015), to provide grants from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) to fund transformative capital improvements that will modernize California’s intercity, commuter, and urban rail systems, and bus and ferry transit systems, to significantly reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, vehicle miles traveled, and congestion. Through the six cycles of TIRCP funding, the California State Transportation Agency (CALSTA) has
October 17, 2023
awarded more than $10 billion in funding to 132 projects throughout the state. The legislation of these bills is established in Sections 75220 through 75225 of the Public Resources Code (PRC). Assembly Bill 398 (Chapter 135) extended the Cap-and-Trade Program that supports the TIRCP from 2020 through 2030.
The TIRCP was created to fund transformative capital improvements that modernize California’s intercity rail, bus (including feeder buses to intercity rail services, as well as vanpool services that are eligible to report as public transit to the Federal Transit Administration), ferry, and rail transit systems (collectively referred to as transit services or systems inclusive of all aforementioned modes unless otherwise specified) to achieve all of the following policy objectives, as established in Section 75220(a) of the PRC:
1. Reduce emissions of greenhouse gases
2. Expand and improve transit service to increase ridership
3. Integrate the rail service of the state’s various rail operations, including integration with the high‐speed rail system
4. Improve transit safety
Additionally, Section 75221(c) of the PRC establishes a programmatic goal to provide at least 25 percent of available funding to projects that provide a direct, meaningful, and assured benefit to disadvantaged communities.
The TIRCP funds for this General Fund cycle are available for award, encumbrance and liquidation, and are expected to be fully encumbered and liquidated by June 30, 2027.
The Project
The TIRCP project expands the existing Richmond Moves microtransit services to provide service within the entire city boundaries of the City of Richmond utilizing zero emission vehicles. In total, City’s microtransit fleet will expand from five (5) vans to a total of ten (10) zero emission vehicles to operate the service city-wide.
Launched in April 2022, the service known as “Richmond Moves”, was designed with the goal of providing better service to disadvantaged areas of Richmond by providing general mobility and greater access to regional mobility hubs such as the Richmond BART/Amtrak station, the El Cerrito del Norte BART station, and the Richmond Ferry Terminal.
The Richmond Moves program is a Clean Mobility Options Voucher Pilot Program (CMO) project that is funded through the California Air Resources Board. The City with Nomad Transit, LLC (dba Via) as the shuttle operator, is a first round CMO awardee.
The five-year program provided awardees with up to $1 Million dollars to develop and operate clean transportation services for a funding period of three years. Awardees were also required to secure additional funds to sustain the project for the remaining two years of the five-year CMO term and beyond. Richmond staff recently secured an additional $500,000 in CMO funds. The additional funds allow the City to add two vans
October 17, 2023
to increase the Richmond Moves fleet total to five and funds the Via operations to expand the service area.
The service will continue to utilize zero-emission electric vehicles, grouping multiple passengers heading in the same direction, and booking passengers into a shared vehicle, thereby improving efficiencies for both the rider and the city, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The new extended service will improve transit options for thousands of low-income individuals who are currently living in transit-deserts.
Richmond Moves Expanded Service Area
Blue indicates the current service zone, green is the Clean Mobility Voucher plus up funded expansion zone, and red is the new TIRCP expansion zone.
Leveraging the TIRCP funds aligns with the objectives of the City Council adopted First Mile Last Mile Strategic Plan and satisfies the CMO funding agreement requirements to sustain the program beyond the pilot term.
City staff recommends the City Council adopt a resolution authorizing the City to enter a master funding agreement with the California State Transportation Agency and fulfill all related grant requirements; accept and appropriate an amount of $3,117,500 in grant funds awarded by the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program; authorize a grant match in the amount of $3,117,500 from the ECIA transportation budget; and approve a
October 17, 2023
fourth contract amendment with Via to increase the contract limit by $6,235,000, for a new total contract limit not to exceed $8,335,731 and extend the contract term from October 1, 2021, to July 7, 2027.
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
Attachment 1 – Authorizing Resolution TIRCP_ Richmond
Attachment 2 – CA Department of Transportation TIRCP_ Richmond Master Agreement Attachment 3 – 2023 Cycle 6 New TIRCP Award List
Attachment 4 – Fourth Amendment to the Via Contract
Attachment 5 -- Original Via Contract with amendments
Attachment 6 – Via Sole Source