Eco-Transit TIGGER Grant SubmissionTO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
SUBJECT: Eco-Transit TIGGER Grant Submission
DATE: May 28, 2009
Assistant City Manager Cindy Steinhauser and Management Intern Cori Burbach
recommend City Council approval of the submittal of a $3,471,086 grant application for
the FTA Transit Investments for Greenhouse Gas & Energy Reduction (TIGGER)
Program in partnership with ECIA's Regional Transit Authority (RTA). This grant will be
used to implement the proposed Eco-Transit model.
The Eco-Transit model proposed in the TIGGER grant application is an opportunity for
the RTA and KeyLine to partner to replace 37 inefficient vehicles with energy efficient,
hybrid vehicles at KeyLine, as well as those RTA vehicles that service the City of
Dubuque. Through this collaboration, it is anticipated that a more efficient fleet will
contribute to the City Council's goal of creating a more efficient transit system, which
provides more flexibility for our customers while reducing our vehicular carbon footprint.
I concur with the recommendation and respectfully request Mayor and City Council
approval.
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Michael C. Van Milligen
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Attachment
cc: Barry Lindahl, City Attorney
Cindy Steinhauser, Assistant City Manager
Cori Burbach, Management Intern
THE CITY OF Dubuque
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TO: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
FROM: Cindy Steinhauser, Assistant City Manager
Cori Burbach, Management Intern
SUBJECT: Eco-Transit TIGGER Grant Submission
DATE: May 26, 2009
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this memorandum is to request approval of the submittal of a
$3,471,086 grant application for the FTA Transit Investments for Greenhouse Gas &
Energy Reduction (TIGGER) Program in partnership with ECIA's Regional Transit
Authority (RTA).
BACKGROUND
The FTA TIGGER Program is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
(Stimulus Package) signed into law February 17, 2009. The Program provides federal
funding to transit agencies for capital projects that reduce the energy consumption
and/or greenhouse gas emissions of the transit agency. No local matching funds are
required. The city of Dubuque recently contracted with East Central Intergovernmental
Association (ECIA) to assist us in writing the TIGGER grant application.
Since 2006, the City Council has identified sustainability as one of its top priorities. In
2008, they identified creating a new public transportation model as a top priority. To
achieve both of these goals, the Council hired LSC Transportation Consultants Inc. in
2008 to conduct a comprehensive analysis and redesign of the City's transit system.
City staff has been working with LSC to recommend a new public transportation system
that better meets the needs of Dubuque residents while decreasing its negative impacts
on the environment. As part of this effort, replacement of our aging, energy inefficient
fleet has been identified as a key factor. Eco-Transit, the program proposed in the
TIGGER grant is a collaborative effort between the city of Dubuque and RTA to pursue
federal funding to help cover a significant portion of the capital costs needed to replace
the public transit vehicles that operate within the city of Dubuque.
DISCUSSION
The Eco-Transit model proposed in the TIGGER grant application is an opportunity for
the RTA and Keyline to partner to replace 37 inefficient vehicles with energy efficient,
hybrid vehicles at Keyline as well as those RTA vehicles that service the city of
Dubuque. Through this collaboration it is anticipated that a more efficient fleet will
contribute to the City Council's goal of creating a more efficient transit system which
provides more flexibility for our customers while reducing our vehicular carbon footprint.
As mentioned, the scope of the Eco-Transit program includes the replacement of 37
vehicles. The City's large diesel-powered buses will be replaced with smaller, higher
fuel-efficient and lower emission electric hybrid buses. The City's Paratransit vehicles
and the RTA vehicles that service the city of Dubuque will also be replaced with hybrid
vehicles whose size fits the demands of the system. The total cost of the project is
$4,194,426 of which $3,471,086 is being requested through the TIGGER program. The
remainder of the funding will come $642,590 from Section 5309 Federal Transit Funds,
$42,500 in City funding and $38,250 RTA funds. As part of the proposal, TIGGER grant
funds will also finance the training and equipment needed to service the new fleet of
hybrid vehicles.
The Eco-Transit project also provides an opportunity to implement changes to current
public transportation routes as were previously identified in the evaluation of transit
service options prepared by LSC. These potential changes focus on shorter headways
and specific destinations for consumers in order to increase service levels and ridership
by offering flexibility and convenience. The proposed replacement of the 37 public
transit vehicles is based upon a system that incorporates service option changes and
route redesign.
Lastly, in addition to fleet and route redesign, Eco-Transit incorporates the use of real
time arrival and departure information using shelter signs and public displays integrating
existing Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking satellites to provide accurate vehicle
arrival/departure information for patrons.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends Council approval of submittal of the FTA TIGGER grant application
to implement the proposed Eco-Transit model in the amount of $3,471,086.
cc: Kelley Hutton Deutmeyer, East Central Intergovernmental Association
Teri Goodmann, Assistant City Manager
Jenny Larson, Budget Director
Jon Rodocker, Transit Manager
Dave Heiar, Economic Development Director
Sheila Samuelson, Sustainable Community Coordinator