Cleveland RTA Gets Grant for New Rail Cars

The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority has received an $8 million grant to be used to fund rail car replacement.

The grant was awarded by the Ohio Transit Partnership Program.

Cleveland RTA said it now has been awarded from the Ohio Department of Transportation $21.4 million to be used toward replacement of rail cars used on its 33-mile rail network.

The agency has raised $197.5 million of the $300 million Railcar Replacement Program budget, according to Deputy General Manager Engineering and Project Management Mike Schipper.

This includes funding being provided by the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency, Federal Formula Funding, and USDOT BUILD, as well as the self-funded Rolling Stock Replacement Fund.

Schipper told RTA trustees during an Aug. 23 meeting that RTA’s rail car fleet is one of the  older in the nation and has exceeded the 30-year expected lifespan of the cars.

“Even as we are in the process of procuring the railcars, the new cars are still going to be 3-4 years from now.” Schipper said.

RTA has enough funding to order 24 new rail cars with options for 36 additional cars.

In a related development, RTA said it received a $3.5 million Urban Transit Program grant from ODOT that will be used to replace six 40-foot diesel buses with six 40-foot Compressed Natural Gas-powered buses.

During the Aug. 23 meeting, RTA trustees approved a resolution to create a seven-member civilian oversight committee to review and investigate public complaints against transit police department employees.

The resolution said the civilian oversight committee must have members who are “representative of the diverse communities in Cuyahoga County.”

At least one member must be a retired police officer. The oversight committee will have the power to receive, investigate and make recommendations to the RTA police chief as to how complaints should be resolved.

RTA’s Chief Operating Officer Floun’say Caver told the trustees that the agency has not had any major issues with its police officers, but by appointing an oversight committee there will be a mechanism to resolve issues should they arise.

COTA Land $750,000 Federal Grant

Columbus-based Central Ohio Transit Authority has won a $750,000 Regional Infrastructure Accelerators grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

It will use the money for its LinkUS Mobility Initiative for the development of high-capacity transit corridors; investments in smart mobility options such as first/mile last mile service; and enhanced bus service with increased frequency, USDOT reported.

The grant was one of five awards totaling $4.8 million awarded under the RIA program.

In a news release, USDOT said the program seeks to help accelerate transportation project delivery through project planning, studies and analysis, and preliminary engineering and design work.

This is the second round of the RIA program awards with the first five having been announced in September 2021.

In that round of funding, the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency in Cleveland received $295,000 for an intermodal facility; airport access improvement; road improvement to a healthcare facility; and a pedestrian connection.

2 Ohio Transit Agencies Receive FTA Grants

Two Ohio public transit agencies are among 35 agencies receiving a share of $2.2 billion being awarded by the Federal Transit Administration through the American Rescue Plan.

The agency said in a news release that the funding will help public transportation agencies pay for day-to-day operations.

The agencies received the funding after demonstrating a need for additional financial support to cover expenses related to day-to-day operations, cleaning and sanitization, combating the spread of pathogens on transit systems, and retaining employees, FTA officials said.

The Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (Metro) in Cincinnati will receive $62.3 million to offset an operating deficit and decreased fare and other revenues during the pandemic.

The Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority will receive $13,833,483.

Transit agencies in nearby states receiving funding include Indianapolis Public Transportation Company, $51,029,180; Lehigh and Northampton Transportation Authority (Pennsylvania), $12,544,967; and Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (Philadelphia),  $96,017,640.

Ohio Public Transit to Get $1.3B Over 5 Years

Ohio public transit agencies are expected to share in $1.3 billion in federal funding over the next five years from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

The funding is expected to be released in stages with $260 million being allocated in federal fiscal year 2022.

Of the FY2022 funding, $73.5 million will be available immediately with the remaining money released later this year.

Cleveland will receive $22 million while Akron will get $3 million.

Akron Metro Workers OK New Contract

Union workers at Akron Metro RTA have accepted a new contract offer that will now be voted on by the agency’s board of directors on Wednesday.

Members of the Transport Workers Union of America Local 1 voted 186 to 25 to accept the contract, which will replace a pact that expired on July 31, 2020.

If approved by the Metro board the contract will be retroactive to June 1, 2021, and run through May 31, 2024.

The union represents bus drivers, vehicle maintenance workers and customer service employees. Those make up 74 percent of Metro employees.

Approval by the Metro board is likely given the statements made by the agency’s CEO Dawn Distler who described the new contract as “fair and equitable to the organization, TWU membership, and, most importantly, is a contract that would strongly benefit our passengers.”

Union officials said the contract makes no changes to health insurance coverage, but they expressed some dissatisfaction about wages.

Willie Brown, the director of the international union’s transit division, said about wages, “when it comes to contracts, it’s give and take.”

Ohio House Committee Boosts Public Transit Funding

Gov. Mike DeWine’s efforts to slash funding of public transit failed to survive a markup session  by a House committee.

The House Finance Committee last week voted to provide $97 million annually for public transportation, a number far above the $7.3 million recommended by DeWine.

The funding approved by the committee includes $23.2 million in federal “flex” funding.

The previous state budget allocated $63 million for public transit funding.

The transportation budget is still subject to further work by the committee and still must be approved by the full House before it moves on to the Senate.

House Speaker Bob Cupp said the House plans to vote on the transportation budget this week.

State law requires the legislature to approve a transportation budget by March 31.

DeWine suffered two other defeats from the House committee when it voted to remove a proposed $10 increase in the state’s annual vehicle registration fee and removed a provision increasing penalties for drivers who use cell phones while driving.

The governor sought the increase in vehicle fees to raise an additional $127 million a year for the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

Committee members who opposed the increase said now is the wrong time to impose new costs on drivers.

DeWine has been pushing since February 2020 a proposal he called “Hands Free Ohio” to crack down on cell phone use while driving.

His original proposal failed to advance in the legislature in the last session so it was introduced as part of the transportation budget this year.

State Rep. Scott Oelslager (R-Canton), the chairman of the finance committee, cited precedent in removing the distracted driving provision.

He said legislators “generally try not to put anything dealing with criminal law” into state budget bills.

Cupp said the distracted driving measure will be introduced as a standalone bill later in the session.

DeWine Proposes Cutting State Transit Funding

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has proposed slashing state funding for public transit in the 2022 and 2023 state fiscal years.

DeWine recommended $7.3 million for public transit funding whereas the current budget is $70 million over a two-year period.

Actual state funding, though, is $63 million due to COVID-19 pandemic budget cuts in the wake of falling state revenues.

Federal funding of Ohio public transit agencies, which is passed through the state for budgeting purposes, would be about $50 million.

Ohio Department of Transportation Director Jack Marchbanks defended the transit funding cut before a state legislative committee by saying DeWine’s proposal reflects what the state has historically spent on transit funding.

State transit funding increased in 2019 as part of a deal made between House Democrats and the legislature’s majority Republicans.

Marchbanks sought to further defend the lower numbers for transit by saying they reflect “budget realities” as the state considers its spending needs.

 “Your point is well made that the need is there,” Marchbanks said in response to a question from one lawmaker.

“But we have in this budget, because of our COVID-based limitations, returned to our historical funding patterns.”

Ohio transit officials countered that Ohio’s spending on public transportation has been among the lowest per capital of any state for several years.

They said that funding cuts would exacerbate the challenges they are already facing in dealing with reduced ridership and revenue during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Public transit is a lifeline for many people and it is worthy of investment, particularly during this pandemic when we’ve discovered the inequality of how COVID is affecting our communities of color,” said Claudia Amrhein, general manager of the Portage Area Regional Transit Authority and president of the Ohio Public Transit Association.

She said public transportation is the only option for many elderly and the poor to get to work and medical appointments.

Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority deputy general manager Mike Schipper noted that his agency received $25 million in funding from the current state budget.

Cleveland RTA used that money to buy 16 new buses and to set aside $5 million for rail car replacement.

“Obviously we wouldn’t be funding those things at the reduced amount,” he said.

Machbanks said ODOT’s overall funding is being squeezed due to falling revenue from the state gas tax.

Gas tax receipts have fallen during the pandemic as more people work from home and do less driving.

ODOT officials are planning to meet with transit agencies next week to discuss possible increases in the state’s share of federal “flex” funding for public transit.

“Transit is going to have to be reimagined post-pandemic and many, many transit agencies are trying to figure out what routing patterns they have to put in place, and what funding models work as they provide that critical mobility for people,” Marchbanks said.

Some state lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have already signaled that they plan to fight the proposed funding cuts during the legislative proceedings on the next state budget.

Akron Metro Public Views on Strategic Plan

Akron Metro RTA will hold a virtual meeting on Tuesday at 6 p.m. to get public views on the transit agency’s 10-year strategic plan.

The meeting can be viewed on Zoom with registration at https://www.akronmetro.org/strategic-plan.aspx.

A recording of the meeting will later be posted on the Akron Metro website.

A summary of the public comments will be presented on Oct. 27 to the Metro board of trustees during its next meeting.

In an unrelated development, Akron Metro has launched a partnership with the Moovit app to allow riders to buy a digital bus pass.

The Moovit app can be downloaded for free on Apple and Android devices.

Riders must have a smart phone to use the app and will show their pass on their device to a bus driver or have it scanned.

The Moovit app incorporates EZfare ticketing while also showing bus lines and trip times.

After selecting a trip using the app riders will see the fare and be able to purchase an e-ticket. Moovit will display the digital ticket and a unique QR code.

Among the transit agencies in Northeast Ohio using app are PARTA in Portage County, MCPT in Medina County, Laketran in Lake County and SARTA in Stark County.

Passengers can use the services to transfer between lines when possible.

Cincinnati Votes OK Tax Hike to Benefit Transit

Voters in Cincinnati recently approved a tax increase that will benefit Cincinnati Metro, the first such tax increase for public transit in the Queen City since 1972.

Hamilton county voters approved a 0.8 percent sale tax increase 67,698 to 66,718.

Voters had turned down levies to raise sales taxes to improve city bus service in 1971, 1979, 1980 and 2002.

About $100 million of the tax hike will be devoted to the bus system and $30 million a year applied to road and bridge projects.

Cincinnati Metro has said it will create new bus routes, provide longer and more frequent service on existing routes, add more crosstown service, and increase weekend service.

In the long term Metro wants to create Bus Rapid Transit routes in which at least a portion of a road is decided to use by buses.

The levy passage will result in Cincinnati’s 0.3 percent earnings tax that currently supports the bus system being removed so the increased sales tax could end up being a tax cut for some.

Metro board chair Kreg Keesee said the agency, which is part of the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority, won’t start collecting increased revenue until January.

Keesee said it will take a couple of years to implement all of the proposed changes.

Public transportation ridership in Cincinnati has fallen 75 percent during the COVID-19 pandemic with much of that loss attributed to the closing of schools.

ODOT Sets Transit Funding Levels in FY2020

Details have been announced by the Ohio Department of Transportation regarding how the agency plans to distribute $70 million in general revenue funds being made available by the Urban Transit Program in the state’s 2020 fiscal year.

The funding plan covers 27 of Ohio’s public transit agencies that fall under the urban transit system category.

The information announced this week is the first outline of how ODOT plans to distribute funding to the state’s public transit systems.

ODOT is allowing funding for projects that support public transportation in Ohio except for those that are project administration and force account work.

General revenue funding may be used to provide 100 percent of the total project cost or 100 percent of the non-federal share to match a federal operating assistance grant.

The ODOT plan includes formula allocations for funding for the 27 Urban Transit Programs, which is expected to be $16.6 million .

Greater Cleveland Regional Transportation Authority will receive the greatest share at $3,670,747.

Akron Metro Regional Transit Authority will receive $1,007,281, Stark Area Regional Transit will receive $591,770, Medina Public County Transit will receive $133,352, Portage Area Regional Transportation Authority will receive $234,773, Lorain County Transit will receive $411,047, Laketran will receive $405,946, Western Reserve Transit Authority (Youngstown) will receive $478,648, and Trumbull County Transit will receive $81,254.