New Equipment Purchases

[trainman8119]

Proving again:

1. Somehow Pace can buy equipment off budget. (The final 2008 budget provided for 28 buses, and, excluding 2713, would get you to 2731. I really doubt that this order was placed after Doomsday was called off, and delivered within 10 weeks).
   

Something has been perplexing me over the past week or so with Ron's grandstand news conference in front of the hybrids.

Does not the purchase of new buses fall under grants from the feds or is it strictly a capital expenditure (or both). Would this not, possibly, explain how Pace can seem to contstantly buy buses without including them in a budget. I know, for example, that most of the 6000, 8500 and highliner 1200 Metra cars were purchased under Illinois Worst, er First, money. I also think that the NABI buses for Pace were also bought under this. I think that is the exception more than the norm since you always used to hear that bus purchases were done through federal money. If in fact this is the case, does not the leasing of buses (Hybrid artic) not make sense, since it is coming out of operating money instead of grants. Is all of this talk of a capital money plan for the State all talk in how it relates to purchasing new equipment (buses, etc). I always though capital projects were more for things like stations, bridges, garages, shelters...you know, infrastructure. So often we hear about how the system is going to hell because there is no capital money to maintain things (especially after it was used for operations, against advice). Are we being hosed again by the pols in control at the service boards as well as their friends holding the purse strings in Springfield.

What gives here.....set me straight (especially if I am off track..no pun). :(

[Busjack]

There seems to be all sorts of things happening. For instance, media reports indicate you are right that the federal money Metra receives mostly goes into the roadbed, and state money is needed to pay for the rolling stock; hence, the purchase of Nippon Sharyo Highliners to replace the remaining 1970s era ones has been delayed. Then one can throw in that the 2008 legislation provides in 70 ILCS 3615/3B.09(d) that Metra has the authority to issue $1 billion in bonds, payable from its revenues except what it gets from the RTA under the revised funding formula. Hence, we know what revenues are not to be used to retire those bonds, but not what revenues may be used. Is it federal grants or fares?

After nextstopchicago posted the link to the proposed CMAQ plans, one can note that there are such maintenance projects as CTA diesel retrofit and cold starting devices, as well as CDOT applications for L stations. Getting down to the original subject, Pace has requests for community vehicles (the Crusaders), van pool vans, and "Smaller 26' Transit Vehicles" (the latter I don't know what it refers to, since an ElDorado is a 30 foot vehicle, but maybe $5 million gets you 17 of the ElDorados to replace, indirectly, the rest of the more polluting 2200s). Route 714 (College of DuPage Connector) is a CMAQ project, so one can assume that the 6 buses were purchased out of that.

Pace has also referred to several federal earmarks, such as for "Oak Park buses." However, you don't need a continuous earmark for a couple of paratransit vehicles being loaned to Oak Park. There was the mystery, previously noted, about what paid for the Naperville buses.

With regard to CTA, we have previously mentioned bonds in anticipation of federal New Start grants, equipment leases that return more money than safe harbor leases for tax purposes, and the proposed lease of the DE60LFs.

While it appears that federal formula funds are not enough to get the job done, the two unclear issues are:

• If the transit authority uses CMAQ grants and the like to purchase equipment, can it still bypass that from its budget?
  
• What is the source of funds (other than grant anticipation) to pay the bonds or lease obligations?
  

One would need someone with a better financial background and more information than is being disclosed in the budgets to answer that.

Also one would have to throw in what money is needed from a state capital bill to pay either the federal match or for capital improvements directly, as opposed to what is covered by federal formula funds.

[Guest]

Something has been perplexing me over the past week or so with Ron's grandstand news conference in front of the hybrids.

Does not the purchase of new buses fall under grants from the feds or is it strictly a capital expenditure (or both). Would this not, possibly, explain how Pace can seem to contstantly buy buses without including them in a budget. I know, for example, that most of the 6000, 8500 and highliner 1200 Metra cars were purchased under Illinois Worst, er First, money. I also think that the NABI buses for Pace were also bought under this. I think that is the exception more than the norm since you always used to hear that bus purchases were done through federal money. If in fact this is the case, does not the leasing of buses (Hybrid artic) not make sense, since it is coming out of operating money instead of grants. Is all of this talk of a capital money plan for the State all talk in how it relates to purchasing new equipment (buses, etc). I always though capital projects were more for things like stations, bridges, garages, shelters...you know, infrastructure. So often we hear about how the system is going to hell because there is no capital money to maintain things (especially after it was used for operations, against advice). Are we being hosed again by the pols in control at the service boards as well as their friends holding the purse strings in Springfield.

What gives here.....set me straight (especially if I am off track..no pun).

Dont forget Pace's new headquarters building under construction in Arlington Hts.

[trainman8119]

Busjack's 3 words pretty much cleared my head.

"Matching Federal Funds"

Something that I totally forgot in concept. However, the way Hubie and the legislators talk, they make it sound like if they have to come up with the entire cost of a bus or rail car, which is not true. It all comes into focus now. If I recall, I think Illinois Worst (er first), was actually a match to Federal Money. Maybe, maybe not....but at least it all seems clearer in my mind. Some of the downstate people have made mention to loss of federal money if no capital plan is devised.

[Guest metralink]

Dont forget Pace's new headquarters building under construction in Arlington Hts.

The new HQ is funded through federal capital grants going back about 10 years. The CMAQ grant awards are included as part of Pace's budget. CMAQ awards have been used for vanpool equipment, community vehicles and to fund service. All these have been shown in their budget so what is the big deal?

[Busjack]

The new HQ is funded through federal capital grants going back about 10 years. The CMAQ grant awards are included as part of Pace's budget. CMAQ awards have been used for vanpool equipment, community vehicles and to fund service. All these have been shown in their budget so what is the big deal?

My complaint was that the purchase of approximately 40 2600 series buses is not shown in its budget figures, including the 29 Naperville ones. If you can show me where they were in the capital budgets before they were purchased, please do so. I have the budgets downloaded on my computer.

See the prior discussion of this matter here. This also justifies BusExpert's shock when the delivery of 2703 was reported.

Also, this isn't the first time. Pace budgets and press releases around 2003 only reflected 71 40 ft NABIs and 42 35 foot ones. 99 of the former were purchased in 2003, and 84 of the latter. For that matter, there was the mystery appearance of 6156-6161 Orion VIs after the aforementioned NABIs were received.

Update: Googling, I found an earmark that would pay for approximately 3 Wheaton buses, maybe for this restructuring. Probably other stuff like this is lurking.