to view Short Range Transit Plan FY 2007/2008 - Tri Delta Transit

CHAPTER6Capital PlanThis chapter summarizes the proposed 10-year transit capital plan forthe Tri Delta Transit system for Fiscal Years 2007-08 through 2017-18.Necessary capital improvements include revenue vehicle and nonrevenuevehicle replacements, upgrades to existing vehicles to meetCalifornia air quality regulations, improvements to fixed facilities suchas bus stops, and other supporting projects. Proposed capitalimprovements are constrained by future funding allocations. From aplanning perspective, a constrained capital plan that doesn’t includefull funding for capital projects will not meet all identified needs. Table6.1 below summarizes the projected 10-year Tri Delta Transit capitalplan. Total projected capital needs total $63 million through FY18.Tri Delta Transit Fleet PlanTable 6.2 summarizes particulars of the Tri Delta Transit vehicle fleetover the 10-year planning horizon of this SRTP. The objective of thefleet plan is to maintain a fleet of 69 fixed route buses and 26 smallbuses for the paratransit operation during the 10-year horizon of theSRTP. A total of 69 fixed route buses and 26 dial-a-ride vehicles will bereplaced under the plan, consistent with a full useful life for eachvehicle consistent with FTA requirements.The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has established air pollutionrules that required retrofitting or retirement of pre-2006 transit busesthat didn’t meet specified, increasingly stiff emissions requirements.Tri Delta Transit has already retrofitted many of its fixed route fleetbuses to meet the stringent CARB requirements and has approvedfunding to retrofit the rest of the fleet as approved devices becomeavailable. The cost of these retrofits is included in the FR FleetEnhancement Projects line in Table 6.1. All future revenue vehiclepurchase will be made with full consideration of the fleet emissionsrequirements, starting with the upcoming purchase of diesel/electrichybrid buses to replace six, model year 1995 FR buses before the endof FY09.The 2006 SRTP document indicated that a total of 40 heavy-duty fixedroute replacement buses would use fuel cell propulsion. However, thestate of fuel cell technology is increasingly uncertain, and it is not clearwhether the technology is cost-effective for transit use. It is also notcompletely clear whether hybrid or future “clean diesel” technology ismost suitable for transit buses but hybrid technology is currentlyavailable and that is what is indicated in Table 6.2 for replacements.101