As Sound Transit notes in its news release, that bid was almost $21 million lower than its engineers estimated.

Bids for Capitol Hill light rail tunneling come in below estimate

Apparent low bid is $20.7 million below engineer’s estimate

Sound Transit opened bids today for work that will get underway next year to bore light rail tunnels connecting Capitol Hill and the existing Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel.

The apparent low bid was submitted by JCM U-Link Joint Venture, formed by Jay Dee Contractors of Livonia, Mich.; Frank Collucio Construction Company of Seattle; and Michaels Corporation of Brownsville, Wis. Its bid of $153,556,000 came in 12 percent, or $20.7 million, below the Sound Transit engineer’s estimate of $174,304,700.

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The folks opposed to Sound Transit’s plans to build a berm to elevate railroad tracks through Tacoma’s Dome District aren’t giving up.

Do It Right Tacoma, a group promoting a “post and beam” alternative to the berm, will host a public meeting and walking tour at 5 p.m. Wednesday at 402 E. 26th St. to rally support for the cause.

Sound Transit plans to elevate the tracks as part of a new section of track required to extend Sounder commuter rail service to Lakewood. Opponents of the berm – basically a mound of earth – say it will create an unsightly barrier in the neighborhood and impede future development.

Sound Transit official say redesigning the section would cost more and further delay the completion of a project that originally was scheduled to be finished in 2001.

You'll note that 1,300 riders had to take a bus shuttle to get all the way to the airport because that final segment won't be open until December.

Here is a link to the Washington Policy Center's take on ridership. (It also appears in the comment section).

The center's points are well taken. The 12,000 "riders" probably is only 6,600 different "people." But I'm not going to get bent out of shape by that. I don't think Sound Transit was deliberately distorting the numbers. Rather, the agency was just writing in a language the average person could understand.

Strong ridership during first week of Link light rail service
Link proves popular option for special events

During its first week of regular service Central Link light rail carried an estimated average of 12,000 riders each weekday. Another estimated 16,900 riders took Link on Saturday and 15,100 on Sunday.

“We're encouraged by the large numbers of people who boarded light rail on opening weekend and have started using it every day," said Sound Transit Board Chair and Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels. "This is a new way to think about getting around our region and we know ridership will continue to increase as more people try the system and we expand the line to more communities."

Nationally, ridership on new light rail systems ramps up over time as more and more people find out about the service and give it a try. Weekday ridership during the first week was already more than halfway to the level Sound Transit projections show for the end of 2009.

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Sound Transit is unlikely to make major changes to the design of a Sounder commuter rail extension through Tacoma’s Dome District despite opposition from area businesses and residents.

That message came through clearly this morning at Freighthouse Square at a meeting about Sound Transit’s plans for the commuter rail segment from the Tacoma Dome to South M Street.

The agency plan relies largely on earthen berms to elevate the track as it rises to cross Pacific Avenue and climb a hill along South Tacoma Way. Opponents say the berm will divide the business district and prefer a “post and beam” support structure that would leave open space beneath the tracks.

“The City of Tacoma is letting Sound Transit come through and do it the way they want it, rather than the way that’s best for the City of Tacoma,” said Dan Fear, who lives in the First Creek neighborhood.

Sound Transit officials listened to those concerns and answered questions about the design today. But they say the berm design makes engineering and economic sense for a project that already is behind schedule and over budget.

And while members of the agency’s board of directors wouldn’t rule out small changes, they said they’re unlikely to order a full redesign.

“Will it be a whole different structural arrangement? I doubt that,” said Pierce County Executive Pat McCarthy, a Sound Transit board member.

The design is just the latest controversy over the commuter rail segment, part of a larger extension of Sounder service to South Tacoma and Lakewood. The exact route from the Tacoma Dome to M Street prompted debate. So did the agency’s original plans to cross Pacific at street level.

Sound Transit ultimately decided to elevate the tracks over Pacific to address safety and aesthetic concerns. But that redesign came at a cost. The Tacoma-to-Lakewood project’s budget ballooned from $76 million to $151 million, and the agency is still at least $22 million short on money for the segment.

Agency officials say the “post and beam” alternative would cost another $4 million and would further delay the project, originally scheduled to be finished in 2001. Moving ahead with the current design – which relies mostly on berms but includes some post-and-beam support – would open commuter rail service to Lakewood in 2012.

Opponents fear focusing on the short-term budget and time constraints may have long-term consequences for the Dome District. Resident Jori Adkins said the berm will use land beside the track that otherwise could be used for future retail development.

“This can’t happen if we `berm out,’” Adkins said.

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Pierce County Executive Pat McCarthy in inviting politicians and neighbors to a meeting July 27 to talk about Sound Transit's plans in Tacoma's Dome District.

More specifically, she is creating a forum in which neighbors can raise doubts about the transit agency's plans for putting Sounder tracks on an earthen berm rather than on an elevated structure.

Dome District residents and others think the berm will place a wall between the upper dome district and the lower dome district. Sound Transit thinks the current plan is the most affordable way of getting trains from Freighthouse Square to existing tracks on the south side of Pacific Avenue.

Those trains will then travel to stations in South Tacoma and Lakewood, hopefully by 2012.

Neighbors think Sound Transit and the city of Tacoma has stopped listening to their concerns. McCarthy, a member of the Sound Transit board, and wants staff to make a presentation on existing plans and then listen to concerns. The meeting will include a walk of the proposed route.

It will begin at 9 a.m. in the meeting room of Freighthouse Square.

Here is the pdf of the meeting invitation.

Well, you don't really expect Larry Phillips or Dow Constantine to suggest raising taxes for bus service BEFORE the King County executive election, do ya?

But after a few months of bus drivers selling brownies at bus stops and making no dent in a projected $168 million deficit, the King County Council might think about tapping into the taxing option it got from the Legislature this past session.

UPDATE: Only the 7.5-cent-per-$1,000 in property valuations is available. I incorrectly reported in my first posting there was a $20 car tab option. That was vetoed by the governor.

County Council calls on Metro Transit to become
more entrepreneurial

Motion seeks to leverage revenue through partnerships and entrepreneurial activities

The Metropolitan King County Council today unanimously passed a motion calling on Metro Transit, which is facing a $168 million shortfall over the next two years, to report on efforts to leverage Transit Division resources through partnerships and entrepreneurial activities.

“When the Girl Scouts need extra money, they sell cookies. Looking at a $168 million budget hole, what kind of clever revenue-generating activities can Metro come up with to fill the budget gap and protect bus service?” said Councilmember Larry Phillips, sponsor of the motion. “It’s time to think outside the box and explore innovative ideas for keeping bus service on the streets.”

=> Read more!

In fact, Pierce Transit got the lion's share of this latest batch of federal funding for mass transit projects in Washington. (That includes ferries, by the way.)

U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., actually oversees a committee that is of some value to the state, given all of our transportation projects. She is chairwoman of the Senate Transportation and Housing Appropriations Subcommittee.

The money for Pierce Transit will pay for 6 buses and it appears there also will be some machinery to for the compressed natural gas, which is what the buses run on.

UPDATE: (2:08 p.m.) Lars Erickson at Pierce Transit sent me a note to correct a few things in my original post. First, PT is buying nine buses, not six. They will be deisel-electric buses, not compressed natural gas. Right now, PT's entire fleet on fixed bus routes -- 174 buses -- are natural gas. Read his e-mail below.

Hey Joe-

I wanted to touch base with you about your posting this morning regarding Senator Murray’s mass transit ARRA announcement. A couple of clarifications about PT’s portion.

We are actually not planning to procure Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses with ARRA funds. In fact, we are making an effort to diversify our fleet with nine diesel-electric hybrid buses (approx $5.4 million). As with CNG, diesel-electric hybrid buses also are considerable carbon emission reducers.

Approximately $1.6 million is for a CNG compressor and an emergency power generator for our operations base.

Finally, $4.4 million is for preventative maintenance.

Let me know if you have any questions about PT’s portion.

Thanks,
Lars

Here is Murray's news release:

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A couple days ago I posted an item that said there was a bill working its way through Congress that would let public transit agencies spend some of their federal stimulus money on bus driver salaries instead of just buses.

This news release from U.S. Sen. Patty Murray of Washington provides a bit more detail. They could use as much as 10 percent of their federal stimulus on operating expenses.

Many transit agencies across the country have been planning lay-offs, staff furloughs, and significant service cuts because of the strain on their budgets. Senator Murray’s language, will allow these agencies to use up to 10% of the $6.9 billion in formula grant funding received under the Recovery Act for operating costs.

Senator Murray has heard from transit agencies across the country who need support to cover costs and protect against cuts, including Pierce County Transit whose CEO reacted to today’s news:

“The inclusion of this amendment will allow Pierce Transit to keep valuable service on the street and jobs in our community, while addressing a 15 percent (nearly $10 million) decline in revenue,” said Lynne Griffith, CEO of Pierce Transit.

Here's the full news release from Murray:

=> Read more!

That's the word out of Washington, D.C., where a group that represents a bunch of transportation unions sent out word that Congress might relax its initial set of rules for the economic stimulus funding in a supplemental budget.

As it stands now, they can buy more buses with the money, but they can't use it to pay salaries of bus drivers.

"New buses aren’t going to expand capacity if there are no employees to drive them." says Edward Wytkind, president of the union group. "The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act initially offered funds only for capital projects."

I don't know yet how this might affect local transit agencies -- Pierce, King County Metro, Inter-City.

Here's the rest of his news release.

Congress to Vote on Giving Transit Agencies Flexibility to Use Stimulus Funds for Operating Expenses in Supplemental Bill

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Kitsap Transit said it got a better deal from a local dealer than it would have if the agency had piggy-backed onto the state vehicle-buying contract.

Still, one wonders why there was only 1 bid after 7 dealers inquired, given the state of the automobile industry.

Kitsap Transit Press Release
For more information, contact Cathie Knox-Browning at ktexecutive@kitsaptransit.com

NEW VANPOOL VANS A WIN ON FOUR FRONTS
Kitsap Transit has engineered a win-win for both the local economy and its battered budget by using federal stimulus funds to buy a large group of vans from a local dealer.

In April, the Transit Board approved the purchase of 31 vans from Bay Ford of Port Orchard for $844,263 after giving agency staff the go-ahead to try and best the prices found on the state list for vanpools. Traditionally, the state list boasts the best price for public-agency equipment purchases.

The vans will be used to replace worn-out vans in the agency's Rideshare or vanpool program and for new vanpools.

Earlier this year, KT was awarded $1,890,493 in federal stimulus funds for the replacement of the agency's older, high-mileage Rideshare vans. After looking at van prices on the state list, KT staff asked the Board for permission to conduct a competitive bid, suspecting that they could do better given the changing automotive sales scene.

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I got a call yesterday from Tim Schmidt of Bonney Lake who lives in the 98391 ZIP code and was wondering where his refund check from Sound Transit was.

Bad news, Tim. Not everyone in the 98391 ZIP code gets a refund. Only those who live outside the boundaries of the Sound Transit taxing district. And, I afraid, you don't.

My colleague Ian Demsky wrote a story last December about how Sound Transit owed about $3 million to some vehicle owners because they were mistakenly listed on the tax rolls as people who have to pay an excise tax when they get their license tabs. The money goes to Sound Transit for the regional bus and rail system in most of Pierce, King and Snohomish counties.

Anyway, I figured it was time for an update on that issue, so I put in a call to Geoff Patrick at Sound Transit. The agency has paid out almost $3.7 million so far. Patrick's e-mail response is below.

Hi Joe. Got your voicemail. Here is an overview of where we are at with the refunds. There are a total of about 115,000 transactions identified for refunds. Of those, we have issued checks for all but approximately 8,000. With these 8,000 we are in the process of manually handling each individual record.

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These are the first signs of the 0.5 percent sales tax increase that was approved in November by voters in King and Snohomish counties. (It barely failed in Pierce County, but we're part of the Sound Transit taxing district.)

Light rail from downtown Seattle almost to Sea-Tac Airport starts July 18.

Here are the changes most pertinent to Pierce County:

Starting June 1, the brand new ST Express Route 578 will provide early evening express bus service from downtown Seattle to Federal Way Transit Center, Auburn Station, Sumner Station and Puyallup Station, supplementing Sounder southline service and the ST Express Route 577 Federal Way-Seattle.

Also on June 1, Sounder commuter rail service will expand on the southline with the addition of one new round-trip train to the schedule. Adding these new peak-direction train trips will also introduce major schedule adjustments to southline Sounder service.

Taxes went up April 1.

=> Read more!