The 2030 Transit Corridor System Plan adopted by the Metropolitan Transit Commission includes a requirement to develop an alternative financing plan for the North Corridor Commuter Rail Project by this July. Work on the development of this alternative plan has been underway for several months and has involved City staff and representatives from the County; the north Mecklenburg Towns; NCDOT; NSRR; and private sector interests including developers along the corridor.

While this work is occurring, CATS staff has been looking for ways to reduce project costs. In this regard, CATS staff has preserved the ability to acquire commuter rail equipment for the North Corridor at a significant savings by requesting two transit agencies to include non-binding options for North Corridor equipment that could be exercised in the event the North Corridor Project is approved for implementation. If implemented, the North Corridor fleet will consist of five locomotives and 14 bi-level coaches.

Minneapolis (Northstar Commuter Rail) is competitively procuring a large order of bi-level passenger coaches; Boston (MBTA) is competitively procuring a large order of locomotives. Several other U.S. transit agencies are being included for options in these procurements. There is no cost to CATS to secure its equipment options and no requirement that CAATS exercise the options.

Because the Northstar and MBTA orders are significantly larger than a stand-alone order for CATS, pricing should be very favorable. Moreover, the manufacturers would be bound to sell the equipment to CATS at the price submitted to Northstar and MBTA even if CATS did not exercise the option for coaches until March 2009 or locomotives until March 2010. There is the potential to save several million dollars by using the options to buy locomotives and passenger coaches if the North Corridor Project is ultimately approved for implementation.

South Corridor - Coordination of Light Rail and Historic Trolley Services
Staff Resource:
       Ron Tober, 704-336-7245 - rtober@ci.charlotte.nc.us

As CATS staff has been planning for implementation of service on the South Corridor, key issues have arisen regarding the coordination of historic trolley and light rail services along the segment from Tremont Street to 7th Street where the two services will share track. Our planned approach for integrating both services is summarized below:

• Light rail service will run as frequently as every 7.5 minutes during peak periods and with 15 to 30 minutes headways during off-peak periods. The Lynx vehicles weigh almost 100,000 pounds each and will sometimes be run in two-car trains during peak periods.
  
• Historic trolley services will be implemented during off-peak periods including weekends when light rail service is less frequent.
  
• Regular historic trolley service will be provided with the three Gomaco replica cars. These vehicles are new and have been built to meet current safety standards making them more compatible with light rail service.
  
• As indicated in the March 9 Council-Manager Memo, Historic Car #85 does not meet the FTA safety requirements. Safety audits by the FTA and our safety certification consultant have resulted in their recommendation that Car #85 not be used in regular scheduled service.
  
• It is CATS intention to utilize Car #85 only on a special event/excursion basis during off-peak periods, most likely weekends when light rail service is less frequent and vehicle spacing can be kept greater to ensure safety. We would use additional supervision to ensure safety is being maintained.

CATS is committed to doing our best to operate these two services in a safe, reliable manner.

Metropolitan Transit Commission Meeting Summary
Staff Resource:
       Ron Tober, 704-336-7245 - rtober@ci.charlotte.nc.us

At its meeting on Wednesday, March 28, 2007, the MTC unanimously voted to approve Resolution No. 2007-02, which adopts an update to CATS' Procurement Policies. The update to the policies consists of revisions to FTA Circular 4220.1E, which states that as a FTA grantee, CATS' procurement policies must conform to Third Party Contracting Requirements in the solicitation, award and administration of any federally funded contracts. The update also included wording changes to improve the clarity and format of the policies.

The MTC also received information briefings on the following:

FY2008-12 Transit Capital Investment Plan: Staff presented the FY2008-12 Transit Capital Investment Plan, which reflects revisions to the Debt Services Expense. The summary of the proposed FY2008-12 Transit Capital Program Income and Expenses are as follows:

($ Millions)	FY08	FY09	FY10	FY11	FY12
Capital  Income	$69,636,747	$111,713,703	$165,548,857	$257,828,105	$191,888,670
Capital Expense	$138,859,671	$111,795,411	$231,310,953	$257,147,264	$191,363,211

The MTC will take action on the FY08-09 Transit Operating Program/FY2008-12 Capital Investment Plan in April, followed with action by the Charlotte City Council and Mecklenburg BOCC.

CEO's Report: Under the CEO's report:

1. A presentation was given on the North Corridor Financing Plan. Staff estimates the cost of completion of the North Corridor Commuter Rail project is $250 million with a Davidson terminus and $265 million with a Mount Mourne terminus, which is the one staff recommends. Currently, there is a funding gap of $74 million for the Davidson terminus and $63 million for the Mount Mourne terminus. Staff from the City, the County and the North Mecklenburg Towns are working with CATS staff to explore filling the funding gap with tax increment financing or some other funding alternative for rail and related infrastructure needs, joint station and parking development. Staff will present the updated financial plan to the MTC on June 27, 2007, followed by action by the MTC on July 25, 2007.

2. The North Corridor Commuter Rail Project, if implemented, requires five locomotives and 14 bi-level coaches. CATS is thinking about acquiring this equipment by "piggy-backing" with other agencies who are seeking similar equipment because it would be cheaper than procuring the equipment on our own. CATS has identified two agencies to piggy-back with; Northstar Commuter Rail, who is seeking bi-level coaches, and MBTA, who is seeking diesel locomotives. CATS will formally request that both agencies include in their procurement solicitation documents a non-binding option for CATS' coaches and locomotives. Additional information is in today's Council-Manager Memo.

3. With the advent of a petition to repeal the half-cent transit sales tax, staff presented the MTC with four scenarios on how the transit system would operate without revenue from the sales tax. Scenario #1 calls for a reduction to bus service and there would be no rapid transit services. Scenario #2 will reduce bus service and rapid transit would only exist in the South Corridor. Scenario #3 will keep the current bus service and planned South Corridor Light Rail project, but will not implement rapid transit in the remaining corridors. Scenario #4 will continue to follow the 2030 Transit Plan. Staff noted that in FY2006, $65.6 million of CATS' Operating Revenue came from the half-cent sales tax and if it was repealed, there would be a significant reduction in service.

4. Ridership across all services increased 1.4 percent for the month of February 2007 compared to February 2006. Regional express services, activity center circulators and vanpools all showed increases for the month. Community circulators experienced a double-digit increase and neighborhood shuttles had a triple-digit increase, due mostly to the addition of the UNCC Shuttles. Regular bus service and human transportation services experienced a slight decrease for the month.

The next MTC meeting will be held Wednesday, April 25, at 5:30 pm.