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The NY State Senate and Assembly are in final negotiations for the state's 2016-2017 budget, which includes proposals for improved funding for TCAT and other underfunded transit agencies across the state that are contending with aging fleets and lack of predictable resources to adequately meet passenger demand.

TCAT is reaching out to its stakeholders to urge them to remind legislators, at this critical time, the need to increase state transit operating assistance (STOA) and capital funding to upstate and downstate suburban transit systems. TCAT is asking all of its stakeholders to please advocate their state lawmakers to push for a five-year capital plan proposed by the New York Public Transit Association (NYPTA), its trade association in Albany.

NYPTA has identified $1 billion in capital needs for both upstate agencies and downstate suburban transit agencies. As it stands, NYPTA says, only less than half of those needs are funded by available resources.  NYPTA is asking for increased state investment of $100 million per year over each of the next five years.

A TCAT release says it is grateful to State Rep. Barbara Lifton, D-125, who represents Tompkins County, for her show of support.  

"I applaud NYPTA's recommendation that the state should provide an annual capital investment of $100 million per year and increase operating assistance funding to upstate transit systems," Lifton said in a statement.

"Many upstate transit systems are in a precarious position. Some have shut down completely, while others are on the edge," Lifton said. "A community cannot thrive economically or culturally unless its residents have access to good public transportation. "I call on the Governor and my colleagues in the state legislature to support this critical funding that will help prevent further deterioration of our upstate bus systems."

Largely due to bus shortages, exacerbated by an aging fleet, TCAT in recent months has had to pull trips, an obvious inconvenience to its passengers in a community that values and supports its public transit system. In February alone, TCAT reported 180 missed trips. Meantime, TCAT assures its passengers it is doing everything it can to remedy the problem. In the coming weeks, TCAT will put five new replacement buses into service, which should help ease the problem. (TCAT also has funding for another 10 replacement buses, but they will not be in on site until September 2017.)

The average age of TCAT's fleet is edging up to 10 years. Useful life of a transit bus is 12 years. In recent weeks, TCAT suffered an unanticipated spate of mechanical issues with 8 buses that had to be taken out of service for major repairs, which in turn has caused bus shortages. Overall, TCAT has 52 buses. This has left the system with 44 buses. TCAT needs 41 buses in service to meet rush hour demand. This has left the agency with only three buses as back-ups in the event of a mechanical breakdown on the street or other issues.

The problem has worsened due to a shortage of mechanics; an issue TCAT is addressing with recruitment efforts and its human resources team has been successful at filling some of those spots – no easy task with a tight labor force. In addition, TCAT's maintenance department put into place more efficient tracking procedures to identify mechanical problems and make necessary repairs.

Previously, missed trips were due to other factors, particularly from July to September, when TCAT faced severe driver shortages. TCAT has addressed driver shortages by hiring outside contract drivers, now up to 10. Given the high cost, using contract drivers is not a long-term solution. Again, TCAT's human resources team continues to ramp up its recruitment efforts to bring in bus operators; again quite a feat with a shrinking labor pool. Tompkins County is at or near full employment levels.  And, at the national and regional level, there is extreme demand for professional/ commercial drivers.

From now through 2020, TCAT calculates it needs more than $21 million for capital needs to include 19 additional buses to replace buses that will be aging out; for ongoing, information technology improvements; amenities; and other capital needs. To be sure, TCAT hopes to receive federal, state and local funding to meet its needs, but that funding at all levels remain inadequate and are neither predictable nor guaranteed. The lack of predictability makes it difficult to plan ahead. As an example, it takes 18 months to build a bus. If TCAT can't be certain it will be receiving money, it cannot order buses or plan for other capital improvements in a timely fashion. Simply put: unpredictability slows the process and, ultimately passengers suffer.

As part of its proposal, NYPTA is asking the state to increase so-called capital formula funding over the next five years for certain smaller upstate agencies in that group, including TCAT, to nearly $12 million dollars a year or about $8 million more than Gov. Andrew Cuomo has proposed in his budget. Gov. Cuomo is proposing about $4 million annually for the formula program, about a million over this fiscal year. TCAT is grateful for any increases, but more is needed.  NYPTA has done its research by working with agencies, including TCAT, all across the state and is stressing so-called formula funded agencies need three times as much to meet their demands.

As NYPTA says "the lack of federal and state funding for these capital needs has resulted in declining infrastructure conditions and missed opportunities to serve new markets."

TCAT Board Chairperson Bill Gray said TCAT has the highest passenger trips per capita of any transit agency in upstate New York or about 40 trips for every person in Tompkins County." TCAT dovetails with Ithaca Carshare, cited as having "phenomenal success" for a service area its size. Ithaca Carshare strategically places its fleet of 25 vehicles near TCAT bus stops. The community enjoys above average numbers of people who prefer carsharing, carpooling, bicycling, or walking and many of those same people use TCAT to plan out and complete their trips.

"Public transit is the backbone of our sustainable transportation choices in Tompkins County," Gray said. "If public transit deteriorates, people who are making those other wise, environmentally responsible choices could be negatively impacted as well."

Indeed, the nation's public transportation systems are relieved to finally have a long-term, five-year federal transportation bill, and TCAT is appreciative, but that will only cover some of transit's costs. New York transit agencies need a better state funding formula as well. Tompkins County, the state and the American public, in general, have been demonstrating over the past several years they want better public transit, which in turn pays back to the economy and helps the environment many-fold.

"The transit industry keeps New York moving," said Carm Basile, President of the New York Public Transit Association. "Every day, New Yorkers make over 9 million trips on public transit to get to work, to businesses and shopping, and to schools and health care. We are absolutely vital to New York's economy," said Basile. "Demand for transit is growing. Transit ridership is increasing across the state and the public is demanding more and better service. We need the state to invest in our industry so that we can continue to meet the needs in our communities across the state."

TCAT urges its stakeholders to check out: http://www.nytransit.org  where they can find excellent analysis, statistics and the organization's entire proposal.

The state is expected to approve its budget in April and TCAT is asking its passengers and stakeholders for their help with advocacy as soon as possible. Please thank Assemblywoman Lifton for her support and ask the entire Tompkins County state delegation, listed below, to support NYPTA's proposals.

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