REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: GREGORY A. BARFIELD, M.A., Director
Department of Transportation
FROM: SHARLEE FLORES, Senior Management Analyst
Department of Transportation
BLAKE RINCON, Fleet Operations Specialist
Department of Transportation
SUBJECT
Title
Approve the award of a cooperative purchase agreement to Gillig LLC. for the purchase of eleven (11) new, 40’ low floor compressed natural gas (CNG) buses in the amount of $10,258,545.
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that Council approve the award of a cooperative purchase agreement to Gillig LLC. for the purchase of eleven (11) new, 40’ low floor CNG buses in the amount of $10,258,545.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Department of Transportation/Fresno Area Express (FAX) seeks to purchase eleven (11) new, 40’ low floor CNG buses from Gillig LLC (Gillig). This purchase is part of the FAX effort to: replace vehicles that have exceeded their useful life, improve quality and reliability of service, and comply with the California Air Resource Board (CARB) Innovative Clean Transit (ICT) regulation.
This contract is a State Cooperative Purchasing Schedule Contract under Section 3019 of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act and compliant with Federal Transit Administration (FTA) guidelines. The State of Washington, through the Department of Enterprise Services (DES), has contracted with Gillig to provide transit buses and related equipment to multiple participants, including transit organizations from other states. The contract incorporates FTA required clauses and certifications.
BACKGROUND
CARB issued the ICT regulation, effective October 1, 2019, requiring all transit agencies to gradually transition all bus and paratransit vehicles to a 100 percent zero-emission fleet by 2040. To meet this goal, FAX developed our ICT Transition Plan, which was approved by Council on June 18, 2020. Per the schedule detailed in the ICT Transition Plan, FAX must procure a mix of CNG buses, battery electric buses (BEBs), and hydrogen fuel cell electric buses (FCEBs) to meet our service requirements. The CNG buses from this procurement will replace aging CNG rolling stock deemed past its useful business life.
FAX sought competitively bid cooperative agreements for CNG buses at a discounted rate in August of 2024. FAX staff have evaluated Gillig’s proposal and determined the contents of the cooperative purchase meet both City and Federal procurement requirements. Staff also conducted a price analysis, and determined the CNG bus cost is found to be fair and reasonable based on past pricing and current contract pricing. The cooperative purchase agreement also conforms to the requirements of FTA Circular 4220. 1F, Chapter IV, 2(14)(i), which dictates that rolling stock agreements must not exceed the five-year limit.
It is the recommendation of staff that City Council approve the award of a cooperative purchase agreement with Gillig via piggybacking off Washington State’s Cooperative Purchase Agreement #06719 to procure eleven (11) new, Gillig 40’ low floor CNG buses. The Purchasing Manager approved the piggyback on the State agreement to create a new cooperative agreement between FAX and Gillig LLC for the bus purchases.
The City Attorney has reviewed and approved as to form.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
Pursuant to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15378, this vehicle purchase does not constitute a project for the purposes of CEQA.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference is not applicable as federal funds preclude the use of local preference
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact to the General Fund from this action. Purchases from this contract shall be funded primarily through FTA Program 5339(c) funds. FAX enterprise funds will make up the required local match. Appropriations were included and are available in the FAX FY2025 budget.
Attachments:
State Cooperative Purchasing Contract #06719
Fourth Amendment State Cooperative Purchasing Contract #06719
Gillig Quote