Department of Transportation

Transit Capital Assistance Grant
The Columbia metropolitan area is slated to receive $5,346,374 in formula allocations through the Transit Capital Assistance Grants. These funds must be used for capital expenditures, not operational costs. Therefore, the Central Midlands Regional Transit Authority (CMRTA) has indicated it will use these funds for the following:

• Replacement buses
• Automated Vehicle Location (AVL) System
• Bus exterior upgrades (on buses not eligible for replacement)

Because these funds are 100 percent allocated for capital expenditures, CMRTA can keep its other funds focused on its operational costs, which stabilizes its existing work force. Without these ARRA funds, 2 to 4 part-time positions would possibly have been eliminated. (All CMRTA operations employees start off as part-time employees; therefore, these part-time positions would more than likely be the first ones eliminated should a budget short-fall occur.)

These capital expenditures will also have a positive impact on jobs outside of the CMRTA. With these funds, many municipalities across the country will be purchasing buses. This influx of requests will keep the transit bus industry alive and thriving well into the future, given that it currently takes approximately 18 to 24 months to conduct the complete acquisition process for a bus. (This process consists of solicitation of bids through vehicle manufacturing through delivery of the bus to CMRTA.) The capital expenditures will also have an impact on the local economy since the exterior upgrades will be bid out to body shops in the Columbia area. This additional work could translate into additional jobs for these body shops.

In addition, because there will be additional capital for bus replacement and refurbishment, there will be adequate operational funds to continue to make this service available for the citizens of the Central Midlands area. In its annual patron survey, CMRTA discovered that more than 50 percent of its riders use this service to get to work - it was the number one reason patrons ride the buses. The second reason noted on the survey was "accessing job training" or "seeking employment." So by keeping the buses running, our local economy keeps running as well.

Columbia Area Transportation Study
A $14.5 million allocation of stimulus money is available for eligible projects in the Columbia Area Transportation Study (COATS) planning area. This area includes the City of Columbia and the urbanized portions of Richland and Lexington Counties. (Small portions of Calhoun and Kershaw Counties are also included in COATS, but there are no "shovel ready" projects identified). The Central Midlands Council of Governments (CMCOG) verifies projects as stimulus eligible through the South Carolina Department of Transportation's (SCDOT's) interpretation of "shovel ready" projects based on the requirements of the economic stimulus bill.

The projects identified in our area that have been approved by SCDOT as stimulus eligible are: North Main Street Reconfiguration Phase 1B (Richland County), Highway 602 Extension/Platt Springs Road (Lexington County), and the I-26 Airport Connector (such a huge project that COG staff anticipates pursuing a different funding stream). It is likely that approximately $6.5 million of the funds will be allocated towards Phase 1B of the North Main Street Reconstruction Project noted in Columbia's FY 2010 Appropriations Requests. A CMCOG meeting will be held on March 26, 2009, to decide the exact allocation amount. The Harden Street Reconstruction Project was not designated as stimulus eligible by SCDOT.

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