To: Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): Sonoma County Public Infrastructure
Staff Name and Phone Number: Johannes J. Hoevertsz, 707-565-2550
Vote Requirement: 4/5th
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Sonoma County Transit - Purchase of Seven - 40-Foot Electric Transit Buses
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
A) Authorize the Director of Public Infrastructure to execute the proposed agreement with Gillig, LLC, for seven - 40-foot electric powered transit coaches for $9,546,656 and authorize a ten percent contingency in the amount of $954,666 for said contract.
B) Adopt a Resolution authorizing a budget adjustment for Fiscal Year 2024-25 Final Budget for the Department of Public Infrastructure in the amount of $10,501,322 necessary for funding for the subject agreement
(4/5 vote required)
end
Executive Summary:
The Sonoma County Department of Public Infrastructure, Transit Division (Transit), is requesting approval for the purchase of seven 40’ heavy-duty electric transit coaches for Sonoma County Transit.
This marks the agency’s first order from Gillig, a Livermore-based manufacturer with over 40 years of experience, including producing electric buses since 2019. The company has supplied around 500 electric buses nationwide, with twenty percent going to California transit operators, including recent acquisitions by Napa Valley Transit Authority and Solano County Transit.
This purchase is made from the State of Washington’s Department of Enterprise Services cooperative purchase agreement (Contract No. 06719-01) with Gillig for the purchase of heavy-duty transit coaches. The State of Washington has approved Sonoma County Transit’s use of the subject cooperative agreement for this purchase. The purchase will be funded with a combination of local, state, and federal funds.
The new Gillig buses, scheduled for delivery in November 2026, will be similar to Sonoma County Transit’s existing fleet both inside and out and will feature high-back reclining passenger seats, a video security system, the NextBus passenger information system, electronic fareboxes and other safety systems common to Sonoma County Transit’s fleet.
Discussion:
Sonoma County Transit introduced its first electric bus in December 2019 on the Route 24, the Sebastopol Shuttle. Since that time, an additional five 30 foot and three 35 foot coaches have been added. These buses are used on local routes in Healdsburg, Rohnert Park/Cotati, and shorter intercity routes 42 (Industry West Park/Downtown Santa Rosa) and 62 (Downtown Santa Rosa, County Airport, Windsor Depot.) An additional 30’ coach, 2-35’ coaches and 5-40’ coaches are on order and are anticipated to arrive by September 2025. This purchase is from Gillig, a vendor participating in the State of Washington’s purchasing program for heavy-duty transit coaches using local, State and Federal funding sources.
This procurement, in accordance with, contract 06719-01 with Gillig, LLC, follows prescribed pricing of $1,363,808 price per bus, including options and sales tax. The per unit price will be reduced by $120,000 as this purchase qualifies for a California Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus (HVIP) voucher discount that is paid directly to the manufacturer by the State of California. The County’s net cost per bus will be $1,246,808. The HVIP voucher discount will be applied once the agreement has been awarded and requested by Gillig to the HVIP Voucher Processing Center. Once HVIP vouchers have been approved, a line item showing the voucher credit will be shown on the final invoice.
Like all California transit operators, Sonoma County Transit must comply with the California Air Resources Board Innovative Clean Transit requirements. The Innovate Clean Transit requirements anticipates that all fossil fueled buses will be retired by 2040. With this purchase, Sonoma County Transit will have approximately 49% of its 49-bus fleet electrically powered by the end of 2026.
It is projected that the buses will have a minimum range of 240 miles when factoring passengers, weather and other factors that impact electric vehicle range.
The Gillig buses are anticipated to be delivered in November 2026 and will replace Transit’s Orion V and VII coaches that have exceeded the 12-year minimum service life required by the Federal Transit Administration. They will be deployed on Sonoma County Transit’s main intercity routes that operate between Monte Rio, Santa Rosa, and Sonoma (Routes 20 and 30) and between Petaluma, Santa Rosa and Cloverdale (Routes 44/48 and 60).
This project is funded by a combination of local, state, and federal transit funding as shown below:
Source __Amount
FTA Section 5307 $687,185
FTA Section 5311 $1,364,060
FTA Section 5339 $ 441,445
TIRCP/SGR (State) $1,417,145
TDA (local) ____ $5,636,821
Total $9,546,656
As with prior bus purchases, the proposed agreement includes a 10% contingency to allow for changes requested by Sonoma County Transit during manufacture for inclusion of features/options unknown at this time. The contingency funds will be reserve Transportation Development Act funds
Strategic Plan:
This item directly supports the County’s Five-year Strategic Plan and is aligned with the following pillar, goal, and objective.
Pillar: Climate Action and Resiliency
Goal: Goal 2: Invest in the community to enhance resiliency and become carbon neutral by 2030
Objective: Objective 1: Where feasible, phase out County (owned or leased) gasoline powered light-duty cars, vans, and pickups to achieve a 30% zero-emission vehicle light-duty fleet by 2026.
Racial Equity:
Was this item identified as an opportunity to apply the Racial Equity Toolkit?
No
N/A
Prior Board Actions:
01/31/23 - Board approved purchase of ten 40’ Proterra Electric transit coaches from Proterra Operating Company, Inc., for $11,315,742 (includes 10% contingency.) In March 2024, this order was decreased to five coaches due to Proterra filing bankruptcy in August 2023. The County’s contract was assumed in bankruptcy by Proterra’s successor company, Phoenix Motors. The five buses associated with this order are expected to be delivered in July 2025.
08/30/16 - Board approved purchase of two 40’ Eldorado CNG powered transit coaches from Creative Bus Sales - $1,266,135.
08/30/16 - Board approved purchase of two 30’ Eldorado CNG powered transit coaches from Creative Bus Sales - $1,183,831.
Fiscal Summary
|
Expenditures |
FY23-24 Adopted |
FY24-25 Projected |
FY25-26 Projected |
|
Budgeted Expenses |
|
|
|
|
Additional Appropriation Requested |
$10,501,322 |
|
|
|
Total Expenditures |
$10,501,322 |
|
|
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
|
|
General Fund/WA GF |
|
|
|
|
Local (TDA) / State/Federal |
$10,501,322 |
|
|
|
Fees/Other |
|
|
|
|
Use of Fund Balance |
|
|
|
|
General Fund Contingencies |
|
|
|
|
Total Sources |
$10,501,322 |
|
|
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
The total anticipated cost under the proposed agreement is $10,501,322, which includes a 10% contingency. This includes $2,492,690 in federal funding from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), $1,417,145 in state funding through the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP), and $6,591,487 in local funds. A budget adjustment of $10,501,322 is required to appropriate these expenditure funds for the current fiscal year. The revenue appropriations were already included in the FY25 adopted budget (41401-34040102).
Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
None.
Attachments:
Agreement for Seven - 40’ Heavy-Duty, Low-Floor, Electric Transit Buses with Gillig, LLC.
Budget Resolution
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
Agreement Attachments