Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Transit topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
County transit pauses electric‑bus buy, pursues Medicaid waiver and local match options
Summary
Linn County staff told supervisors that rising ridership has prompted consideration of a second Saturday driver, they obtained an NPI and will resubmit a Medicaid waiver application but must clarify provider classification with Medicaid, and they recommended pausing a near‑term electric bus purchase because quoted vehicles reduce capacity and cost substantially more than diesel alternatives.
Linn County staff reported modest ridership growth and said the transit service may need a second Saturday driver if demand continues. The presenter said they obtained a National Provider Identifier and plan to resubmit their Medicaid waiver application, but still must work with Medicaid to determine how the county will be classified for reimbursement before waiver trips can start.
On an electric‑vehicle procurement, staff described a state contract issued to the county’s regional transit contractor but recommended letting that procurement opportunity return to the state's TPMS prioritization list rather than proceed immediately. Staff said commercially available electric conversion vans and light‑duty vehicles returned in the state procurement would reduce seating capacity — some quoted conversions seat five to six people and the light‑duty electric buses were often 10 passengers or fewer — while the county’s current vehicles slated for replacement are roughly 18‑passenger buses with space for four wheelchairs. Staff also said the electric options returned in the state procurement were about $200,000 more per vehicle than the diesel buses the county bought previously, creating a significant cost‑capacity tradeoff.
Staff explained TPMS (the state transportation prioritization/replacement system) evaluates vehicle age and mileage to determine replacement eligibility; once an award is issued it can take a year to 18 months to receive a bus and local match payments are collected when the vehicle is delivered. A board member asked about a referenced county match of $78,000 tied to a prior state award; staff said that local match is typically rolled over and used for future replacements depending on which bus is replaced.
Board members requested a future ridership breakdown by Cedar Rapids metro versus rural routes at the next update. The presenter also said the county is exploring lower‑emission alternatives such as B100 biodiesel and hybrids as potential near‑term options that may better match the county’s small‑bus market.
The next procedural step is for staff to continue work with Medicaid on provider classification and to return with ridership data and any revised procurement or local‑match recommendations.
