Revenue and spare vehicles will be rotated in and out of service routinely to spread the mileage across the vehicle fleet. This will allow vehicles to be replaced on a more‐timely and cost‐ effective manner.
Equivalent Service: Equivalency shall be based on the transit service provided in its entirety and not the service provided by any one of the grantee’s vehicles.
Spare Ratio – Demand Response:
- The number of spare vehicles must be appropriate to the size and age of the fleet, the peak demand and the projected ridership growth.
- The Integrated Mobility Division (IMD) will base the number of spares it allows on the peak number of vehicles used at least once during the busiest day of the week. The spare ratio should not exceed 20% of this number.
- In determining the peak number, it is assumed that the grantee's fleet is being dispatched efficiently and vehicles are providing shared rides. Utilization data will be used to make this determination.
- Spare vehicles are the same as back‐up vehicles.
Spare Ratio – Fixed Route: The fixed route spare ratio is strictly regulated by FTA. Subrecipients operating fixed route should refer to the
5307 or
5311 funding circular for guidance. Subrecipients are required to read the Section
5307 and/or
5311 circulars and have copies available for quick review.
Vehicle utilization data: Vehicle utilization data will be collected from the subrecipients by ITRE twice per year during 2 predetermined weeks. This data will be collected from the subrecipients dispatching software and submitted to ITRE for analysis. The results will be returned to the grantee and the Regional Grant Specialist for review and follow‐up action.
Required Vehicle Utilization Policies:
- Transportation to voting polls/religious activities;
- Incidental use;
- Administrative use;
- Governmental use of vehicles in emergencies and disasters;
- School bus transportation; and,
- Charter service.
References
49 CFR Part 37
FTA C 9030.1E
FTA C 9040.1G
