Comments on: Council Agenda: Transportation Governance

By: Vivienne Armentrout

Vivienne Armentrout — Mon, 18 Nov 2013 17:11:09 +0000

Fair point, I don’t have all the information. But my point is still valid that they are using an average expense figure. Looking at the Report to the Treasurer, depreciation is figured in as part of the expense overall. I’m guessing that the depreciation curve is steeper for new buses, but I don’t know.

Demand response will be included as part of any new service, wherever new fixed route buses go. That surely is a variable expense for more rural areas.

By: Edward Vielmetti

Edward Vielmetti — Mon, 18 Nov 2013 16:03:09 +0000

Vivienne, why would new routes cost more than existing routes? The bus purchases are a capital expense, and the cost per service hour is an operating expense, and it’s best to not conflate the two. (After all, existing routes have buses that are depreciating and you’d want to take that into account in any overall calculation.)

Rural routes, if anything, will cost less per operating mile, because the buses will be going faster on those streets. They are probably more per passenger because there are fewer passengers on the bus.

By: Vivienne Armentrout

Vivienne Armentrout — Mon, 18 Nov 2013 13:42:32 +0000

Thank you for highlighting this issue. I’d like to point out that the chart based on the April figures includes the City of Saline and Pittsfield Township,who have declined to join AAATA at this time and who will thus not be participating in the millage. This is likely to alter percentages as shown.

The chart is also based only on the NEW tax, not on total tax exposure. But both Ann Arbor and the City of Ypsilanti have a current millage tax, and their total tax contribution for the overall system will be much greater than that of Ypsilanti Township, which brings only the hypothetical new millage to the table.

Finally, it has been confirmed (at one of those meetings) that costs of service are based on average (the whole system) expenses per service hour. But new routes, especially those to more rural areas and requiring new bus purchases, are likely to cost more than the average.