Transportation Market Recap, June 2023

The June 2023 Transportation Market Recap is a recap of some of the most interesting and useful transit industry news from the previous month. It contains updates on industry drivers, notable projects, and recent mergers and acquisitions, as well as some interesting reads, and upcoming meetings and conferences.

To learn more about how we are helping transportation industry leaders find new opportunities in their market of interest, schedule a market opportunity workshop.

Industry Drivers

Our data team tracks new and updated industry drivers. Here are some recent drivers we have been following in June:

Nevada AB 184 - An Act Relating to Air Pollution; Creating the Account for Clean Trucks and Buses; Creating the Clean Trucks and Buses Incentive Program

Status: Effective

Organization: Nevada State Legislature

Summary: On June 9, 2023, Gov. Lombardo signed AB 184 to create a new incentive program to help reduce air pollution from trucks and buses in Nevada. The act establishes the Account for Clean Trucks and Buses, funded by state appropriations and fees. The funds will be used to provide incentives for purchasing new, zero-emission, or low-emission trucks and buses. In addition, the act also creates the Clean Trucks and Buses Incentive Program, which the Nevada Department of Transportation will administer. The program will provide incentives for the purchase of new, zero-emission, or low-emission trucks and buses, including:

• Rebates of up to $10,000 for purchasing new, zero-emission, or low-emission trucks and buses.
• Loans with below-market interest rates for the purchase of new, zero-emission, or low-emission trucks and buses.
• Grants for purchasing new, zero-emission, or low-emission trucks and buses for use by public agencies.

Click Here for More Information

Notable Capital Improvement Programs

Here are some recent, notable Capital Improvement Programs (CIPs). FirmoGraphs has deconstructed the CIPs into data elements, along with available project descriptions. Please feel free to request a meeting and review the data live in our business intelligence application.

Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District, California, Planned Capital Program Increased by 2%

In the CIP covering the 2024-2033 fiscal year, the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District, California, detailed plans to spend almost $2 billion on capital projects, an increase of 2% from $1.9 billion in its 2023-2032 CIP. The current CIP has 209 line items, compared to 223 line items in the prior CIP. The table below breaks down the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District’s planned capital spending by business area for its last two CIPs.

Almost All Business Areas Increased their Planned Capital Spending

Two of the four business areas in the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District have notable changes. Under the Bridge Division, there was a 28% increment due to 54 retained projects worth $274.4 million; a significant increase is planned for the Seismic Phase 111B Construction project, growing from $621 million to $870 million.

On the other hand, the Ferry Division dropped its capital spending by over $200 million due to the allocation of funding in the future years of various fleet - end of useful life replacement projects, including MS Marin, MS Sonoma, MS San Francisco, MV Mendocino, MV Del Norte, MV Napa, and MV Golden Gate, costing $25 million each. Additionally, a completed project, the MS Sonoma Refurbishment and Repower, cost nearly $30 million.

Over $100 Million for Water Reclamation Plant Project

The current CIP has 209 line items, five of which are noteworthy. A large amount of the capital spending is allocated to the Seismic Phase 111B Construction under the Bridge Division; this project will construct a wind fairing structure on the west side of the Golden Gate Bridge to deflect wind and ensure bridge stability during strong wind events. The second and third projects are also from the Bridge Division, Suicide Deterrent-Construction and North Tower Paint Rehabilitation are worth $55 million and $30 million, respectively. In addition, the last two items are the D-l Bus Lot Campus Redev, Phase 2-Construction of Bus Division worth $25 million, and Larkspur Ferry Terminal (LFT) Berth and Channel Dredging-Construction (from the Ferry Division) is worth $13.5 million.

Click Here to See Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District, California, CIP

What We Are Reading

Here are some recent articles our team has been reading:

• Amtrak submits grant applications for long distance network, NEC
• Caltrain begins testing of first electric trains
• FRA awards more than $570 million in Railroad Crossing Elimination Grant Program funding
• Austin Transit Partnership, Austin City Council, CapMetro Board approves first phase of Austin Light Rail Implementation Plan
• WA: As people work from home, Sound Transit bets $350M on 3 new parking garages
• MBTA Board of Directors approves FY24 budget
• Caltrain Board of Directors approves FY2024 and FY2025 budgets
• OCTA Board approves $57 billion Directors 2045 Long-Range Transportation Plan
• MARTA, Atlanta break ground on region’s first BRT line
• FTA awards $149.9 million construction grant to PRT for new Downtown-Uptown-Oakland BRT line
• BART Board of Directors approves FY24 and FY25 budgets
• Maryland Revives Baltimore's Red Line Transit Project
• House Panel Clears FAA Bill Providing $20B for Airport Grants
• US DOT Awards $570M in Grants to Upgrade Rail Grade Crossings
• CA: Downtown Regional Connector train opens after 10 years and $1.8 billion
• Baltimore Red Line project returns
• FTA awards nearly $1.7 billion in bus grants across two federal programs
• TX: DART awarded $103 million federal grant to replace oldest buses in its fleet
• CA: Construction begins on railroad barrier wall at San Clemente landslide
• SEPTA Board approves $1.69 billion FY24 operating and capital budget ahead of expected fiscal cliff
• FY24 budget approvals for LTD, WeGo and Pittsburgh Regional Transit
• Federal agency awards $1.7B for cleaner transit buses, bus facilities

Meeting Planner

In this over-digitized age, there is no replacement for face-to-face meetings with your prospects and customers! We track meetings of interest to our customers serving the U.S. transit industry so you won’t miss upcoming meetings and deadlines. Additionally, FirmoGraphs has recently implemented a free-of-charge service for tracking notable infrastructure events. 

Meetings in July and August 2023

Call for Papers

• Event: TRB Annual Meeting
  Dates: Jan. 7 - Jan. 11, 2024
  Deadline for Call for Papers: August 1, 2023

Early Birds Registration

• Event: APTA Transform Conference and Expo
  Dates: Oct. 8 - Oct. 11, 2023
  Deadline for Early Registration: August 25, 2023