Creating Partnerships Through Capital Investments

BC Transit’s Capital Program BC Transit’s Five Year Capital Plan is approved annually by the Province and BCT’s Board of Directors Capital infrastructure requirements have increased significantly over the last ten years Annual reviews are used to balance the needs to replace ageing or undersized infrastructure with affordability

Developing the Capital Plan

Annual Capital Planning Timeline

Capital Planning Challenges Provincial and Local Government planning and funding cycles don’t always align BCT Board of Directors approves a 5 Year Capital Plan Province approves a 3 Year Service Plan Local Governments approve 3 Year Budgets and 1 year AOAs Fiscal Year versus Calendar Year Some projects will have long lead times for implementation Approvals may be required well in advance despite funding uncertainties Infrastructure requirements must continually be balanced with affordability – this may vary from community to community

Categories of Projects Projects in the Capital Plan are divided into two categories to better manage the planning and approval processes: Base Projects: projects that are a requirement for maintaining the existing transit system (ex. asset replacement). These projects are approved by BCT’s BoD and financial implications are included in local government AOA/budgets. Expansion Projects: projects involving major expansion of the asset base, typically required to meet growing ridership demand. These projects are often discretionary and require specific approval from local government and the Province.

Base Project Approval Process

Expansion Project Approval Process

Planning as a Partnership Projects should be planned in partnership with local governments This will assist in mitigating funding and approval timing challenges Planning and local government endorsement requirements will vary depending upon the project type Several activities must happen before a project can move to the implementation stage

Example #1: Transit Exchanges

Example #2: Expansion Vehicles

Breakout Session #1 Objective: To gather feedback on the best way to work with local governments and operators to develop capital projects. Group 1 & 2: Exchange Project Group 3 & 4: Expansion Vehicle Project At what stage would you like to be engaged and how? Who should BCT staff work with? What information can you provide to assist in the planning process? What should BCT be providing that will assist local partners in endorsing the projects?

Summary of Breakout Session #1

Breakout Session #2 Objective: To discuss various approaches available to secure local government funding endorsement for expansion projects. Group 1 & 2: Exchange Project Group 3 & 4: Expansion Vehicle Project What mechanisms are available and are they acceptable? AOA process, Council resolutions, Term Sheets, etc. What information needs to be provided to local partners in order for BCT to receive their endorsement? Is endorsement at the Council level or staff level? What, if any, challenges exist with the endorsement model? How can these challenges be mitigated?

Summary of Breakout Session #2

Looking Ahead Five year capital plan totals $474 million The 2012/13 Capital Plan is largely focused on replacing core assets required to maintain or modestly grow the existing transit system Additional expansion projects will be included in future Capital Plans as consultation with local partners occurs

Conclusion BC Transit is committed to planning for major infrastructure investments in partnership with local governments Feedback from this session will be used to improve the process moving forward