Transit Briefs: Amtrak, Broward Commuter Rail Link, LACMTA, MARTA
Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor
Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner has signed the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™, a CEO-driven business commitment to advance diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
Amtrak has joined the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™. Also, Broward County, Fla., has approved planning for a proposed southern commuter rail link; the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) Board has approved a contract with the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART) Union, and approved a $66 million construction management contract for the East San Fernando Valley Light Rail Transit Project; and Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) has earned an upgraded “AA” credit rating from Fitch Ratings.
Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner has signed the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™ (D&I) commitment, pledging to cultivate diverse perspectives and experiences at “America’s Railroad.”
Signatories are company leaders who agree to implement the pledge within their respective workplaces and to support companies doing the same, according to Amtrak, which said it will continue efforts to implement and sustain four key actions:
- Support an open dialogue on “complex, and sometimes difficult,” D&I conversations. “Encouraging an ongoing dialogue and tolerating different values builds trust, encourages compassion, and reinforces a commitment to foster inclusivity,” according to the railroad.
- Expand awareness of unconscious biases. “Recognizing one’s own unconscious bias,” Amtrak said, “enables individuals to begin acknowledging and minimizing potential blind spots.”
- Share best practices and unsuccessful actions. Amtrak said it is committed to helping other companies evolve and enhance their diversity strategies, and to encouraging them to share their successes and challenges.
- Establish accountability. Amtrak will create and share strategic inclusion and diversity plans with its Board of Directors “to prioritize and drive accountability that cultivates an inclusive culture and talent.”
“As we continually make changes to move communities and the country forward, we are proud to be a signatory of the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion,” Gardner said.
Amtrak, which recently received the highest score possible on the 2022 Disability Equality Index (DEI®), is looking to hire some 4,000 employees in the project management, finance, technology, onboard services, electrical and customer service disciplines.
The railroad offers eight Employee Resource Groups that it said “aim to foster connections and create a sense of belonging for employees.”
The Broward (Fla.) County Commission on Aug. 25 “approved $15.5 million for development and a study, and directed the county to seek federal dollars to construct the [first proposed segment of commuter rail] service along the Florida East Coast Railway line” between Adventura and a point south of the New River in Fort Lauderdale, according to the South Florida SunSentinel. The Broward Commuter Rail Link would connect with a Miami-Dade County-funded segment between Adventura and Miami’s MiamiCentral station.
“The Broward commission opted to build the southern segment first in the interest of getting the project started while state and local planners decide whether a bridge or tunnel should be constructed for trains to cross the New River,” the newspaper reported. Next, the Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization, “which spearheads local efforts to obtain federal money for transportation projects, will discuss grant proposals at its Sept. 8 board meeting.”
The LACMTA Board has approved a new five-year contract agreement with SMART, representing its rail and bus operators and scheduling analysts. The agreement not only “includes the ability to hire full-time bus operators and external recruitment of train operators, which provides flexibility in scheduling without impacting existing staffing,” but also “reduces the amount of ordered call backs for full-time employees,” according to the agency.
The contract provides a starting rate of $23 per hour, an increase from the current $20.49 per hour, with a top rate increasing from $33.21 to $42.07 for full-time operators. Additionally, the time it takes to progress to the top rate has been reduced from 11 to five years. The average annual adjustment is 3.4% compounded annually over the life of the contract. LACMTA said the new agreement would require a budget increase estimated at $46.5 million, which is 0.5% of its total $8.8 billion budget for FY 2023. Salary adjustments will be retroactive to July 1.
“Our bus and train operators have been there when we needed them the most, and I want to thank them for their tireless commitment to the people of L.A. County,” LACMTA CEO Stephanie N. Wiggins said. “This new agreement with SMART provides our bus and rail operators with competitive salaries and benefits, helping us to improve retention, grow our operator ranks, and improve performance to deliver a transit experience that exceeds our customers’ expectations.”
“We believe that this new contract represents a significant improvement and protection in wages and benefits for our 4,600-plus members and their families,” said John M. Ellis, General Chairman of SMART-TD GO-875.
Meanwhile, the LACMTA Board has also approved a $66 million, seven-year contract with Arcadis Mott MacDonald to provide construction management support services for the 9.2-mile, 14-station East San Fernando Valley Light Rail Transit Project, according to an Aug. 25 Los Angeles Daily News report.
Construction of the project—projected to cost between $2.8 billion and $3.6 billion—is scheduled to begin at the end of the year, with operations commencing in June 2028, the newspaper reported.
MARTA on Aug. 25 reported that it has received an upgrade in its bond credit rating given by Fitch Ratings “after demonstrating a sustained maintenance of liquidity and financial resilience.” Fitch upgraded the agency’s Issuer Default Rating (IDR) and outstanding sales tax revenue bonds to “AA,” which MARTA said signifies that it “is unlikely to default on its debt repayments.”
Fitch based its rating upgrade on MARTA’s “broad and resilient economic resource base and growing service area population, both of which are expected to support strong overall revenue growth,” according to the agency. “The credit rating report goes on to state that MARTA’s expenditure flexibility is solid with strong control over service levels and staffing balanced against moderate fixed costs and a complex collective bargaining environment.”
MARTA’s FY 2023 operating budget shows a 5.6% increase in net operating expenses over the FY 2022 budget to $587.6 million and includes no fare increase, reported MARTA, which noted that the budget assumes a 4% increase in labor costs, uses the remaining $140.4 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds, and forecasts a $65 million surplus, or 10.6% of net operating expenses.
“As MARTA fortifies its workforce and builds post-pandemic ridership, sales tax revenue remains our dominant revenue source,” MARTA interim General Manager and CEO Collie Greenwood said. “This excellent rating from Fitch reflects MARTA’s low long-term liability burden and prospects for continued long-term sales tax revenue growth.”
