Hot Springs’ board buys incorrect buses
HOT SPRINGS — The Hot Springs Board of Directors approved Tuesday night the purchase of two buses that the intracity transit department can’t use.
The 2021 Ford F550 Champion Low-Floor models don’t allow easy access to the passenger compartment from the driver’s seat, a requirement for the fixed routes they were intended to serve. The deficiency wasn’t discovered until the buses were delivered in February.
The board awarded a $364,704 bid last July for the two buses to Central States Bus Sales Inc. of North Little Rock.
“The design and construction of the 2021 Ford F550 chassis with the Champion Low-Floor body presents an engine and transmission plate that is almost the same height as the base of the driver’s seat, requiring a driver to be able to flex one’s knees beyond normal limits, and exit the seat to the passenger area,” the city manager’s office said in its request for board action.
The buses’ configuration is also inadequate for paratransit routes, the city said, making them unsuitable for city use.
Modifications the company made after the city determined the vehicles didn’t meet its bid specifications were unable to remedy the access problem.
City Attorney Brian Albright recommended the city pay the bus company to avoid litigation. A resolution added to Tuesday night’s agenda authorized the sale of the two buses, requiring the sale to recoup at least 90% of the city’s outlay.
The July resolution awarding the bid stipulated the cost would be borne by a Federal Transit Administration grant. Action the board took Tuesday night switched the funding source to the city’s general fund, requiring a $364,704 adjustment to the 2021 general fund budget adopted last year.
Using city funds allows the buses to be resold, as, according to the request for board action, the FTA grant requires the buses be in service for seven years or 200,000 miles before they can be sold. The city said proceeds from the sale will go back into the general fund.
The $2.1 million in Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act funding intracity transit received last year funded all of its 2020 operations, allowing the department to forgo the close to $500,000 general fund subsidy it typically requires for annual operations.
“At the end of the day we’re going to have to ask for some of that back to complete this purchase,” Deputy City Manager Lance Spicer told the board. “General fund monies are something we covet and protect dearly, but at this point, it doesn’t appear to be a workable solution from our side of the fixed-route transit.”
A specification for the driver’s compartment included in the bid checklist the city provided vendors stated no control console could be located on the interior engine cover.
“This will enable the driver to assist wheelchair passengers without exiting the vehicle from the driver’s door, stepping into traffic, walking around the vehicle only to reenter through the curbside passenger door,” it read.
Central States Bus Sales indicated its compliance with the specification, marking the yes box on the checklist, but the city said access to the passenger area was inadequate. One of the buses was sent to City Hall for the board to inspect before its business meeting Tuesday night.
Spicer told the board that the city will write more detailed bid specifications in the future.
“Also, we intend to lay eyes and see how these two components, the chassis and that passenger body, fit together,” he said. “That’s something we can check the box and know that these will be workable units. ”