Chapter Trans 4

Trans 4.04(4)(b)4.c. c. Costs that depend on the maximum number of vehicles that are in service during the day, including administrative and capital costs.

Trans 4.04(4)(b)6. 6. The proposed costs in an awarded bid shall be reduced by an allowance for operating and capital costs subsidized through other state and federal grants.

Trans 4.04(4)(b)7. 7. An eligible applicant shall establish an appropriate procedure for resolving bid proposal complaints and conflicts, and shall include the procedure in its request for proposal.

Trans 4.04(4)(c) (c) If a local public body contracts for urban mass transit service with a private provider on the basis of negotiated procurement, eligible project costs may include depreciation of facilities and capital equipment used directly for the provision of urban mass transit services, provided that the facilities and equipment were acquired without benefit of public financial assistance. If a facility is a joint-use facility, depreciation only of that portion of the facility used in the provision of urban mass transit services is an eligible project cost.

Trans 4.04(5) (5) The following expenses are not eligible project costs:

Trans 4.04(5)(a) (a) Depreciation and amortization, except as authorized by sub. (1).

Trans 4.04(5)(aa) (aa) Job access and reverse commute project expenses, except in cases where the recipient’s grant agreement with the department explicitly authorizes use of funds for such project(s).

Trans 4.04(5)(b) (b) Taxes paid which are subject to rebate.

Trans 4.04(5)(c) (c) Interest expense, except as authorized under sub. (1).

Trans 4.04(5)(d) (d) Profit, except as authorized by sub. (1).

Trans 4.04(5)(e) (e) Lease-purchase payments.

Trans 4.04(5)(f) (f) Lease payments to a related party which are made under less than an arm’s length agreement. Only actual eligible project costs of owning the property, including depreciation and taxes, shall be allowed, as authorized under sub. (1).

Trans 4.04(5)(g) (g) Lease payments for revenue passenger vehicles unless, and only for the term, pre-approved by the department.

Trans 4.04(5)(h) (h) Entertainment costs.

Trans 4.04(5)(i) (i) Fines and penalties.

Trans 4.04(5)(j) (j) Bad debts.

Trans 4.04(5)(k) (k) Charitable deductions.

Trans 4.04(5)(L) (L) User-side subsidies, except as authorized by sub. (2).

Trans 4.04(5)(m) (m) Payments to members of advisory committees, transit commissions or transit boards.

Trans 4.04(5)(n) (n) Federal, state and local income taxes.

Trans 4.04(5)(o) (o) Charter-related expenses. Such expenses shall be considered to be equal to the revenue received directly from the provision of charter service, except when charter revenues exceed 10% of the total annual operating revenues of the mass transit system. When charter revenues exceed 10% of the total annual operating revenues of the mass transit system, charter-related expenses shall be determined in accordance with a cost allocation plan approved by the department.

Trans 4.04(5)(p) (p) Expenses related to contractual agreements for special planning studies.

Trans 4.04(5)(q) (q) Expenses for general public administration functions or activities of regional or local entities that are not related to the provision of mass transit service.

Trans 4.04(5)(r) (r) Expenses for contingencies or capital acquisitions, including contributions to a capital reserve account or fund. The cost of materials and supplies utilized in facility or vehicle repairs, regardless of cost, shall be considered eligible project costs so long as such repairs involve replacement of existing items.

Trans 4.04(5)(s) (s) For mass transit systems operated under contract by a private provider, the wages and fringe benefits of any public employees, except those employees involved in administration of the contract or in monitoring the performance of the provider.

Trans 4.04(5)(t) (t) Fees imposed upon a contracted service provider by the recipient public body, such as taxicab license fees.

Trans 4.04(5)(u) (u) Return on investment, except as authorized by sub. (1). Return on investment shall be a fixed amount and may not exceed an amount calculated by applying the interest rate the secretary of the treasury specifies under 50 USC App. 1215 (b) (2) as applicable to the period ending on December 31 of the year prior to the project year to the net book value of the private provider’s equipment and facilities used in providing the contracted for transportation service.

Trans 4.04(5)(v) (v) Expenses that are directly offset by revenues that may include, but are not limited to, expenses related to hauling freight or package delivery, cash discounts or refunds, tax rebates including fuel tax rebates, insurance proceeds and resale proceeds. Such expenses shall be considered to be equal to the revenue derived directly from their incurrence.

Trans 4.04(5)(w) (w) Franchise fees paid by the recipient public body to a private provider.

Trans 4.04(5)(x) (x) Expenses for the direct operation of private or public van pools, except administrative and marketing expenses associated with the public van pool program.

Trans 4.04(5)(y) (y) Expenses that are paid for with federal transit administration capital funds authorized under 49 CFR 53.

Trans 4.04(5)(z) (z) For mass transit systems providing services outside of their jurisdictional boundaries, expenses related to services which duplicate those provided by another mass transit system in terms of geographic area served, hours operated, frequency of service and passenger boarding and alighting locations. Decisions on duplication of service shall be made by the department, after consultation with the affected public bodies.

Trans 4.04 History History: Cr. Register, November, 1978, No. 275, eff. 12-1-78; r. and recr. (1), am. (2), (3) and (4), Register, May, 1982, No. 317, eff. 6-1-82; emerg. r. and recr. eff. 11-18-83; r. and recr. Register, April, 1984, No. 340, eff. 5-1-84; am. (1), renum. (2) to be (5) and am. (2) (a), (d) and (l), cr. (2) to (4), Register, October, 1986, No. 370, eff. 11-1-86; am. (5) (f) and (o), renum. (4), (5) (q), (r), (s) and (t) to be (4) (a), (5) (p), (q), (r) and (s) and am. (4) (a), cr. (4) (b) and (c) and (5) (t), (u), (v) and (w) and r. (5) (p), Register, August, 1989, No. 404, eff. 9-1-89; am. (2), (4) (b) 1. and (5) (r), cr. (5) (x), Register, April, 1993, No. 448, eff. 5-1-93; am. (1), (5) (a), (c), (d), (f), (L), (s) and (t), r. (3), renum. (4) (b) 4. and 5. to be (4) (b) 5. and 7. and cr. (4) (b) 4., 6. and (5) (y) and (z), Register, November, 2000, No. 539, eff. 12-1-00; CR 18-065: am. (1), (2), cr. (3), r. and recr. (4) (a), am. (4) (b) 1. to 3., 4. (intro.), a., r. (4) (b) 5., am. (4) (b) 6., 7., (c), cr. (5) (aa), am. (5) (f), (g), (o), (q) to (u), (w), (x), (z) Register October 2020 No. 778, eff. 11-1-20.

Trans 4.05 Trans 4.05 State share of eligible project costs.

Trans 4.05(1) (1) The department may audit all public and private providers of urban mass transit services receiving state aids under the urban mass transit operating assistance program. The audits shall be the basis for computing the maximum share of state and federal aids each eligible applicant can apply against operating deficits for each state aid contract period. If a private provider is a subsidiary corporation, the department may audit both the subsidiary and the parent corporation. The department shall conduct audits as follows:

Trans 4.05(1)(a) (a) For all urban mass transit systems participating in the state aid program, except those in which a local public body contracts for services with a private provider on the basis of competitive bids, the department shall audit the actual operating revenues and operating expenses for each state aid contract period. Audits shall be conducted in accordance with generally accepted governmental auditing standards.

Trans 4.05(1)(b) (b) For mass transit systems in which a local public body contracts for services with a private provider on the basis of competitive bids, the department shall conduct contract compliance audits. Additionally, the department shall audit any fees the local public body charges to the department for administration of the private provider’s service.

Trans 4.05(2) (2) The state’s share of eligible project costs shall be in accordance with s. 85.20 (4m), Stats.

Trans 4.05 History History: Cr. Register, November, 1978, No. 275, eff. 12-1-78; r. and recr. Register, May, 1982, No. 317, eff. 6-1-82; emerg. r. and recr., eff. 11-18-83; r. and recr. Register, April, 1984, No. 340, eff. 5-1-84; am. (1) (a) and (4), Register, October, 1986, No. 370, eff. 11-1-86; renum. (1), (2), (3), and (4) to be (2), (3), (4) and (5), cr. (1), Register, August, 1989, No. 404, eff. 9-1-89; am. (2) (intro.) and (a), cr. (2) (c), Register, August, 1990, No. 416, eff. 9-1-90; am. (2) (a), Register, April, 1993, No. 448, eff. 5-1-93; am. (1) (b) and r. and recr. (2), Register, November, 2000, No. 539, eff. 12-1-00; CR 18-065: am. (1), r. (3) to (5) Register October 2020 No. 778, eff. 11-1-20.

Trans 4.06 Trans 4.06 Distribution of state aids.

Trans 4.06(1) (1) The department shall distribute the state appropriations for this program among eligible applicants in accordance with the procedures set forth in s. 85.20 (4m), Stats., and also in accordance with provisions of the annual state grant agreements executed between each applicant and the department.

Trans 4.06(2) (2) Except as provided in sub. (3), each eligible applicant shall provide a local contribution, exclusive of user fees, toward operating expenses in an amount equal to at least 20% of all state allocations to that applicant under this chapter. No federal or state categorical financial aids or passenger revenues are allowed as part of the local contribution. No part of the local contribution may be paid by a private provider contracting with the applicant public body. The local contribution shall be determined by audit and calculated by subtracting passenger revenues, federal aids and state aids from eligible project costs.

Trans 4.06(3) (3) Subsection (2) does not apply to an eligible applicant that is served exclusively by a shared-ride taxicab system.

Trans 4.06(4) (4) State aids shall be paid to a recipient on a recurring basis, and no more than 4 times annually. If the department’s audit establishes that the state aid payment to a recipient has exceeded any limitation on the state’s share of eligible project costs under s. 85.20, Stats., then the recipient shall refund to the department an amount sufficient to reduce the state aids to an amount that is in conformity with s. 85.20, Stats.

Trans 4.06 History History: Cr. Register, November, 1978, No. 275, eff. 12-1-78; r. and recr. Register, May, 1982, No. 317, eff. 6-1-82; emerg. am. (2), (3) and (4), eff. 11-18-83; am. (2), (3) and (4), Register, April, 1984, No. 340, eff. 5-1-84; am. (2) to (4), Register, October, 1986, No. 370, eff. 11-1-86; am. (2) and (3), renum. (4) to be (6) and am., cr. (4) and (5), Register, August, 1990, No. 416, eff. 9-1-90; am. (2) and (3), Register, April, 1993, No. 448, eff. 5-1-93; am. (4), Register, March, 1996, No. 483, eff. 4-1-96; am. (1), r. (2) and (3) and renum. and am. (4) to (6) to be (2) to (4), Register, November, 2000, No. 539, eff. 12-1-00; CR 18-065: am. (1), (2), (4) Register October 2020 No. 778, eff. 11-1-20; correction in (4) made under s. 35.17, Stats., Register October 2020 No. 778.

Trans 4.07 Trans 4.07 Application for state aids.

Trans 4.07(1) (1) Applications shall be made in a form and manner prescribed by the department. If multiple local public bodies in a given urban area contribute assistance to a mass transit system, one eligible applicant shall submit a single application on behalf of all participating local governments. The applicant public body, as well as all other participating local governments, shall assure that the required local shares of eligible project costs will be available.

Trans 4.07(1m) (1m) Each state aid application shall include a transit management plan which describes the mass transit system’s operations for the coming year, including the amount of service to be provided, the fares to be charged, any steps to be taken to improve system effectiveness and efficiency, and the procedures to be used for counting revenue passenger trips.

Trans 4.07(2) (2) Applications for aids shall be submitted to the department no later than December 15 of the year immediately preceding the proposed project year. No application received after January 1 of the project year shall be funded unless the secretary of transportation determines that a later date is appropriate in order to properly respond to an emergency situation.

Trans 4.07(3) (3) Eligible applicants serving an urban area with a population exceeding 49,999 shall make available their application to the appropriate metropolitan planning organization.

Trans 4.07(4) (4) Mass transit services receiving financial assistance may be operated for less than a calendar year.

Trans 4.07(5) (5) Costs for services not included in the application for state aids will not be eligible for funding until the following project year unless the department so approves them in writing prior to the time at which costs start accruing.

Trans 4.07(6) (6) An eligible applicant intending to submit an application to support a new mass transit system shall notify the department of its intention no later than January 15 of the preceding year to be eligible for funding.

Trans 4.07 History History: Cr. Register, November, 1978, No. 275, eff. 12-1-78; am. (2), cr. (5) and (6), Register, July, 1981, No. 307, eff. 8-1-81; am. (1), r. (3), renum. (4) to (6) to be (3) to (5), Register, May, 1982, No. 317, eff. 6-1-82; am. (2), Register, October, 1986, No. 370, eff. 11-1-86; r. and recr. (5) and cr. (6), Register, November, 2000, No. 539, eff. 12-1-00; CR 18-065: am. (1), cr. (1m), am. (2) to (6) Register October 2020 No. 778, eff. 11-1-20.

Trans 4.08 Trans 4.08 State aid grant agreements.

Trans 4.08(1) (1) For each calendar year, the department may execute an annual aid grant agreement with each eligible applicant.

Trans 4.08(2) (2) State aid grant agreements may be terminated by either the department or the applicant under the following conditions:

Trans 4.08(2)(a) (a) By the department, if the department determines that the purpose of the aid program as expressed in s. 85.20, Stats., is not being fulfilled, or if the recipient fails to comply with the terms and conditions of the state aid grant agreement.

Trans 4.08(2)(b) (b) By the recipient, if the recipient makes a formal application to the department to do so.

Trans 4.08(3) (3) A state aid grant agreement may be terminated as provided in sub. (2) by giving written notice of intent to terminate, sent by certified mail, at least 30 calendar days prior to the proposed termination date.

Trans 4.08(4) (4) State aid grant agreements shall require that recipients do the following:

Trans 4.08(4)(a) (a) Pay the operating deficit of the mass transit system;

Trans 4.08(4)(b) (b) Provide reduced fare programs for seniors and individuals with disabilities during nonpeak hours, except if the mass transit system is a shared-ride taxicab system. Reduced fares may not exceed one-half of the adult cash fare;

Trans 4.08(4)(c) (c) Establish and maintain accounting procedures and documents as prescribed or approved by the department;

Trans 4.08(4)(d) (d) Assure that the mass transit system will count “revenue passenger trips” in accordance with ch. Trans 3.

Trans 4.08(4)(e) (e) Assure that the mass transit system will file any reports required by the department at a time and in a manner prescribed by the department. If any report is not filed as required, the department may withhold payments due a grant recipient until the report is filed in the manner and form prescribed;

Trans 4.08(4)(f) (f) Assure that, if other local public bodies contribute assistance to the operation of the mass transit system, the state aids received are allocated among the contributors in accordance with any cost sharing agreement that is filed with the department. If no agreement is filed, the aids shall be distributed among the contributors in proportion to their contributions; and

Trans 4.08(4)(g) (g) Assure that, if urban mass transit service is provided under a local public body contract with a private provider, the local public body makes payments to the private provider only on the basis of actual billed expenses.

Trans 4.08 History History: Cr. Register, November, 1978, No. 275, eff. 12-1-78; r. and recr. Register, May, 1982, No. 317, eff. 6-1-82; emerg. r. and recr. (5), eff. 11-18-83; r. and recr. (5), Register, April, 1984, No. 340, eff. 5-1-84; am. (4) (b), (e) and (f), cr. (4) (g), Register, August, 1989, No. 404, eff. 9-1-89; am. (4) (b) and (e), Register, April, 1993, No. 448, eff. 5-1-93; am. (4) (b), Register, November, 2000, No. 539, eff. 12-1-00; CR 18-065: am. (title), (1), (2) (intro.), (a), (3), (4) (intro.), (b), (g), r. (5), (6) Register October 2020 No. 778, eff. 11-1-20.

Trans 4.09 Trans 4.09 Planning requirements. The following requirements apply to all eligible applicants receiving assistance under s. 85.20, Stats.:

Trans 4.09(1) (1) Transit development programs. The applicant shall prepare and submit annually to the department a 4-year transit development program, in the form and manner prescribed by the department.

Trans 4.09(2) (2) Performance goals. The applicant shall establish annual service and performance goals for the coming 4 project years and assess the effectiveness of its operations in relation to those goals. The goals shall be submitted to the department as a part of the application for state aids. At a minimum, systemwide goals shall be established for the following performance indicators:

Trans 4.09(2)(a) (a) The ratio of passengers, as expressed in unlinked trips to service area population.

Trans 4.09(2)(b) (b) The ratio of operating expenses to passengers, as expressed in unlinked trips.

Trans 4.09(2)(c) (c) The ratio of operating expenses to revenue hours.

Trans 4.09(2)(d) (d) The ratio of revenues to operating expenses.

Trans 4.09(2)(e) (e) The ratio of passengers, as expressed in unlinked trips, to revenue hours.

Trans 4.09(2)(f) (f) The ratio of revenue hours to service area population.

Trans 4.09(3) (3) Transit management plan. The applicant shall submit a transit management plan annually that meets the requirements of s. Trans 4.07 (1m). Each mass transit system’s policies and activities shall conform at all times to the transit management plan for the current project year. The applicant shall report to the department any proposed deviations from the transit management plan and shall not implement them prior to department concurrence. The department shall determine if a formal amendment to the transit management plan is required in all cases. The department may require the applicant to hold a public hearing on the proposed change prior to approving the proposal.

Trans 4.09(4) (4) Cost efficiency standards.

Trans 4.09(4)(a) (a) The department shall assess the performance of each transit system receiving aid under the program on an annual basis, using the 6 performance indicators defined in sub. (2).

Trans 4.09(4)(b) (b) The department will assign each mass transit system to a peer group based on operating characteristic similarities.

Trans 4.09(4)(c) (c) The department shall establish standards for each of the 6 performance measures defined in sub. (2) based on arithmetic means, for each peer group. Systems that are within one standard deviation of the arithmetic mean shall be judged as in compliance with the standard for the measure. Systems whose performance is better than the one standard deviation shall also be judged as in compliance with the standard for the measure. Systems that meet the standards for 4 of the 6 performance measures shall be deemed in compliance with the cost efficiency standards, and no further action will be taken.

Trans 4.09(4)(d) (d) If a transit system does not meet the cost efficiency standards as defined under par. (c), the department shall perform a time-trend analysis, analyzing the 6 performance measures over the most recent 5-year period. Data used will be the data from the preceding calendar year. A system showing improvement in 4 of the 6 indicators shall be deemed in compliance with the cost efficiency standards, and no further action will be taken.

Trans 4.09(4)(e) (e) If a transit system does not meet the cost efficiency standards as defined under pars. (c) and (d), an assessment shall be made of the implementation status of recommendations made in the system’s most recent management performance audit. A system which has made significant progress in implementing the majority of recommendations targeted at improving efficiency shall be deemed in compliance with the cost efficiency standards, and no further action will be taken.

Trans 4.09(4)(f) (f) If a transit system does not meet the cost efficiency standards as defined under pars. (c) to (e), the following actions shall be taken:

Trans 4.09(4)(f)1. 1. If management performance audit recommendations have not been implemented, the department shall provide technical assistance to aid in the implementation of the recommendations. If consultant services are necessary, the transit system shall pay the nonfederal share of the consultant’s costs.

Trans 4.09(4)(f)2. 2. If a management performance audit has not been conducted within the last 3 years, the department shall schedule an audit as soon as possible.

Trans 4.09(4)(g) (g) Systems deemed out of compliance with the cost efficiency standards as defined in pars. (c) to (e) shall be given a 3-year period in which to comply before being assessed a revenue penalty. After 3 years of noncompliance, a 10% revenue penalty shall be imposed, which will limit state aids to 90% of the state aid the system would have been entitled to if it were in compliance with the cost efficiency standards. The penalty shall remain in effect until the system comes into compliance.