BART's new Buy America Bid Preference policy gives preferences to rail car manufacturers who create jobs in the United States, a first-in-the nation policy unanimously adopted by the board of directors yesterday. Board members made the move after saying that as they look to replace BART's oldest-in-the-nation train cars with the Fleet of the Future, they've heard from both their constituents and state and federal officials that putting Americans back to work should be a strong consideration.
"The Buy America policy mirrors the economic goals of federal lawmakers," BART Board President Bob Franklin said. "Adopting this policy on a regional level demonstrates BART's leadership in the rail industry. It will also transfer rail car technology to the U.S."
The Buy America Bid Preference policy scores bids for federally funded procurements by using a formula that considers the domestic content level of a product. It goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2012. The details of the policy are online www.bart.gov/board.
BART's Fleet of the Future train car replacement project is a $3-billion capital investment. The preliminary timeline is to award a contract to a manufacturer in the coming months. For more information on the Fleet of the Future, see www.bart.gov/cars.
In another job-related vote, the board adopted a resolution in support of requiring Project Stabilization Policies aimed to create local jobs and facilitate local economic growth as BART works to build Transit Oriented Developments (TODs) at or near BART stations. This resolution supports a partnership with local unions to achieve a mutually-agreed goal of workers on all TODs construction projects who are residents of counties BART serves.
