Tracking CATS: Action from CATS August 2017 Meeting

The CATS Board of Commissioners approved plans at its Tuesday, August 15, meeting to declare 19 Gillig buses and all Blue Bird buses and parts as surplus. This allows the agency to move forward to dispose of the unused buses, either by selling or salvaging them.

The buses and parts were past their usable life. Because they were paid for in part through federal transportation dollars, CATS must follow federal guidelines in disposing of them.

CATS has been committed to replacing older buses in its fleet, purchasing 24 new buses recently. The current average age of a CATS bus is now 2.9 years, down from almost nine years. A lower fleet age indicates newer buses, which generally have fewer maintenance issues and are more reliable.

Also at the meeting, the CATS board also authorized the CATS CEO to extend the contract with Brown Claim Services, Inc. for adjuster claims services and third party administrator services.

To watch an archived replay of the meeting, click here.

Other key highlights from the meeting:

• CATS is relaunching the Touchdown Express service for LSU home games, with online ticket sales starting this week.
• CATS saw an increase of more than 21,000 rides in July 2017 compared to July 2016.
• New performance metrics show that each month since January, CATS has operated more than 98 percent of its scheduled trips. In July 2017, CATS operated 99.5 percent of trips.

Agendas, meeting minutes and materials are posted online. The CATS board meets on the third Tuesday of each month.