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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1/23/2024 Item 7a, Horn and Fuchs - Staff Agenda CorrespondenceCity of San Luis Obispo, Council Memorandum City of San Luis Obispo Council Agenda Correspondence DATE: January 23, 2024 TO: Mayor and Council FROM: Matt Horn, Public Works Director Prepared By: Alex Fuchs, Mobility Services Business Manager VIA: Derek Johnson, City Manager SUBJECT: ITEM 7A – TRANSIT INNOVATION STUDY REVIEW Staff received the following questions, regarding the Study Session for the Transit Innovation Study review. The questions are below with staff’s response shown in italics: 1. Is there a reason the Transit Innovation Study does not focus on more frequent services to the SLO Airport? The Transit Innovation Study report focuses on recommending service enhancements on specific routes (Routes 3 and 4) that are most likely to increase ridership. However, the report states that, “If any other routes or periods of time are determined to be moderate or high demand through the course of the City’s [Short Range Transit Plan] SRTP update, those routes and periods should also be considered for frequency improvements.” More frequent service to the airport was not identified as having a significant impact on ridership; however, more frequent service across all fixed routes will be investigated through the SRTP update process. 2. Does the City require the County to buy Downtown Access Passes to meet their average vehicle ridership requirements? No, the County is not required to opt-in their employees into the Downtown Access Pass program. Downtown Access Passes are not sold to individuals since they are provided for free to verified employees of the downtown area. 3. Do we have an idea what progress has been made on achieving our mode shift goals? How often do we measure those numbers? Progress on achieving mode split objectives will be calculated once the next transportation survey is conducted later this year. The most current data on mode share is from a City Transportation survey completed in 2019 (see the table below). This data will be included in the 2023 Active Transportation Plan Report Card, which will be published in a few weeks. Typically, surveying would occur every two years; however, the 2021-22 surveying was skipped due to the pandemic. Item 7a. Transit Innovation Study Review Page 2 Mode Current Split 1 Split Objectives2 Drive Alone 61% 50% Walk, Carpool, and other Forms 20% 18% Bus 2% 12% Bike 16% 20% 4. Would a switch to an open loop payment system still allow for coin and paper payment at the point of getting on the bus? Yes, cash payments will still be accepted. For many transit users, cash is their only payment option and SLO Transit is committed to serving all users in the community. 5. Will safe crossings to and from bus stops, especially along busy arterials, be evaluated for each of our most frequently used routes as part of the Transit Innovation Study? No, safe crossings will not be evaluated specifically through the Transit Innovation Study since right-of-way (ROW) improvements around transit stops are coordinated as part of larger capital projects undertaken by the City. The City’s Transit, Active Transportation, and Transportation Engineering programs work closely to determine appropriate improvements, including crossing improvements, when planning ROW capital projects. 6. Enhanced service on fixed routes is labeled as high priority across all categories but is given a medium timeframe. Please explain some of the barriers to implementing this priority more expeditiously. Changes to fixed route services requires extensive outreach and evaluation to determine impacts on the overall transit system, regional transfers, and effects on individual commuters needs. Additionally, new services, like adding express routes and more frequent service, require additional buses and drivers to operate. The Short-Range Transit Plan (SRTP) update, which is currently underway, will evaluate and make recommendations for specific enhanced fixed route services. The SRTP revised schedule has a final draft report to be completed by December 2024. 1 2019 City Transportation Survey 2 2035 Mode Split Objectives per Land Use and Circulation Elements update in 2014 Item 7a. Transit Innovation Study Review Page 3 7. Since Transit Innovation Study recommendation #7 (Fare Changes for Students, Seniors, Low-Income Riders) helps further the City’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) goals, should it be given a higher priority? Council has the discretion to re-prioritize the recommendations as appropriate to meet community needs. Staff is soliciting input from Council and will request this information from Council as Study Session Feedback questions. 8. Does staff know why there is such low participation in the Downtown Access Pass Program? Anecdotally, the program is not well marketed, it only applies to SLO Transit buses that serve riders within the City an many downtown employees live outside the City, and quarterly employment verification is cumbersome. Section 5.3 of the Transit Innovation Study report recommends policy changes to increase program participation. Staff has included the implementation of the recommended policy changes under the Immediate Opportunities for Action section of the agenda report. The Mobility Services Division was approved for and is currently recruiting for a contract Communications Coordinator that will support the Transit program as well as Parking Services and Active Transportation. The position is anticipated to be filled in February 2024. The Communications Coordinator will be responsible for promotions of all Transit programs including the Downtown Access Pass program. 9. In the Mobility Hubs section of the Transit Innovation Study, there is mention of running some low-cost amenities as a pilot, do we have an idea of what amenities out of those mentioned might be eligible for this type of pilot? Low-cost items include co-locating bike facilities (bike racks), dedicated carshare parking spaces, and transit facilities within close proximity to one another as a pilot mobility hub effort. 10. What’s a realistic timeframe for implementation of a bike share in SLO? The City’s Major City Goal for Climate Action Plan work program identifies strategy 4.3.i which states: i. Reassess the viability of launching a citywide bikeshare system, with ongoing coordination with Cal Poly as called for in CAP Connected Communities Task 2.2.A and the APMP strategy 1.B.1. Solicit potential bikeshare system operators if staffing resources allow and this can be done without diverting resources from delivering priority active transportation infrastructure projects. Item 7a. Transit Innovation Study Review Page 4 This work item is currently anticipated to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2025. Question #20 below also relates to the implementation of a bikeshare program and a revision to the bikeshare language in the Transit Innovation Study report. 11. Community members have mentioned the use of a carshare or shuttle type service in Truckee that is subsidized by the city in an effort to keep cars out of downtown. Do we have any information on program like this and if it’s viable as a supplement to bus transit? A carshare program was analyzed in the study and is listed as number 15 on the recommendation list. Detail of the program is found under section 7.4 – Implement Carshare Program of the report. 12. What entities are paying for the Open-Loop Payment System? San Luis Obispo Council of Governments (SLOCOG) has requested and been approved by their board to fund a region-wide coordination and implementation of an open-loop payment system which will include SLO Transit, San Luis Obispo Regional Transit Authority (RTA), and other transit providers in the county. The next step is for the allocation package submitted by SLOCOG to be reviewed by the issuing agency, California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA). 13. What costs and operational needs are related to the K-12 passes? Page 590- 591. How could we have a pilot program and not jeopardize funding, will school funding be required? If it will take significant staff time and outreach, then why is implementing fare changes labeled as minimal in the report? If parents are requesting the pass, then do we have a lot of people requesting it? The costs to implement the pilot program for K-12 students is minimal. It requires staff to work with a third-party vendor to program the pass coder, mobile app, and the on-board fare validator to accept and track the new pass and fare types. According to fiscal year 2023 ridership data, the existing 31-day student pass was used 5,400 times. This represents about 1% of recorded trips last year. It is unlikely that even significant participation in the pilot program will jeopardize SLO Transit’s 20% farebox recovery requirement. The fare changes recommended in the Transit Innovation Study report can be implemented in a relatively short time frame and at a low cost when compared to the other recommendations. The pilot program is meant to be an interim solution and allow for actual data collection to better inform permanent changes to SLO Transit’s pass and fare rate structure. A small, yet dedicated group of middle school parents have engaged the City in conversations about improvements to the transit system that would benefit K-12 Item 7a. Transit Innovation Study Review Page 5 students. The conversations included expanding fare and pass options for students. Staff also met with Laguna Middle School staff and provided the proposed fare and pass rates as well as staff contact information for distribution. As of the writing of the agenda report, no communication was received as a result of the meeting with school staff. 14. What community groups provided input during the Transit Innovation Study? What is the overall input from senior citizens and persons with disabilities on the study? Are there any changes related to senior citizens? Input from multiple individuals and representatives of community partner groups were solicited and received during the study process. Staff engaged and received input from Cal Poly, Downtown SLO, San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce, RTA, San Luis Obispo Council of Governments (SLOCOG), Mass Transportation Committee members, Active Transportation Committee members, Ride-On Transportation, Cal Poly’s Associated Students, Inc. (ASI), SLO Climate Coalition, YIMBY Action, and Diversity SLO. Community groups that specifically advocate for senior citizens and persons with disabilities were not engaged; however, the community groups that were engaged interact with and provide services to both of these groups. The purpose of the Transit Innovation Study was to evaluate new technology and new service delivery modes that support the City’s transit network and help achieve its mode split objectives. Outreach was critical to the development of the study’s recommendations however it was not meant to supplement outreach conducted through established planning processes like the SRTP update or SLOCOG’s Unmet Transit Needs Study. Both of which are currently underway and involve significant outreach efforts to ensure a wide range of feedback is received. 15. When were the stakeholder feedback/information gathering sessions conducted for the Transit Innovation Study? The consultants produced seven memos throughout the study process. The memos were provided to internal and external stakeholders via email for review and comment between May and August 2023. External stakeholders included Cal Poly, Downtown SLO, San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce, RTA, SLOCOG, Mass Transportation Committee members. Staff also held a stakeholder workshop on September 25, 2023, to review the draft recommendations and to re-prioritize them based on the potential to increase ridership. The workshop was attended by representatives of the above groups as well as representatives from Ride-On Transportation, Cal Poly’s Associated Students, Inc. (ASI), SLO Climate Coalition, YIMBY Action, and Diversity SLO. Item 7a. Transit Innovation Study Review Page 6 16. When will Public Works staff be conducting the random survey of residents in order to gather travel and commute data for updating the mode-shift percentages? And isn’t that data collected and available through the American Community Survey, or we do collect our own data too? City transportation staff will conduct a survey of residents this year to collect travel pattern data. The City has used American Community Survey (ACS) data in the past but the data does not accurately reflect all travel patterns in the community as the ACS only asks for commute data related to work and school. The surveying done by staff asks for data on all travel patterns, not just for school or work. 17. I noted that the Senior 31 day passes are discounted from the regular price, as are the 15 day passes. However, with the new youth pricing, it doesn’t seem like we are likewise proposing to discount the 15-day pass for youth, only the 3-day passes. Any reason for that? (For instance, instead of $15/15- day pass, maybe they should be $12 or even $10…similar to the other pass pricing.) The Senior/Disabled fare and passes are discounted at a 50% rate when compared to the regular fare and passes. For example, 15 rides at the 50% discounted fare rate of $0.75 per ride equates to $11.25 which is the cost of the 15-Ride Senior/Disabled pass. The proposed student pricing for the 15-Ride Student pass follows the same logic where 15 rides at the proposed discounted fare rate of $1.00 per ride equates to $15.00. 18. Was the Active Transportation Committee consulted on this study or included as part of the stakeholder group? Yes, a representative from the Active Transportation Committee was invited to and attended the stakeholder workshop that took place on September 25, 2023. 19. Which advisory bodies will review the SRTP and the Transit Operation Plan? The SRTP and associated transit operations plan that will be developed as part of the SRTP update will be presented to and reviewed by the Mass Transportation Committee, Regional Transit Advisory Committee, and City Council. 20. Can you elaborate more on the existing bike share pilot with Cal Poly noted under section 7.3 – Implement Bikeshare Program of the Transit Innovation Study report (packet pages 643 and 644) which states, “Bikeshare has been of particular interest to the San Luis Obispo community for some time. As outlined in the City’s Active Transportation Plan, the City has already been engaged in a pilot bikeshare program in partnership with Cal Poly and is interested in expanding the program to a wider area. The City has been working to identify potential locations for future bikeshare stations in pursuit of this effort." Item 7a. Transit Innovation Study Review Page 7 This statement is inaccurate and will be updated in the final version of the Transit Innovation Study report to state, “"Bikeshare has been of particular interest to the San Luis Obispo community for some time. As outlined in the City’s Active Transportation Plan, the City is currently reassessing the viability of a bikeshare program in partnership with Cal Poly.” This language is consistent with the Active Transportation Plan and the Climate Action Plan workplan.