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Home My WebLink About09-13-2017 MTC Minutes FINAL Minutes - FINAL MASS TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE Wednesday, September 13, 2017 Meeting of the Mass Transportation Committee CALL TO ORDER A Regular Meeting of the Mass Transportation Committee was called to order on Wednesday, September 13, 2017 at 2:33 p.m. at the Transit Operations & Maintenance Facility Bus Yard, located at 29 Prado Road, San Luis Obispo, California, by Chair Osumi. ROLL CALL Present: Committee Members John Osumi (Chair – Business), Cheryl Andrus (Vice Chair - Cal Poly), Elizabeth Thyne (Senior), Louise Justice (Member at Large), Denise Martinez (Disabled), James Thompson (Technical) Absent: David Figueroa (Alternate), Diego-Christopher Lopez (Alternate) Staff: Transit Manager Gamaliel Anguiano, Transit Assistant Megan Cutler, Recording Secretary Lareina Gamboa PUBLIC COMMENT ON ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA Geoff Straw (SLO RTA Executive Director) announced the Bus Rodeo scheduled for October 15, Sunday, from 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. to be held at 179 Cross Street. Sarah Trauger (SLOCOG Rideshare Program Coordinator) announced Rideshare Week happening October 2 – 6, Monday – Friday, during which all SLO Transit rides are free. Rideshare includes walking, biking, riding the bus, and carpooling. She encouraged all to pledge to make a smart commute on supercommuter.org. ANNOUNCEMENTS None. MINUTES Staff provided draft July 12 Meeting Minutes to be reviewed and approved at November 8 Regular MTC meeting. ACTION: None. FINAL Minutes – Mass Transportation Committee Meeting of September 13, 2017 Page 2 ACTION ITEMS None. DISCUSSION ITEMS 1. Technical Tour of Transit Facility, Classroom Remodel Gamaliel Anguiano led the group on a technical tour of Transit Facility, located at 29 Prado Road, including the bus parking area, bus probing station, maintenance garage, dispatch center, and newly remodeled classroom. 2. 2019 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) & Sustainable Communities Strategy (SCS) Geoffrey Chiapella (SLOCOG Senior Transportation Planner) introduced meeting attendees to the 2019 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP), a plan updated by SLOCOG every four years. He led everyone in an interactive survey to gather public input regarding regionwide transportation and housing needs. Survey will remain open to the public until October 31. 3. Committee Items a.) Update on Short Range Transit Plan (SRTP): Schedule/Route Changes, Ridership, Next Steps Gamaliel Anguiano led the discussion. Given systemwide route and schedule changes on June 18, we are now on the right service network (i.e. roadways), but are not yet at desired service levels (i.e. service frequency) due to financial constraints. Both the systemwide fare increase and the Cal Poly subsidy are opportunities to achieve the financial levels necessary to provide the public with the recommended levels of service. Mr. Anguiano shared public and staff feedback for every route resulting from June 18 systemwide changes: Route 1A/1B Most closely resemble prior Route 3 with 60-minute headway as opposed to 40-minute. Scheduled recovery time helps on time performance, syncing of routes at transit center, and recovery time at transit center. Effective September 5, route extended to the San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport. New terminal will open early November, so new airport stop will be serviced then. City is establishing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Airport for this new service, which will operate as a one year pilot project with two possible one year extensions. Airport service is an effort to encourage public transit use for travelers, airport employees, and employees south of Tank Farm, i.e. Mindbody and Fiero Lane. With perceived loss of service due to scheduled recovery time for Route 1A, Route 1B provided additional service opportunities for passengers traveling on segments of Route 1A. Route 2A/2B Public feedback was received regarding reduced service coverage on weekends along route north of Prado on South Higuera at the Margarita and Chumash stops. This reduced FINAL Minutes – Mass Transportation Committee Meeting of September 13, 2017 Page 3 coverage limits access to this segment of the route. The City has an agreement with the Prado Day Center so must maintain a level of service on Prado. The City is seeking to resolve this reduced service coverage. Operating Route 2B on weekends is a consideration, but means added service costs. Route 3A/3B Most closely resemble prior Route 4 and Route 5. The City received public feedback regarding new 60-minute headway in comparison to prior 30-minute headway. A possible solution for perceived loss of service is for riders to recognize additional service opportunities along high ridership segments of these routes, i.e. Routes 2A/2B on LOVR and Routes 4A/4B on Foothill. Another consideration is to operate 30-minute service on these routes, which would have a greater financial impact on our operating budget. Greater service frequency on these routes also means greater service frequency on the Phillips/Pepper/Johnson loop, an area of public concern for residents on this loop. Serving Monterey instead of Mill is a possible solution. Committee Member Andrus acknowledged Route 3A and 3B depart campus at essentially the same time, so there is only one opportunity an hour to take the Route 3A/3B. Missing this bus means passengers must wait nearly a full hour for the next bus. Offsetting schedule would potentially mean more service options. Mr. Anguiano acknowledged this is a refinement to consider. Mr. Anguiano shared video surveillance showing high ridership amongst middle school students traveling to and from Laguna Middle in the mornings and afternoons. This demand for service led to the introduction of the Laguna Tripper on August 28. Ridership consistently reached greater than 60 – 70 riders, which justified operation of Double Decker for this new route. Mr. Anguiano shared this route will likely be self-sustaining due to high ridership and short service duration. Route 4A/4B These routes most closely resemble prior 6A and 6B. Transit staff will closely evaluate ridership trends on these routes when Cal Poly students return. 4. Staff Items a.) Service Animals versus Comfort Animals Gamaliel Anguiano led discussion regarding service animals on buses. The City closely reviews Federal Transit Administration (FTA) policies to ensure no violation. FTA has narrowed scope of permissible animals to include animals trained to perform a specific task or service. Service animals must always be under the owner’s control. We can only distinguish a service animal from a pet with two questions: (1) Is this a service animal? (2) What has the animal been trained to perform? We are not allowed to ask about the passenger’s disability. FINAL Minutes – Mass Transportation Committee Meeting of September 13, 2017 Page 4 If a service animal misbehaves in a manner that poses a direct threat to passengers on board, a service animal can be denied a ride. Past misconduct cannot be held against the service animal in the future. Comfort animals provide emotional support for the owner and are not considered service animals under ADA. Pets are allowed on buses if in an enclosed carrier. Service animals can possibly be differentiated from comfort animals by recognizing if the animal is needed in all circumstances or only some circumstances. b.) Transit Manager’s Report; Cal Poly Enrollment, PTMISEA Grant, Digital Signage Pilot Project, E-Ticket Demo, New Transit Guide, Airport Service, Promo Video, Upcoming & Announcements Gamaliel Anguiano led discussion. Cal Poly has welcomed its largest freshman class, which has impacts on City services, i.e. Fire, Police, and Transit. The City is seeking to remedy this impact with the University. Freshman students are unable to bring personal vehicles to campus so are transit dependent. Transit needs more funding to meet the service demands of Cal Poly. PTMISEA (Public Transportation Modernization, Improvement, and Service Enhancement Account) grant for capital equipment. City Council will review the allocation of $60,600 for capital equipment on September 19 as a consent agenda item. Mr. Anguiano is requesting permission from City Council to do a sole source purchase with a vendor that won the state bid. The City intends to get new shelters with this funding. The City is embarking on two digital signage projects that will display live data at strategically chosen stops. The City is communicating with vendors regarding e-ticket options. Token Transit is a strong potential, which allows passengers to purchase passes from their smart phones. The passenger simply presents valid pass to driver when boarding. SLO Transit now has a new Transit Ride Guide. This provides passengers with a comprehensive resource guide with rider information, i.e. all routes, schedules, fare and pass type breakdown, service information, contact information etc. CalPERS (California Public Employees’ Retirement System) is the pension program for California public government employees. There are financial challenges within CalPERS that directly impact the City’s funding for various programs, service levels, and staffing. Mr. Anguiano expressed Transit, as an enterprise fund, is in a better position than the City’s FINAL Minutes – Mass Transportation Committee Meeting of September 13, 2017 Page 5 general fund, but may still experience some cuts. There will be two CalPERS informational sessions on Thursday, October 5. The first session will be from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and the second session will be from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Mr. Anguiano invited the committee to attend if interested. Mr. Anguiano shared “Day in the Life of a Driver” promo video. ADJOURNMENT ACTION: MOTION BY COMMITTEE MEMBER THYNE, SECOND BY COMMITTEE MEMBER JUSTICE, CARRIED 6-0, to adjourn the meeting at 5:10 p.m. until the next Regular Meeting of the Mass Transportation Committee, November 8, 2017 at 2:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Megan Cutler Transit Assistant APPROVED BY THE MASS TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE: 11/08/2017