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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-08-2017 MTC Minutes FINAL Minutes - FINAL MASS TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE Wednesday, November 8, 2017 Meeting of the Mass Transportation Committee CALL TO ORDER A Regular Meeting of the Mass Transportation Committee was called to order on Wednesday, November 8, 2017 at 2:30 p.m. in the Council Hearing Room, located at 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, California, by Vice Chair Andrus. ROLL CALL Present: Committee Members Cheryl Andrus (Vice Chair - Cal Poly), Elizabeth Thyne (Senior), James Thompson (Technical), David Figueroa (Alternate), Diego-Christopher Lopez (Alternate) Absent: John Osumi (Chair – Business), Louise Justice (Member at Large), Denise Martinez (Disabled) Staff: Transit Manager Gamaliel Anguiano, Transit Assistant Megan Weeks, Recording Secretary Lareina Gamboa Oath: Torina Wilson (Student) PUBLIC COMMENT ON ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA None. ANNOUNCEMENTS None. MINUTES Draft Meeting Minutes for July 12, 2017 On Page 3, the first paragraph states “deter off Mill street” and it should state “detour off Mill street”. The paragraph pertaining to the Diablo Canyon Loop should be clarified as Descanso Loop or Prefumo Canyon Loop. The following paragraph that references the “placards” is referring to the straightline maps. Corrections to punctuations were also addressed. FINAL Minutes – Mass Transportation Committee Meeting of November 8, 2017 Page 2 ACTION: MOTION BY COMMITTEE MEMBER FIGUEROA, SECONDED BY COMMITTEE MEMBER THYNE, CARRIED 5-0, to approve the Minutes of the Mass Transportation Committee Meeting amendments for July 12, 2017. Draft Meeting Minutes for September 13, 2017 The minutes should reflect past tense which will be corrected, as well as corrections to punctuations, and rephrasing of a few sentences for clarification. There was also a request for clarification about the Route 1A stop at the new airport terminal. The airport stop was included in the route and schedule, but the stop remained closed since the terminal was not yet open. The new terminal and airport bus stop are now open. There was also a request for more information regarding Route 4B, which will be updated in the past minutes if necessary. ACTION: MOTION BY COMMITTEE MEMBER THYNE, SECONDED BY COMMITTEE MEMBER LOPEZ, CARRIED 5-0, to approve the Minutes of the Mass Transportation Committee Meeting amendments for September 13, 2017. PRESENTATION 1. City Fiscal Health Contingency Plan Daryl Grigsby, Public Works Director, informed the committee that in light of recent events with the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS), the City of San Luis Obispo will be paying out over $7.5 million over the next three years. On December 12, City employees will meet with the City Council for direction on which payout option will be best. In regards to the Transit system, the general public will not likely see an effect due to the recent fare increase. ACTION ITEMS None. DISCUSSION ITEMS 2. Committee Items a.) Committee Member Thyne is hoping the long waits and coordination of the new bus schedules will be improved by the end of the fiscal year. b.) Committee Member Andrus informed the committee that Cal Poly’s master plan is now open to the public for review and comment, and it will be online for 40 days. 3. Staff Items a.) Introductions of the First Transit General Manager, Damon Dash, and Operations Manager, Kenny Gazin, occurred. b.) Transit Manager’s report: FINAL Minutes – Mass Transportation Committee Meeting of November 8, 2017 Page 3 • Ridership Updates The new routes and fares went into effect on June 18, along with an initial decline in ridership as the community familiarized themselves with the new system. Mr. Anguiano asked the committee to keep in mind that these changes are being made with room for growth in the future. The 1, 3, and 5-Day pass sales have declined while the 7-Day pass sales have increased. Some pass types may be eliminated in the future. Though the general public ridership has declined, Cal Poly riders are still holding ground. The Runabout is saving costs by encouraging free RTA and fixed route rides for those who generally take Runabout. There is a cost line labeled CP Invalid, which refers to when a student swipes their PolyCard and is does not register in the system. When this occurs, the driver manually accounts for that ride electronically. This is done with other pass types as well. Cal Poly students become general public riders once they graduate. Historical views of ridership was asked to be presented at the next MTC meeting. • Fire Department Assistance SLO Transit recently used its resources to assist the SLO Fire Department battling a house fire in extreme outdoor temperatures. A bus was provided as a cool place for the firefighters to take shelter and rehydrate. • E-Passes Demo SLO Transit entered an agreement with Token Transit for an app to enhance quick and easy boarding. Those who have a smartphone can text “token” to 41411 and will receive a link to download the app. Once the app is downloaded, a pass can be purchased minutes before boarding. The pass is then shown to the driver, the driver hits a button to account for that passenger, and by the time the rider reaches their destination, if it is a one-time pass, the pass has likely expired. E-passes do have a time limit, whether it is a single ride or multiple days. It can be sent to another person. For example, a guardian can send a pass to their child who lost or forgot their bus fare. There will be a one year long demo. RTA is considering the Token Transit app as well, but no further information was given. • Real-Time Bus Stop Info Signage Demo Two new real-time digital bus stop signs have gone up at two separate bus stops. The first sign is at Froom Ranch and LOVR. It is solar powered with LED lights and an audio message. The second is the new airport stop and will consist of e-ink, FINAL Minutes – Mass Transportation Committee Meeting of November 8, 2017 Page 4 like calculator font. This option would be best placed in residential areas where the bus stop is close to home windows. • Updated Policy on Folding Bikes, E-Bike Policy Folding bikes will be allowed on buses and will be treated as a carry-on item with the same rules and policies as carry-on baggage. c.) Update on Short Range Transit Plan (SRTP) As of September 8, the feedback from the June 18 changes from the general public has diminished. Routes 4A and 4B (formerly 6A and 6B) are struggling to meet its timepoints at its final stop along Grand Ave. High volumes of passengers traveling through campus is a big contributor to these delays. There is desire to increase bus frequency for Routes 4A and 4B to every half hour; however, there are no funds to do so yet. Routes 3A and 3B appear to have a longer route time, which is still a concern to the general public. Though the timeframe on paper has been extended, this route was rarely on time, so the City published a more accurate timetable. Though there is still a huge demand for service, bus routes like the Kennedy Library Tripper were seeing high volumes of riders only at certain times of the day and was not being used to its full potential resulting in many passengers regularly left behind. Though it appears routes have been eliminated, those particular routes were not seeing sustainable ridership. On November 13, Route 3A service will increase to every half hour between the hours of 6 a.m. and 1 p.m., and Route 3B service will increase between the hours of 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. Route 3B has also been extended to 10 p.m., while Route 4B will run until 10:30 p.m. The Highland Tripper was also introduced to help alleviate leave behinds. Students will be informed through both Transit and Cal Poly announcements. PUBLIC COMMENT Logan Hunter, City resident, urged the committee to pursue eliminating the Phillips and Pepper loop altogether. There is still a lot of concern from the neighborhood about the bus routes continuously traveling on these narrow streets. The neighborhood members are feeling ignored and Mr. Hunter urged the committee to revisit removing this segment of the route. Mr. Hunter reminded the committee that they have the impact to do so as they have pushed for other stops and route changes in the past and have succeeded. Mr. Anguiano has tried for this as well and has a desire to move the route to Monterey Street, but due to a number of reasons i.e. trees and power lines, it remains out of his pursuance at this point. FINAL Minutes – Mass Transportation Committee Meeting of November 8, 2017 Page 5 STAFF ANNOUNCEMENTS Megan Weeks, Transit Assistant, announced the Downtown Holiday Trolley will begin service the day after Thanksgiving and will run through Christmas Eve. The Trolley does require a separate fare. ADJOURNMENT ACTION: MOTION BY COMMITTEE MEMBER THYNE, SECOND BY COMMITTEE MEMBER ANDRUS, CARRIED 5-0, to adjourn the meeting at 4:49 p.m. until the next Regular Meeting of the Mass Transportation Committee, January 10, 2018 at 2:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Lareina Gamboa Recording Secretary Megan Weeks Transit Assistant APPROVED BY THE MASS TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE: 01/10/2018