HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Report - September 17, 1986 (84)C�ny Co6rcl--, effa�rTNC,
1986
COG PDRMWWCE
AUDI T Ey-)R
DIAL -A -RIDE
ACCF= a)uncll accepted the Performi�ince Audit of tllx,- City of
Transit Systc--,i (Dial -A -Ride) Final Audit.
CC -50(b)
yOUNC-ii O
TO: THE CITY COUNCIL DATE NO,
FROM: THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE September 17, 1986
SUBJECT:
ACCEPT SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY COLW-IL OF GOVERNMENTS (ODG) PERMWAIMM AUDIT FOR
DIAL-A-RIL)E
PREPARED BY: Assistant City Manager
RECOMMENDED ACTIW't That the City Council accept the Performance
Audit of the City of Lodi's Transit System
(Dial -A -Ride) Final Audit.
aACKGROUND, INFORMATION: This - triennial audit of the City's- Dial -A -Ride
service is quite c.nplementary of our efforts to
meet the needs of the citizens of Lodi and there are
no problems areas identified in the report.
Respectfully submitted,
Jerry L. Glenn
Assistant City Manager
JLG/br
attachment
SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY
[Ai 0 1 Si COUNCIL OF
GOVERNMENTS
Final Report
Haskins ---Sells
•40336.
San Joaquin County Council of Governments June 19, 1986
1860 East Hazelton Avenue
Stockton, California 95205
Dear Council Members:
The purpose of this Triennial Performance Audit of the Lodi Dial -A -Ride is to meet
the requirements of California Public Utilities Code Section 99246. This audit is for
the Fiscal Years 1982-83, 1983-84, and 1984-85.
The audit provides an independent, high-level evaluation of the transit system's
overall performance _during the audit period. Evaluation is based on the State of
California Transit Performance Audit Guide, which involves:
Reviewing the process of establishing systemwide goals and objectives.
Evaluating performance relative to those goals and objectives, and
Evaluating systemwide performance measures and indicators.
Performance was evaluated based on interviews with City management. Data were
collected and indicators calculated for the three-year audit period.
NTRODUCTION
The City of Lodi became a municipal transit operator in December 1982, beginning
service with ;ix Chevrolet station wagons. The operation is a demand -response
system that is City -subsidized, and is oparated by the City Cab Company. The
vehicles are maintained by the City.
The hours of operation are from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday.
excluding h-Aidays. The fare for senior citizens and handicapped persons within Lodi
is 50 cents, while all other patrons pay $1.00. The fare system operates on a scrip
basis, with the City selling tickets and the cab company collecting and logging them
as they are used.
The basic service originally served only Lodi, but now the City offers service to
Woodbridge and the Acampo Trailer Park through a contract witt. San Joaquin
County. The City pays City Cab Company $3.00 for each fare inside Lodi, vW $3.50
for rides to Woodbridge and Acampo.
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City of Lodi Dial -A -Ride June 19. 1986 2
ESTABLISHING SYSTEMWIDE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
This is the second SB759 Triennial Performance Audit of the City of Lodi
Dial -A -Ride. The first audit covered only the first six months of operation for the
period ending June 30, 1982. Hence, very few performance indicators h?d been
developed when the last audit was performed, nor had any systemwide goals or
objectives been established.
Since the last audit, the City has adopted a Five -Year Transit Plan which contains
seven service objectives and 14 actions to be taken. These objectives, actions. and
the City's progress toward implementing them during the audit period are
summarized below:
Objective 1: Meet the reasonable transit needs of all City residents
Continue the existing Gial-A-Ride service - The City has carried out this
primary action during the audit period.
Hold and advertise annual Unmet Transit Needs public hearing - Based on the
objectives set out in the Five -Year Transit Plan, Lodi holds an annual meeting of
the Productivity Improvement Committee in November. Objectives, present
service and future improvements are reviewed by the Committee, which consists
of a :City official, the contract operator. a driver, and.a COG staff member,
After the Committee has met, the City holds a special hearing on "Unmet
Transportation Needs." This hearing reports findings of the Productivity
Improvement Committee meeting, and allows citizens to voice their opinions.
These meetings have resulted in such service and policy changes as the
implementation of Saturday service. the reduction of the general public fare
from $2.00 to $1.0, and the expansion of service to Woodbridge and Acampo.
Explore weekend and subscript i22service_ - The City began providing Saturday
service during the audit period.
Objective 2: Minimize System Operating Costs
Request proposals for contract service - To minimize operating costs, the City
continues to use a contractor to operate the service. The contractor bears all
labor and insurance costs for the service. The City feels if it directly operated
the service, these costs would be substantially higher. In an effort to minimize
contractor costs, the City released request for proposals for providing transit
service to begin July 1, 1986. Though City Cab Company won the bid, this was
the first time the City has pursued other contractors to provide the service, and
the bid process confirms that Lodi is contracting with the most efficient service
provider.
Work with COG to determine reasonable unmet needs - Several transit service
and policy changes have resulted from the annual Unmet Needs public hearing.
COG and the City have agreed to work together to be sure that future unmet
needs are fully analyzed before changes are made.
Hold anival Productivity Improvement Committee meeting - This meeting is
heId in November each year.
City of Lodi Dial -A -Ride June 19, 1986 3
In the area of vehicle operations and maintenance, the City has begun replacing
its diesel -powered fleet with gas -powered models. The diesel engines have
proved to be very costly to maintain.
Objective 3: Meet the Required 10% Farebox Recovery Ratio
Monitor the performance on a monthly basis - Since the beginning of service.
Lodi Dial -A -Ride has maintained a farebox recovery rate of about 17%, which is
above the required 10%. Each month, the contractor submits operating data
which the City summarizes and toads into a spreadsheet program for easy
analysis and reporting. The City also monitors Dial -A -Ride response time on a
daily basis using a spreadsheet program.
Objective 4: Foster Community Support and Improve Ridership
Consider reducing the general public fare - In order to improve ridership among
the general public, the rare was reduced from $2.00 to $1.00 in July of 1985.
Ridership figures for the next audit should reflect this fare decrease.
Advertise the service - The City is currently initiating a formal advertising
program for its transit service, using available City staff.
''Support the annualRotary Club promotion - Lodi has also -coordinated its
community support/ridership promotions with local service organizations. For
example, during this audit period, the Rotary Club has supplied fare tickets to
the needy during the Christmas season.
Objective 5: Assure the Provision of a Quality Transit Service
Maintain the standard for response time - The City has established a service
standard of 90% response time within 45 minutes. To monitor the Cab
Company's performance, the City developed a spreadsheet model which
calculates response time percentages and measures those against the response
time standard. The City is meeting its goal of responding to 90% of its service
requests within 0-45 minutes when an entire week of data is analyzed. Due to
particularly heavy travel on certain days of the week and month, the standard is
not always met on a daily basi.;.
Maintain a record of complaints - The City receives all complaints regarding the
transit service and if necessary, brings there complaints to the contractor's
attention for corrective action.
Objective 6: Ensure That the Contractor Carries Necessary Liability Insurance to
Protect the City from Accident Liability to Riders and Third Parties
Protect the City from Accident Liability to Riders and Third Parties- The City
is named in the Cab Company's insurance policy as co-insured, so that if the
policy is ever reduced or cancelled, the City will be notified.
Objective 7: Ensue a That the Conditions for Providing County Service are Fulls! Met
Evaluate County service impacts annually - The City analyzes the costs of
providing County service when negotiating a new contract with the County each
year, weighing these costs against the needs of City residents.
City of Lodi Dial -A -Ride June 19, 1985
T
PERFORMANCE INDICATOR ANALYSIS -
This section of our report presents the results of our verification and analysis of
Lodi Dial -A -Ride performance as represented by the five Transit Development Act
(TUA) and other service and cost performance indicators. As specified in California
Public Utilities Code Section 99246 (C), the triennial performance audit of each
transit operator must include verification of the TDA indicators. The following
performance measures were verified for fiscal years 1981-83, 1183-84, and 1984-85:
Operating cost per passenger
4 Operating cost per vehicle service hour
Passengers per vehicle service hour
Passengers per vehicle service mile
9
Vehicle service hours per employee
In addition, Lodi also monitors fleetwide fuel economy (miles per gallon) and farebox
recovery ratio.
Performance measures for the above indicators are shown -in Table 1.
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City of Lodi Dial -A -nide
,;une 19, 1986
r
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TABLE I
DIAL -A -RIDE PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
FISCAL YEARS
1982-83
1983-84
1984-85
Financial Data
—
-----
Farebox Revenue - Lodi
$30,518.00
$33,393.00
$30,539.00
Farebox Revenue - Woodbridge
$511.00
$3,689.00
$4,284.00
Total Farebox Revenues
$31,029.00
$37,082.00
$34.823.00
TDA/STA/Misc. Revenue
$143.427.00
$133,767.00
$143,073.00
Total Revenues
$174,456.00
$170,849.00
$177,896.00
Operating Cost
$189,063.00
$213,450.00
$201,202.00
Operating Data
Passengers
56,389
62,812
60,238
Employees
6
6
7
Vehicle Service Hours
-
9,448
9.342
Vehicle Service Miles
97,529
106,140
107,069
Gallons of Fuel Used
6,853
8,105
8,194
Total Trips
56,386
62,812
60238
, Performance Indicators
Total Operating Cost Per Passenger
3.35
3.40
3.34
Total Operating Cost Per Vehicle
Service Hour
-
22.59
?1.54
Total Operating Cost Per Vehicle
Service Mile
1.94
2.01
1.66
Passengers Per Vehicle Service Mile
0.58
0.59
0.56
Passengers Per Vehicle Service Hour
-
6.65
6.45
Vehicle Service Hours Per Employee
-
1,574.67
1,334.57
Miles, Per Gallon
14.2
13.1
13.0
Farebox Recovery Ratio
16.41%
17.37%
17.31%
City of Lodi Dial -A -Ride Jure 19. 1986 6
VALIDATION OF PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
The performance statistics and indicators reported in Table I were obtained from:
10 Dial -A -Ride Taxi Service Fund Financial Audit Reports
Lodi Dial -A -Ride Monthly Performance Reports
The City did not have readily avaiiabie financial data that could be reviewed for
consistency with the Taxi Service Fund Report. Therefore, all financial data used
in measuring and calculating performance came solely from the Taxi Service Fund
Reports.
The City does calculate performance indicators from operating data. These data
were combined with STA financial figures to complete the indicators presented in
s Table 1. We wish to note that in fiscal year 1982-83, vehicle service hours data
was not kept: therefore, three performance indicators could not be calculated or
verified for that year. They are:
t Operating cost per vehicle service hour
Passengers per vehicle service hour
Vehicle service hours per employee
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CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Our performance audit of Lodi Dial -A -Ride has resulted in the following
conclusions and recommendations:
In general, we conclude that Lodi Diai-A-Ride is a service which meets the
needs of th.--- community, and that its vehicles are maintained and operated in an
efficient manner.
Our review of Lodi Dial -A -Ride indicates that the City is now maintaining
adequate records to generate the required five TDA performance indicators and
to calculate the farebox recovery ratio.
Ridership, operating cost and the farebox recovery ratio have remained stable
during the audit period. The fcrebox recovery ratio remains above the required
10%.
The previous performance audit recommended that a formal Transportation
r Development Plan stating goals, policies and objectives be developed. The City
H and COG have now developed a Five -Year Transit Plan, which is implemented.
We feel that this plan, together with the City's annual cycle of revising goals
and objectives through the operating meetings, provides Lodi with an effective
means to review existing service and evaluate potential service changes. We
recommend that the City and COG develop formal procedures for evaluating
results of the Unmet Needs hearing prior to implementing service or policy
changes. This evaluation should include estimating the:
extent of public support for the proposed change
ridership impact of the proposed change
cost impact of the proposed change
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City of Lodi Dial -A -Ride ,tune 19. 19%
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We commend the City fo. develcping tools to measure operating performance
such as the response time spreadsheet model. A spreadsheet program has also
been developed to record and calculate operating statistics. We recommend
that the City expand the spreadsheet to integrate the financial data necessary
to compute all TDA -required indicators and further measure performance_
We have enjoyed the opportunity to conduct this performance audit of the City of
Lodi Transit System, and we appreciate the cooperation extended to us by City
staff. If we can be of further assistance, please contact Phil Oberhausen at (415)
393-4474.
Very truly yours,
Thomas A. Rubin
Partner