HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Report - September 16, 1998 (49)AGENDA TITLE: Transit Service Improvements
MEETING DATE: September 16, 1998
PREPARED BY: Public Works Director
RECOMMENDED ACTION: That the City Council discuss and take the appropriate action on the Public Works
Department's recommendation to implement menu items 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, and 8 from
Exhibit B to improve the City's transit service.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Transit services have increased in the past two years to improve service
delivery and increase the service area. Those changes have brought a
remarkable increase in ridership (see Exhibit A). The City of Lodi has
received many requests, at public meetings, public hearings and through
letters and phone calls, for extended evening GrapeLine and Dial -A -Ride hours. Following is a descriptive "menu" of
items covering these requests. Additional details are provided in Exhibit B.
1. GrapeLine Weekend Service to Micke Grove Park from May to October
Service to Micke Grove Park would help transit -dependent Lodi residents enjoy the park and zoo. Also, during
peak periods, the parking lot is full regularly, and visitors are turned away. Zoo Manager Ken Neeland has been
encouraging SMART and the City of Lodi to bring bus service to the park. SMART will begin sending Route 21,
the intercity bus service from Manteca/Stockton to Lodi, to the park in 1999. The proposed GrapeLine service
would begin in May 1999.
2. GrapeLine Sunday Service
Currently, the City of Lodi only offers Dial -A -Ride service on Sundays. Since the city extended Sunday hours in
1997, many churches in the area have purchased Dial -A -Ride tickets for elderly and disabled passengers.
However, many more Lodi residents can be served by having fixed -route service available to them when they
want to go to church. Shoppers will have one more available day, and fixed -route service will be available for
the many events held in Lodi on Sundays. This may provide an additional benefit of reducing peak demand on
Saturdays since riders will have an extra weekend day available.
3, 4, 5. GrapeLine Evening Service
GrapeLine evening weeknight service will help Lodi residents enjoy the performing arts at Hutchins Street Square,
attend church weekday nights, attend the many Downtown events on Thursday nights, and allow all residents to
stay out a little later. Laidlaw currently cannot provide the service on Saturday nights because it will require hiring
and training more drivers and dispatchers. Wednesday -through -Friday -night GrapeLine service is recommended
in order to assess the viability of the service and to maximize ridership. Due to flexibility in scheduling current
drivers, this can be done without additional staff. By law, Dial -A -Ride service hours must match or exceed fixed -
route service hours so, at a minimum, Wednesday -through -Friday -night Dial -A -Ride service hours would also
need to be added.
6. Boys and Girls Club High School and Middle School Runs
Transportation directly from the two middle schools (Woodbridge and Lodi) to the Boys and Girls Club on
Poplar Street would help keep the youths off the streets by providing a direct link. Many of the parents who
work while their children are in school are very excited because the children would be accountable to their
parents if they do not attend the Club. The Police Department endorses this service not just for the
accountability it provides, but also because this is an alternative to gangs, and because the Teen Center on
Stockton Street closed. Youths would also be able to attend local church meetings commonly held on Tuesday
and Wednesday nights.
APPROVED:
H. Dix .Flynn -- Ci Manager
CSRVCIMPS.DOC 09/09/98
Transit Service Improvements
September 16, 1998
Page 2
The Boys and Girls Club has indicated it can accommodate 500 more youths at the Poplar Street center. The
Public Works Department is attempting to transfer unused Community Development Building Grant (CDBG)
funds from the Teen Center Program to provide the service free to the students.
7. Morning Express High School Runs
After doing an informal survey of Lodi High School students, it was determined that not enough passengers
would pay for a morning express run that would be routed along Central Avenue and Pine Street. A survey of
Tokay High School students was not done. A formal survey by Lodi Unified School District may be required
before making this recommendation.
8. Dial -A -Ride Monday -through -Friday -Evening Service
In order to get youths home from the Boys and Girls Club, or to and from local sports and church activities,
evening Dial -A -Ride service would be the recommended form of transportation. Finally, many seniors and
disabled Lodi citizens have requested evening Dial -A -Ride service. The estimate, shown in Exhibit B, provides
two buses; however, this is more flexible than fixed -route service and we may be able to reduce costs by
providing one bus when demand is light.
9. Administration: Increasing Contract Amount to Laidlaw for a Reservation Agent
The implementation of the federally -mandated reservation system means that Laidlaw will need to provide a
reservation agent. We have tried to do without this additional staff position, but with the increase in ridership,
the position is justified. In addition, this agent will double as the information agent at the Multimodal Station
when it opens.
RECOMMENDATION: The Public Works Department recommends menu items 1, 2, 5, 6, 7 and 8 from Exhibit B.
As a point of reference, current service hours and fares are shown on Exhibit C. At this time, no changes in fares
are being recommended. However, staff is interested in generating additional program revenue without increasing
fares. The most likely form would be allowing advertising on buses and bus stops. This could include an art
component and public service announcements. It could provide revenue for further subsidizing or eliminating fares
for certain programs or routes.
FUNDING: When President Clinton signed the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA -21), the
Federal Government increased the City of Lodi's apportionments by about 20%. Funding is available
for the increase in service hours.
Fiscal Year 1998199
Fiscal Year 1999100
and beyond
$88,410
TDA
$29,470
FTA
$58,940
TDA
$58,940
FTA
Richard C. Prima, Jr.
Public Works Director
Prepared by Carlos Tobar, Transportation Manager
RCP/CT/lm
Attachments
cc: Ken Neeland, Micke Grove Zoo Manager
Kwame Reed, San Joaquin County Council of Governments
Richard Blackston, Lodi Representative, SJCOG Citizens' Advisory Committee
Lodi Boys and Girls Club
Sergeant Chet Somera, Lodi Police Department
Paul Keener, SMART
CSRVCIMPS.DOC 9/9198
Grapeline and Dial -A -Ride Ridership
Last Two Years Comparison
Grapeline
Month -Year
Passengers
Month -Year
Passengers
% Increase
Aug -97
19,264
Aug -98
27,073
29%
Jul -97
17,749
Jul -98
24,700
28%
Jun -97
16,955
Jun -98
25,656
34%
May -97
16,886
May -98
21,824
23%
Apr -97
17,811
Apr -98
24,255
27%
Mar -97
18,182
Mar -98
23,446
22%
Feb -97
15,674
Feb -98
17,055
8%
Jan -97
15,397
Jan -98
17,972
14%
Dec -96
13,357
Dec -97
17,839
25%
Nov -96
14,195
Nov -97
16,549
14%
Oct -96
15,666
Oct -97
17,185
9%
Sep -96
13,957
Sep -97
18,754
26%
Aug -96
15,638
Aug -97
19,264
19%
Jul -96
13,638
Jul -97
17,749
23%
Dial -A -Ride
Month -Year
Passengers
Month -Year
Passengers
% Increase
Aug -97
6,000
Aug -98
6,361
6%
Jul -97
5,379
Jul -98
6,253
14%
Jun -97
4,501
Jun -98
5,604
20%
May -97
4,754
May -98
5,383
12%
Apr -97
5,145
Apr -98
5,692
10%
Mar -97
5,166
Mar -98
5,740
10%
Feb -97
4,868
Feb -98
5,298
8%
Jan -97
4,848
Jan -98
5,294
8%
Dec -96
4,723
Dec -97
5,817
19%
Nov -96
4,738
Nov -97
4,869
3%
Oct -96
5,352
Oct -97
5,863
9%
Sep -96
4,753
Sep -97
5,556
14%
Aug -96
5,108
Aug -971
6,000
15%
Jul -96
4,981
Jul -97
5,379
7%
* The Micke Grove service would start in 1999.
Transportation Development Act funding requires that the City of Lodi meet a $4.69 operating cost per passenger requirement
Menu Items
Grapeline
# of days
# of routes
# of hours
cost/hr
fuel/maint
costiday
total
costiday
costtyear
passengers required
to meet requirements
# per day # per year
1
Micke Grove Park Sat-Sun/May-Oct
52
1
7.50
$15.23
$11.42
$125.65
$6,534
27
1,393
2
Sundays (8 a.m. to 2 p.m.)
52
1 5
6.00
15.23
45.69
502.59
26,135
107
5,572
3
One Evening (til 9:30 p.m.)
52
1
2.5
15.23
3.81
41.88
2,178
9
464
4
Mon-Fri Evenings (til 9:30 p.m.)
246
5
2.50
15.23
19.04
209.41
51,515
45
10,984
5
Wed-Fri Evenings (til 9:30 p.m.)
156
5
2.5
15.23
19.04
209.41
32,668
45
6,966
6
Boys & Girls Club HS/MS Runs
207
2
1.00
$15.23
3.05
33.51
6,936
7
1,479
7
Morning Express High School Runs
180
2
2.00
$15.23
6.09
67.01
12,062
14
2,572
Dial-A-Ride
# of buses
8
Mon-Fri Evenings (til 9:30 p.m.)
246
2
2.5
15.23
7.62
83.77
20,606
18
4,394
9
Administration (Price quoted by Laidlaw)
Reservation Agent
$25,000
Total cost for recommended menu options 1, 2, 5, 6, 8 and 9.
$117,880
* The Micke Grove service would start in 1999.
Transportation Development Act funding requires that the City of Lodi meet a $4.69 operating cost per passenger requirement
EXHIBIT C
City Of Lodi Dial -A -Ride and Grapeline
Service Hours and Fares
Dial -A -Ride
Grapeline
Service Hours
Monday - Friday
6:15 AM - 7:00 PM
6:15 AM - 7:00 PM
Saturday
7:45 AM - 5:30 PM
7:45 AM - 5:30 PM
Sunday
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
N/A
Fares: Single Rides
Seniors/Disabled/Medicare
$1.00
$0.25
General
$2.00
$0.50
Fares: Monthly Passes
Seniors/Disabled/Medicare
N/A
$10.00
General
N/A
$20.00
Fares: Monthly Passes
-- Low Income*
Seniors/Disabled/Medicare
N/A
$7.50
General
N/A
$15.00
* Low income Criteria ---
same as city utilities