Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Statement 1987/09/01 Item 10COUNCIL AGENDA STATEMENT • Item 10 Meeting Date 9/1/87 ITEM TITLE: Report on Chula Vista Transit (CVT) Route 708 Service to the Nature Interpretive Center Resolution~3o2~~ Appropriating Funds for Fare Subsidy on CVT Route 708 SUBMITTED BY: Director of Public Works/City Engineer REVIEWED BY: City Manage (4/5ths Vote: Yes X No ) At its meeting on July 14, 1987, the Redevelopment Agency requested staff to analyze the possibility of establishing a free fare on Route 708 for transporting visitors to the Nature Interpretive Center. A free fare on transit service receiving Transportation Development Act (TDA) Article 4.0 Funds is not in conformance with the Metropolitan Development Transit Board's (MTDB) fare policy; accordingly, eliminating the X0.25 one-way fare on Route 708 could jeopardize the use of TDA funds to pay the operating costs of this service. However, MTDB would concur with eliminating the $0.25 fare if the fare revenue not collected from riders were generated by a subsidy. At its meeting on August 20, 1987, the Agency adopted a motion to maintain a $0.25 • fare on Route 708 for Adults, and eliminate the fare for Junior riders (under age 17). The Agency also requested staff to report to Council in six months on the breakdown of passenger categories (Adults or Juniors) carried on Route 708. In addition to the issue of no fare on Route 708, this report will discuss the following related matters pertaining to transportation service to the Center: a modification to the route and schedule; and an update on the physical status of the buses used for Route 708 service. RECOMMENDATION: That Council: 1. Accept this report; 2. Delete the current four trips per day on Route 708 providing service between "F" Street to the "H" Street station, via Tidelands Avenue and "J" Street, thereby making Route 708 a shuttle service exclusively between the Bayfront Trolley station and the Nature Interpretive Center; 3. Operate the modified Route 708 on a 30 minute schedule during Center operating hours. 4. Establish a free fare on Route 708 for Junior category riders (under age 17), and maintain a $0.25 fare for Adults. 5. Adopt resolution appropriating $9,000 from Transit Service Fund 235 • to reimburse SCOOT for Junior passengers carried on Route 708 at no fare. Page 2, Item 10 • Meeting Date~7- BOARDS/COMMISSIONS RECOMMENDATION: The Redevelopment Agency concurred with the above recommendations at its meeting on August 20, 1987. DISCUSSION: 1. Routing and Schedule h1odification As indicated on the attached diagram, Route 708 started service to the Bayfront on July 5, 1987 with service between the Bayfront Trolley station and the Nature Interpretive Center approximately every 30 minutes with an additional four trips per day diverted to the "H" Street station via Tidelands Avenue and "J" Street. The estimated cost of the present service is $40,400. This routing, and the establishment of a fare on Route 708, was discussed in the "Report on Distinctive Vehicles to Operate on CVT Routes Serving the Downtown and Bayfront Areas" approved by Council on November 18, 1986. That report proposed testing a service on the Bayfront area between "F" Street and the "H" Street Station and then to adjust service levels as warranted by demand. Since Route 708 started, the only riders carried south of "F" Street have been from the RV park, averaging about 2 people per day. Operating Route 708 only as a shuttle service between the Bayfront station and the Nature Interpretive Center would reduce estimated gross operating costs this fiscal year from $40,400 to $28,400 or approximately 40~. Because of the low ridership in the area south of "F" Street, staff recommends eliminating this • service for the present and reinstituting service in that area when warranted by increased demand. If Route 708 operates as shuttle between the Bayfront station and Nature Interpretive Center, maintaining a regular 30 minute schedule could be achieved easily. 2. Physical Condition of Buses Operating on Route 708 The only CVT buses being used on Route 708 are the two Flxettes. The Transit Coordinator has discussed the impact of the road condition on Flxette maintenance with both the City's Equipment Maintenance Superintendent and Community Transit Services' (CTS) Director of Maintenance. There is a consensus that the road condition necessitates increased maintenance on the Flxettes to minimize vehicle deterioration and reduce the chances of a breakdown. In addition, there is concern that operating these vehicles on a continuing basis under the present conditions will hasten their physical and mechanical deterioration. The Transit Coordinator has instituted the following procedure with CTS: the Flxettes will undergo increased maintenance including more frequent oil and air filter changes, and washing; in September, if the operation of these vehicles appears to be causing a severe maintenance and/or deterioration problem, then staff will develop alternatives for providing transportation to the Center and return to Council with a report. 3. Fare on Route 708 The $.25 fare on Route 708 was established in order to conform with MTDB's • uniform regional fare policy, and on a local basis to be consistent with the $.25 fare on CVT Route 706/706A. Based on ridership experience during the ~;~:~~ • • • Page 3, Item 10 Meeting Date first few weeks of operation, staff estimates an average of 115 one-way trips per day between the Bayfront Trolley station and the Nature Interpretive Center. This estimate includes volunteers who work at the Center and ride the bus. Based upon this ridership, an annual fare revenue estimate on this route is $9,000 which based upon an operating cost of $28,400, results in a recovery ratio of over 26%. If Counci 1 wishes to eliminate the $0.25 fare for Juniors on Route 708, MTDB policy requires that the free fare be subsidized. Although the annual subsidy for the free Junior fare this fiscal year will be less than the estimated $9,000 fare revenue for all Route 708 riders, staff recommends that Council appropriate $9,000 for the subsidy now since staff currently has no data on the number of Junior riders on this route. Staff will collect this information if Council approves the free Junior fare. Community Development funds cannot be used to subsidize Route 708 operating costs. One source of funds for this subsidy would be the Transit Service Fund 235 which has been used in the past to subsidize HandYtrans operations. Council has approved $6,300 as a budget transfer from Fund 235 to support HandYtrans operation this fiscal year. Fund 235 currently has a balance of approximately $145,000 and will earn an estimated $10,000 in interest earnings this fiscal year. Therefore, transferring a total of $15,300 ($6,300 for HandYtrans and $9,000 to subsidize Route 708) would result in an estimated fund balance at the end of this fiscal year of $139,700. FISCAL IMPACT: 1. A modification to the current Route 708 to operate only between the Bayfront Trolley station and Nature Interpretive Center will reduce operating costs this fiscal year from an estimated $40,400 to $28,400. 2. Estimated total fare revenue on Route 708 this fiscal year is $9,000. Eliminating the $.25 fare on Route 708 for Juniors and providing a subsidy in the maximum estimated amount of $9,000 to SCOOT from Transit Service Fund 235 would reduce Fund 235 from the current estimated balance of $145,000 to $139,700, considering interest earnings in that account this fiscal year and a HandYtrans operating subsidy in the amount of $6,300 approved by Council. WPC 0905T File No. DS024 y the City Council of Chula Vista, California Dated ~~ ~~ ~-}