City of Lawrence

Public Transit

 

TO:

Dave Corliss, City Manager

 

FROM:

Cliff Galante, Public Transit Administrator

 

CC:

Debbie Van Saun, Assistant City Manager

 

Date:

July 11, 2007

 

RE:

Agenda Item:

Recommended Changes to Fare Policy for University of Kansas Students.

 

Please place the following item on the City Commission consent agenda for consideration at their July 17, 2007 meeting:

 

Approval of the following proposed fare policy change regarding discount for University of Kansas Students recommended by the Public Transit Advisory Committee and staff to be implemented effective August 1, 2007 through July 31, 2008.

 

(1)            All University of Kansas Students with a valid student identification card will be eligible for our reduced fare which is currently offered to students K-12 and students of Haskell Indian Nations University.

 

(2)            In addition, University of Kansas students that purchase a KU on Wheels bus pass will also be eligible to purchase a T sticker at a reduced cost, which allows unlimited access to the T fixed-route service.  The recommended cost is $50 per semester and $20 for the summer session.

 

Background Information:

 

In August 2003, as an effort to increase coordination with the KU on Wheels transit service, and to further promote transit usage in the community, the City initiated a discount program for University of Kansas students.  A contract is entered into annually with the University which permits the sale of T bus passes on campus through the KU Parking and Transit Department.

 

Under the terms of the current contract that expires July 31, 2007, University of Kansas students that purchase a KU on Wheels bus pass can also purchase a deeply discounted City T bus pass for $25.00, for unlimited access on the City’s transit system covering the Fall, Spring semesters, as well as the winter break.  This represents a 85.3% discount based on the old full fares.  A full fare bus pass for 10 months would have cost $170.00 for the general public.  In addition, students can purchase a semester pass for $15.00 or $10.00 for the summer session.   

 

Also, eligible students with disabilities that purchase a KU on Wheels bus pass can currently receive a discount on T Lift paratransit service of $152 per semester; $204 for the Fall and Spring Semesters; and $34.00 for the Summer Session.  This represents a 50% discount off of the old fares charged for T Lift service. The old T Lift monthly bus pass fare charged to the public for a 10 month period was $340.00 or $408.00 annually.  

 

Since 2003, the City typically sells approximately 300 discounted bus passes to KU students annually for T fixed-route service generating approximately $7,500 annually.

 

As for the discount program for T Lift service, only one student has utilized this discount program.  Based on efforts to better manage the rising demand and cost of T Lift service, this discount program is to be eliminated.

 

To date, participation by University of Kansas students in the discount program has not been at a desired level considering approximately 27,000 students attend the University, of which 5,000 students utilize the KU on Wheels transit service.

 

With recent changes to the fare policy to double rates over the 6 months, revising the discount program to University of Kansas students is appropriate. 

 

As negotiations with the University of Kansas continue regarding increased coordination or consolidation of transit services in the community, ideally efforts towards offering a Universal Unlimited Access Program is the direction staff would like to see.

 

A Universal Unlimited Access Program would potentially generate the necessary resources required to make desired service improvements to make public transit usage more attractive to students, faculty and staff.

 

These programs offer students, faculty and staff unlimited access on the community’s transit system at deeply discount rate that is charged to the entire university community and is paid via a subsidy to the community annually.  Staff has had conversations with Haskell Indian Nations University about establishing such a program.  There appears to be strong interest by HINU in such a program where students are currently eligible to receive a reduced fare for T fixed-route service.  An unlimited access program would provide even further discounted rates to students, but would like likely generate considerable more revenue.  If such a program is established, it would be the first program of this kind in the State of Kansas that is widely used and accepted in most university communities in the country where public transit services are provided.

 

Staff believes such a program would benefit both the University and the community at large, but feels that by offering deeply discounted fares prematurely, possibly offers little or no incentive for the University to work towards establishing an Unlimited Access Program in the future.  However, staff concurs with the PTAC recommendation to revise the discount program for the next year since it further illustrates the City’s willingness to coordinate with University transit services.

 

Action Request:

 

Staff seeks City Commission approval of the recommended discount program for the University of Kansas for the period of August 1, 2007 through July 31, 2008.