City of Lawrence

Public Transit Advisory Committee

April 10, 2007 minutes

 

MEMBERS PRESENT:

Chair Marian Hukle, Marc Epard, Martin Miller, James Dermody, Jessica Mortinger

MEMBERS ABSENT:

Ann Foster, Richard Heckler, David Dunfield, Darlene Mortell

STAFF PRESENT:

Cliff Galante, Wendy Koerner, Emily Lubliner, Mike Sweeten

PUBLIC PRESENT:

None present

 

Call to Order

A quorum was met, and Committee Chair Marian Hukle called the meeting to order at 4:12 p.m.

 

Public Comment

No public present.

 

Agenda Review

Marc Epard wanted to add the request from the jail to the agenda.

 

Approval of February PTAC Board Minutes

Jessica Mortinger moved to approve the February 20th PTAC minutes; James Dermody seconded.  Minutes were approved.

 

Public Transit Administrator Update

a.     Ridership and Other Performance Statistics

PTA said in February we had a decrease of 5% on the fixed-route, but we saw another month of double-digit growth for paratransit service, which was up 11%.  Fixed-route ridership in March increased by 1%, and paratransit dropped down to only a 5% increase.  On-time performance for both systems remains above 95%, which is excellent.  

 

Marc Epard asked why we haven’t offered as many free ridership days lately, which have always proved successful in the past.  PTA felt offering too many free ride days may make the public immune to the “specialness” of it, and people may delay trying the “T” if they know there will just be another free day the following month.  However, committee felt free ridership days are an inexpensive marketing and training tool, and since they approved 10 free ridership days per year, they should all be utilized.  PTA and staff will work together to maximize all free ridership days authorized by the committee.  PTA said he didn’t believe the lack of free ridership days was affecting the overall leveling of fixed-route ridership.  At some point our ridership was expected to “plateau,” and service improvements would be necessary to attract additional “choice” riders.   No improvements have been made to the system since 2004, but hopefully, our transition to a designated stop system and Web site improvements will help.

 

PTA also pointed out the decrease in fixed-route ridership coincides with the opening of the KU Park and Ride system, and gas prices were also higher in August 2006.  At this time, we don’t track gas prices and makes direct comparisons to ridership. 

 

b.     2008 Budget

PTA said the initial FY2008 transit budget is due April 13th.  Based on the numbers, we will definitely have some budget challenges going into next year.  To maintain our current services levels, the City Commission will either need to dedicate additional funding to transit or we will have to find additional sources of funding.  Johnson County has requested $50,000 from the City to help fund the K-10 Connector service.  The total cost to operate the system is approximately $400,000.  Johnson County’s share is the administration costs and vehicles.  $200,000 comes from KDOT, and Johnson County is asking for $15,000 from each of the three university campuses the system serves. It will be up to the City Commission to determine if $50,000 is a fair price to pay for a service that is narrowly tailored to serve only the college campuses.  PTA said he does feel that serving the campuses was a good place to start, but he would like to see the service expanded to include major employment destinations in the Kansas City metro area.  PTA said information collected from the “commuter surveys” indicated the main reasons people commute to the Kansas City area are ranked in the following order: 1) employment; 2) shopping; 3) other-entertainment; 4) education; 5) medical.

 

PTA said that at this time, K-10 Connector serves number four on the list, and he would like it to begin serving number one.

 

PTA said he is also asking the City Commission to begin annualizing capital replacement costs.  This means a portion of each year’s budget will be reserved to address future bus replacement.  At this time, the MV contract makes up approximately 90% of our budget.  All expenses which are not absolutely necessary for our operation, have already been cut from our budget.  If additional cuts are to be made, they will have to come from service on the street.

 

c.      Douglas County Jail Request

PTA said the issue of service to the Douglas County Jail has been initiated again.  Marc is concerned proponents for jail service think tomorrow’s public hearing is a route review, and it is not.  The purpose of the public hearing is about the proposed policy and fare changes, and we need to make this clear at the beginning of the meeting.  He also added that our response to proponents of jail service should include the fact that the Route Review Committee has considered the request on several occasions, and they have determined service to the jail is not feasible at this time.  PTA reiterated that safety is the number one reason service to the jail has not been considered.  Because the speed limit is 65 mph on this stretch of highway, it is unlawful to place a bus stop on K-10, at Franklin Road.  In addition, the lack of an adequate acceleration lane on K-10 also prohibits the city from utilizing Franklin Road to serve the jail directly.  There is a significant difference between a small personal vehicle reentering traffic that is traveling at a high rate of speed, and a large, slower moving bus attempting the same.   Add in the fact that buses hold a large amount of people, and any potential accident could be devastating. 

 

PTA said if the acceleration lane is significantly lengthened to allow for adequate acceleration of a bus, he would again consider adding service to the jail.  However, this would be up to KDOT, and they have indicated the city/county would be asked to come up with the funding.

 

Mike Sweeten added that there is not time in our Route 5 schedule to serve the jail and the business park.  In the past, they looked at alternating service between the two locations, but the jail service would then require the bus to make a left turn onto K-10, which is an undesirable option.

 

Proposed T Lift Paratransit Service Policy Changes

PTA said language has been added to the proposed policy changes to require children under the age of 12 to ride with an adult.  This change would be applicable to both paratransit and fixed-route systems.  PTA also asked the committee to consider a policy change to address overbooking of T Lift trips.  At this time, one in three scheduled trips end up being cancelled.  This is suspected to be a contributing factor in our developing pattern of denials.  If a trip is scheduled, the space is reserved, preventing other passengers from scheduling the same time slot. If the trip results in a cancellation, another passenger may have been denied the slot or had their request re-negotiated unnecessarily.  PTA proposes clients who cancel 50% or more of their scheduled trips within a 90 day period also become eligible for suspension of their T Lift service.

 

Jessica Mortinger moved to submit the policy changes as recommended by staff and the Policy and Standards Committee; Marc Epard seconded.  Motion passed.

 

Proposed Fare Increases for Fixed-Route and Paratransit Services

PTA said he will have a PowerPoint presentation for the public hearing that will show what the fare increases will look like and will outline the proposed policy changes.  He said staff did a survey of Kansas transit agencies and our current fares are the lowest in the state.  PTA said this information will be available at the public hearing.  Jessica asked if we are going to make changes to the “T” sticker offered to KU students. PTA said this will be an issue the subcommittee will have to address.  Jessica suggested we talk about it soon, because KU is getting ready to place their sticker order.  Jessica also added that “universal access” on campus did not make it on the ballot and the issue is dead at this time.  

 

Subcommittee Updates

Committee postponed subcommittee updates until the next meeting.

 

Public Comment

No public present.

 

Tentative Next Meeting Date: May 15, 2007

 

Adjournment

Meeting was adjourned at 5:30 pm.

 

Submitted by Wendy Koerner.     Minutes approved by PTAC June 12, 2007.