Title
Recommendation to Approve the City of Alameda Transportation Program Plan for Seniors and People with Disabilities for Fiscal Year 2021-22.
Body
To: Honorable Chair and Members of the Recreation and Park Commission
From: Amy Wooldridge, Recreation and Parks Director
Re: Recommendation to Approve the City of Alameda Transportation Program Plan for Seniors and People with Disabilities for Fiscal Year 2021-22.
BACKGROUND
Measures B and BB provide the City of Alameda with dedicated funding sources for non-mandated, locally based transportation services for people with disabilities and for seniors, which are not required under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). East Bay Paratransit provides the ADA required and mandated paratransit service that supplements AC Transit and BART’s fixed route services. As required by the funding agency - the Alameda County Transportation Commission (Alameda CTC) - the City of Alameda uses the Measure B and BB paratransit funds to improve mobility for seniors and persons with disabilities.
The City of Alameda paratransit program includes the following locally developed solutions to address the mobility challenges of older adults and people with disabilities:
• Free Alameda Loop Shuttle (www.AlamedaLoopShuttle.com <http://www.AlamedaLoopShuttle.com>)
• Group trips: monthly Mastick trips for seniors, bi-weekly Leisure Club trips for adults with developmental disabilities and an annual picnic for Skilled Nursing Facility residents
• Free AC Transit bus passes for qualifying Mastick Senior Center members, Alameda Point Collaborative residents and Alameda Housing Authority residents
• Door-to-door transportation services through third-party providers for travel assistance or meal delivery
• Customer service, materials, outreach and promotions
• Staff and consultants to ensure that these programs are effectively managed
As part of the Countywide paratransit program - not the City’s program - Emergency Wheelchair Services are now provided by Easy Does It. The Fast Accessible Safe Transportation and Emergency Repair (FASTER) service is available from 10 AM to 6 PM, Monday through Friday, and is funded by Measures B & BB through the Alameda CTC. If a wheelchair, scooter or other mobility device breaks down while the user is out and about in the cities of Alameda, Albany, Berkeley, Castro Valley, Emeryville, Hayward, Oakland, San Leandro or San Lorenzo, community members may call Easy Does It at 510-704-2111 or may refer to the webpage: <https://easydoesitservices.org/faster/>. A technician will attempt to troubleshoot the problem over the phone. If the issue cannot be resolved, the technician will attempt minor on-site repairs, and if still needed, will provide a safe ride home.
Information about the City of Alameda transportation services for seniors and people with disabilities is available at: www.AlamedaParatransit.com <http://www.AlamedaParatransit.com>. The Alameda CTC requires each jurisdiction to annually submit a program plan application to receive the local Measure B/BB funds, which is the purpose of this staff report.
DISCUSSION
The City of Alameda Transportation Program Plan for Seniors and People with Disabilities for fiscal year 2021-22 is recommended to total $396,000, which is about $143,000 less than this current fiscal year budget because the City has been spending down the reserve funding. In January 2017, staff hired a part-time paratransit coordinator - Victoria Williams - to ensure that this specialized transportation program for seniors and for people with disabilities is implemented effectively and best meets customer needs.
2020 Program Highlights
As of January 28, 2020, the City of Alameda terminated the Premium Taxi and Medical Return Trip Improvement Program (MRTIP) because the transportation vendor was unable to comply with the terms of the contract. Furthermore, over the last several years, the taxi program level of service and reliability have continued to decrease while the costs of City subsidies have increased, resulting in higher per-ride costs. In March 2020, the program experienced a sudden shift due to the COVID-19 pandemic shelter-in-place restrictions. City staff temporarily suspended group trips and door-through-door travel assistance; however, the Alameda Loop Shuttle and free bus passes continue during shelter-in-place and meal delivery was added.
A status summary is as follows:
• Alameda Loop Shuttle: In October 2017, two new shuttle buses began running with a 30-minute frequency - as opposed to the previous one-hour frequency - and a rebranded service began with bike racks and wheelchair lifts. As a result, the ridership grew from 450 monthly boardings to 1,000 monthly boardings. During COVID, the shuttle is running as a lifeline service. For social distancing, the Alameda Loop Shuttle buses have a maximum capacity of six passengers with only one of the two wheelchair spaces in operation at a time and also have enhanced sanitation and protections for the passengers and shuttle drivers. Drivers and riders are required to wear masks. The COVID travel restrictions have caused a drop in usage to 290 monthly boardings (Figure 1). The average cost of the shuttle went from $13 per trip pre-COVID to $47 per trip, which is above the required maximum of $20 per trip specified in Alameda CTC’s Paratransit Program Implementation Guidelines.
• Free Bus Passes: Since 2017, qualifying residents living in Alameda Point Collaborative’s 167 units receive free bus passes. In 2019, the City and Alameda Housing Authority also established a partnership for qualifying residents to obtain free bus passes at their facilities, which now total almost 100 free bus passes. In January 2020, City staff began providing free bus passes to qualifying Mastick Senior Center members, and has now issued 53 of these free bus passes.
• Group Trips: In 2020, the group trip program was temporarily discontinued, and is expected to be made available in 2021 due to COVID vaccine availability.
• Meal Delivery: In response to COVID, the City paratransit monies contributed $25,000 to Alameda Meals on Wheels (AMOW) in April, which amounts to almost 4,000 meals delivered to Alamedans’ doorsteps. In fall 2020, the following three non-profit organizations received a combined $30,000 for meal delivery totaling an additional 4,600 meals delivered: AMOW, Mercy Brown Bag Program and Alameda Food Bank. City staff also filled in as the weekend dispatcher for AMOW during the stay-at-home order in spring 2020.
• Outreach: In 2020, staff delivered shuttle schedules to key stakeholders, hung the cross-street banner, listed services in the City Recreation Guides, issued a press release on the annual survey and provided wellness checks during COVID. For the wellness checks, staff contacted over 800 Mastick members since March to provide them with transportation as well as other resources including free bus pass sign-ups.
• Capital Program: The City's Measures B/BB paratransit reserve monies paid for enhanced bus stops on Otis Drive to improve ADA compliance and safety, and paid for the replacement of five bus shelters throughout the City.
Figure 1: Alameda Loop Shuttle - Boardings per Month
Proposed Program for Seniors and People with Disabilities
This section describes the City’s proposed transportation program for seniors and for people with disabilities for fiscal year 2021-2022. In general, City staff is recommending the same program as previous years except with the expansion of door-to-door services using a third-party provider to assist Alameda’s most frail community members. The third-party provider would work with Lyft/Uber in a consultant liaison role to provide dispatch and concierge on-demand services now that the taxi subsidy program was terminated and can no longer fill that need. The capital program, which was used to spend down the paratransit fund reserves, is discontinued because the reserves have been reduced. Additionally, the Alameda CTC is funding an emergency wheelchair program and travel training at a countywide level, which are available to Alamedans.
The fiscal year 2021-2022 plan is being developed with input from key stakeholders and program participants by conducting a survey in fall 2020 and by reaching out to four City Commissions in early 2021: Commission on Disability, Recreation and Parks Commission, Transportation Commission and Social Service Human Relations Board. Exhibit 1 provides a summary of the survey results, which totaled 33 respondents. The majority of the respondents use AC Transit buses at 84 percent and have a Senior Clipper Card at 58 percent. A majority of respondents - at 70 percent - currently ride the Alameda Loop Shuttle with 86 percent very likely to continue or start to ride the shuttle. Respondents rated the shuttle service, drivers and vehicles highly with an overall satisfaction rate of 82 percent. More than half - totaling 54 percent - would use a service like Uber or Lyft if subsidized by paratransit funding.
Alameda Loop Shuttle ($180,000, same as last year): Website: www.AlamedaLoopShuttle.com <http://www.AlamedaLoopShuttle.com> In 2010, the Alameda Paratransit Shuttle service began with the goal of reducing motor vehicle trips by seniors and by people with disabilities and of reducing the dependence on the subsidized taxi services within the City. In October 2017, the shuttle was rebranded as the Alameda Loop Shuttle with increased frequency to every 30 minutes. The shuttle service is open to the public yet the primary purpose of the shuttle is to serve people with disabilities and seniors by providing access to shopping destinations and medical facilities around the City. The drivers may assist riders with boarding and exiting the shuttle, securing wheelchairs and carrying up to five bags of groceries or a folding shopping cart. The shuttle operates from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. The shuttle routes are as follows:
• Tuesdays: West Loop (between Alameda Landing, Marina Village and downtown Alameda)
• Wednesdays: East Loop (between Bay Farm Island, downtown Alameda and Mastick Senior Center)
• Thursdays: Central Loop (between downtown Alameda, South Shore Center and Bridgeside Center/Nob Hill Market)
Recommended changes: Staff recommends providing the same service.
Group Trips ($25,000, same as last year): The City’s program supports transportation for recreation programs run through Mastick Senior Center and Alameda Recreation and Park Department as follows:
• Mastick Monthly Trips: Provides financial assistance for the Mastick Senior Center’s monthly trip program with travel destinations to various Bay Area locations (i.e. San Francisco, Livermore, etc.).
• Leisure Club: Supports the driver and the shuttle bus maintenance for the Alameda Recreation and Park Department’s Leisure Club. The Leisure Club is a social recreation program offered for adults - 18 years or older - with developmental disabilities that meets twice a month.
• Crown Memorial Beach: Subsidizes the transportation expenses to/from Crown Memorial Beach for the Annual Skilled Nursing Facility Picnic.
Recommended changes: Staff recommends providing the same services once COVID travel restrictions are lifted and vaccines are available.
Scholarship Program - Free AC Transit Bus Passes ($85,000, same as last year): The City provides funding for free AC Transit bus passes to qualifying seniors and people with disabilities residing in Alameda Point Collaborative, which is a low-income, supportive housing community in Alameda Point, Alameda Housing Authority and Jack Capon as well as qualifying Mastick Senior Center members. The low-income requirement for household income should not exceed 50 percent area median income.
Recommended changes: Staff recommends providing the same services and expanding to Jack Capon as is budgeted in this current fiscal year.
Door-to-Door Transportation Services ($25,000, a decrease of $10,000 from last year - NEW Service): The door-to-door service includes three potential options: concierge, volunteer driver program or meal delivery to better serve the City’s most frail community members.
1) Concierge: A third-party provider such as GoGo Technologies, which is known by users as “GoGo Grandparent,” would work with Lyft/Uber to provide dispatch and concierge on-demand services for community members now that the taxi subsidy program was terminated and can no longer fill that need.
2) Another door-to-door option is to contract with a third-party provider that offers escorted transportation services using volunteer or stipend drivers such as LIFE Elder Care or another non-profit provider.
3) A third option is to continue providing meal delivery to allow for community members to age-in-place and live more independently in their homes depending on the COVID community spread and vaccine availability.
Recommended changes: City staff expects to transition from meal delivery to volunteer or concierge services post-COVID pending third-party negotiations and COVID infection rates and community vaccine distributions. The lower budget amount is due to reduced paratransit revenues occurring from the economic downturn.
Customer Service and Outreach ($29,000, a decrease of $4,000 from last year): The outreach program includes distributing shuttle schedules, program materials, informational mailings and press releases, advertising in the Alameda Sun and at Alameda Theatre, listing services in the quarterly City Recreation Guides, hanging the cross-street banner that promotes the Alameda Loop Shuttle, presenting at Mastick Senior Center transportation program presentations and in Mastick New Member Orientation meetings and with other community members, assisting with the issuance of free bus passes and Clipper cards to seniors or people with disabilities and tabling at events. As a service to East Bay Paratransit customers in the City of Alameda, staff also sells East Bay Paratransit tickets.
Recommended changes: Staff recommends a lower outreach budget than the current fiscal year due to reduced paratransit revenues that are expected to occur because of the economic downturn.
Program Management ($50,500, a decrease of $7,000 from last year): The management component funds the part-time paratransit coordinator and the group trip driver as well as on-call experts. The program management includes providing program oversight, completing the Alameda CTC application and reporting requirements, reviewing program data and invoices, participating in Alameda CTC’s paratransit committees, renewing or establishing new contracts and programs, conducting outreach meetings and other outreach activities, and coordinating with transportation providers and City staff.
Recommended changes: The lower budget amount is estimated due to stable staffing levels and reduced need for consultants.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The Transportation Services - Paratransit Program Application (Fund 287, Program 4225287), as outlined above, totals $396,000. The program will be funded from the following sources (all at projected amounts): Alameda CTC Measure B/BB paratransit annual funding allocation ($367,000) and fund balance ($29,000). The remaining unallocated funds, which are expected to total about $45,000, will be placed as a funding balance for future years. There is no impact to the General Fund.
RECOMMENDATION
Approve the City of Alameda Transportation Program Plan for seniors and people with disabilities for Fiscal Year 2021-22.
Respectfully submitted,
Gail Payne
Senior Transportation Coordinator
Jackie Krause
Recreation Manager
Victoria Williams
Paratransit Coordinator
Exhibits:
1. Paratransit Annual Survey Results