Title
Recommendation to Discontinue the Alameda Loop Shuttle; and Authorize the City Manager to Negotiate and Execute a Three-Year Agreement with AC Transit, Substantially the Same as Exhibit 4, for an Amount Not to Exceed $673,000 to Provide a Free AC Transit Bus Pass Pilot Program for Seniors and People with Disabilities as Part of the City's Paratransit Program. (Planning, Building and Transportation 20962741) [Continued from March 15, 2022]
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Staff is requesting City Council approval to discontinue the Alameda Loop Shuttle and to enter into a Service Provider Agreement with Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) as the provider of the Free AC Transit Bus Pass Pilot Program (Pilot Program) for low-income Alameda seniors and people with disabilities using a pay-per-ride model based on actual boardings from Clipper cards. The AC Transit Board of Directors unanimously approved the three-year Pilot Program on February 9, 2022. The Pilot Program is part of the City of Alameda’s (City) Measure BB paratransit program budget, which the City Council approved in the Fiscal Years 2021-23 two-year budget.
BACKGROUND
Alameda County Measure BB provides the City with dedicated funds for non-mandated, locally based transportation programs serving people with disabilities and seniors, which are not required under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). East Bay Paratransit (EBP) provides the ADA required paratransit service that supplements AC Transit and BART’s fixed route services for people who are unable to use regular buses or trains because of a disability or a disabling health condition. As required by the funding agency - the Alameda County Transportation Commission (Alameda CTC) - the City uses the Measure BB paratransit funds to improve mobility for seniors and persons with disabilities. Information about the City paratransit program is available at: www.AlamedaParatransit.com <http://www.AlamedaParatransit.com>, and is summarized as follows:
• Alameda Loop Shuttle (www.AlamedaLoopShuttle.com <http://www.AlamedaLoopShuttle.com>) fixed route public service, which is open to all but used primarily by seniors and people with disabilities, operates two free shuttle buses Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays with a 30-minute frequency (purpose of this staff report: City staff recommends eliminating shuttle);
• Free AC Transit Bus Passes for low-income Alameda seniors and people with disabilities (purpose of this staff report: City staff recommends authorizing service provider agreement with AC Transit to implement the three-year Pilot Program);
• Alameda Independent Mobility (AIM) offers curb-to-curb transportation network company (TNC) services through a third-party concierge service provider - Eden I&R, Inc. - for low-income Alameda EBP members;
• Outreach including customer service, materials and promotions; community education includes Transportation 101 workshops as well as Hop on the Bus with Us providing introduction and experience taking public transportation;
• Group Trips including monthly trips for Mastick Senior Center members, bi-weekly Leisure Club transportation for adults with developmental disabilities and an annual picnic for Skilled Nursing Facility residents (paused during COVID-19 pandemic);
• Capital Program, improves access to/from bus stops including sidewalk enhancements, bus benches and shelters, curb bulb-outs and bus islands; and
• Program Management by City staff and consultants.
In addition to these City B/BB funding programs, the Alameda CTC offers an Emergency Wheelchair Service called the Fast Accessible Safe Transportation and Emergency Repair (FASTER), which funds a technician to troubleshoot wheelchair breakdowns, provides on-site repairs, and a ride home: <https://easydoesitservices.org>.
DISCUSSION
Since 2017, qualifying residents living in Alameda Point Collaborative’s 167 units have received free AC Transit bus passes. In January 2020, the City began providing free bus passes to low-income Mastick Senior Center members and has issued 62 passes as part of the City’s EasyPass program, which was not designed for senior centers but is a residential- or employer-based program. In 2021, staff worked with AC Transit to transition and formalize the program as a pay-per-ride model and to expand it to more low-income seniors and also to low-income people with disabilities throughout the City. As a result of these discussions, AC Transit Board of Directors recently approved the three-year Pilot Program.
Since 2017, the City also has been providing fixed-route bus service targeting seniors and persons with disabilities with the Alameda Loop Shuttle: <http://www.AlamedaLoopShuttle.com>. Pre-COVID, the shuttle’s boardings were over 900 per month (Figure 1). During COVID, the public health travel restrictions caused a drop in usage to 394 monthly boardings, less than the ridership at the program’s inception in 2017. The ridership has not returned to pre-COVID numbers due to reliability issues and social distancing (Exhibit 1). With a decline in ridership, the average cost of the shuttle went from $13 per trip pre-COVID to $34 per trip, which is above the required maximum of $20 per trip in Alameda CTC’s Paratransit Program Implementation Guidelines. During COVID, the Alameda CTC is more focused on monitoring than enforcement.
Figure 1: Alameda Loop Shuttle - Boardings per Month
City staff is recommending the same paratransit program as previous years except with the elimination of the Alameda Loop Shuttle due to lack of demand, low-cost effectiveness and reliability issues. In comparison, the cost per trip for the Free AC Transit Bus Pilot Program is under $2, which includes the cost of a bus ride and a processing fee. The average cost per trip of the AIM/TNC concierge program is expected to be $15 as experienced in the City of Hayward. The Free Bus Pass and AIM programs are more cost effective than the Alameda Loop Shuttle enabling the City to serve more of Alameda’s seniors and people with disabilities, which are the intended populations for the Measure BB paratransit monies that the City receives. Furthermore, City staff is experiencing continued reliability issues with the Alameda Loop Shuttle averaging 3 complaints/issues per month (Exhibit 1). Most recently, the complaints/issues have increased with an average of 6 issues per month from September through December 2021, which also has reduced ridership. Staff recommends that the Pilot Program and the AIM/TNC concierge program target only seniors and people with disabilities who are low income so as to more effectively achieve equitable goals as mentioned in the updated General Plan (2021).
By transitioning the fixed-route service from the shuttle program to the Free AC Transit Bus Pass Pilot Program, additional Free AC Transit Bus Passes can be distributed to low-income seniors and people with disabilities living in Alameda because the Pilot Program is more cost effective. AC Transit buses run every day including weekends, run from early morning to late night, and have a vast array of service lines. A Free AC Transit Bus Pass allows true independence for the user, whereas the shuttle offers limited options, would be cost prohibitive to expand its service and is above the Alameda CTC required maximum of $20 per trip.
Staff is recommending to continue the free bus passes provided to Alameda Point Collaborative’s 167 units totaling $25,000. Furthermore, staff is recommending to expand the citywide Free AC Transit Bus Pass Pilot Program from the current $65,000 budget to $175,000 for the first year so as to serve more low-income seniors and also to expand the program to low-income people with disabilities throughout the City. Additional funding will allow for up to 315 participants in the citywide free bus pass program for seniors and people with disabilities assuming an average of 33 boardings per month per participant. The purpose of this staff report is to formalize the program as a pay-per-ride model for a three-year pilot program starting at $175,000 per year with potential to expand up to $260,000 based on actual boardings from Clipper cards.
Customer Service and Outreach
The fiscal year 2022-2023 Plan was developed with input from key stakeholders and program participants by conducting a survey in December 2021 and by reaching out to Alameda CTC and AC Transit as well as four City Commissions: Transportation Commission (January 26), Social Service Human Relations Board (January 27), Commission on Persons with Disabilities (February 9), and Recreation and Park Commission (February 10).
Exhibit 2 provides a summary of the survey results, which totaled 133 respondents. As shown in surveys taken from 2017 to 2021, the monthly boardings and customer satisfaction have declined to its lowest level to date (Figure 2). In the survey, 26 percent of the respondents ride the Alameda Loop Shuttle, while 24 percent ride both the Alameda Loop Shuttle and AC Transit. Only 23 percent of the respondents felt that the shuttles ran on-time and are satisfied with the overall service. This low satisfaction is reported when shuttle operators do not show up at a stop or change the route and bypass a stop. It has been challenging to find reliable lunch relief resulting in either shuttle operators driving with no lunch break or not driving their route during the lunch hour. Staff also has experienced a lack of proactive planning and notification from the contracted shuttle service when there is no lunch relief or when street closures occur, and an inadequate response to staff and rider complaints.
Figure 2: Annual Survey: Boardings and Customer Satisfaction
Free AC Transit Bus Pass users report that they “love the freedom” that the bus pass allows them. In the survey, 67 percent of respondents use AC Transit buses and have a Senior Clipper Card or an RTC Clipper Card for people with disabilities. On a scale of 1 (low) to 9 (high), 49 percent of respondents rated their satisfaction with AC Transit as a 6 or higher, the average rating was 6.4, and 68 percent of the respondents use at least two different types of public transit.
The City paratransit coordinator already has targeted shuttle riders to receive free bus passes and most of them already ride both the shuttle and AC Transit. With the elimination of the Alameda Loop Shuttle, staff will continue to work directly with shuttle riders to assist with a smooth transition to using AC Transit buses by enrolling qualified riders in the Free AC Transit Bus program and Hop on the Bus with Us, which familiarizes small groups on how to use the public transit apps and takes them out on AC Transit bus rides. Transportation 101 workshops provide an overview and assist with transportation options available in Alameda. Staff is also available three days a week for telephone and personal appointments to assist with the transition.
The AC Transit Board of Directors unanimously approved the three-year pilot program on February 9, 2022, and the AC Transit staff report is shown in Exhibit 3. The four City commissions voted to recommend approval of the City’s annual paratransit program. The Commission on Persons with Disabilities recommended approval of the paratransit program with an amendment to extend the Alameda Loop Shuttle until the end of 2022 to give shuttle riders more advanced notice and to evaluate the City’s new TNC Concierge program.
ALTERNATIVES
The alternatives include the following:
• Discontinue the Alameda Loop Shuttle and authorize the City Manager to execute the contract with AC Transit, as recommended;
• Discontinue the Alameda Loop Shuttle and authorize the City Manager to execute the AC Transit contract with revisions determined necessary by the City Council including extending the shuttle until the end of 2022; or
• Continue the Alameda Loop Shuttle and do not authorize the City Manager to execute the AC Transit contract.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The Free AC Transit Bus Pass Pilot Program is part of the City’s Measures B/BB paratransit program budget, which the City Council approved in the FYs 2021-23 two-year budget (Org Code 20962741). The City’s Measure BB paratransit annual funding allocation from the Alameda CTC is expected to total $400,000 this fiscal year and $431,000 next fiscal year.
The three-year pilot program is recommended to begin at $175,000 for the first year and would grow up to $260,000 annually over the three-year period. The contract agreement also includes a reimbursement of the initial 62 bus passes starting in 2020 totaling $23,000 since the original EasyPass program does not cover senior centers. The total contract amount is not to exceed $673,000, and is summarized as follows with contingency monies included:
EasyPass Reimbursement: $23,000
1st Year Maximum: $175,000
2nd Year Maximum: $215,000
3rd Year Maximum: $260,000
Total Contract Agreement: $673,000
There is no impact to the General Fund.
MUNICIPAL CODE/POLICY DOCUMENT CROSS REFERENCE
This action does not affect the Alameda Municipal Code. The Free AC Transit Bus Pass pilot program supports the General Plan Objective ME-3.c: “Equal Access. Continue to improve the transportation network to ensure that residents with limited income have affordable and convenient access to transportation choices, such as AC Transit bus service and paratransit.”
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) applies only to projects that have the potential for causing a significant impact on the environment. The agreement to provide transportation services as part of the City’s Paratransit Program is exempt from CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3), the common-sense exemption, because the activity does not have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment.
CLIMATE IMPACT
Since vehicle miles traveled in Alameda is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Alameda, City staff is expecting that the Free AC Transit Bus Pass Pilot Program will have a positive climate impact. The Free AC Transit Bus Pass Pilot Program was developed to reduce single occupant vehicle trips and to increase the occupancy of bus trips with the discontinuation of the underutilized shuttle so as to increase the demand for AC Transit bus routes that already are in service.
RECOMMENDATION
Discontinue the Alameda Loop Shuttle; and authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute a three-year agreement with AC Transit, substantially the same as exhibit 4, for an amount not to exceed $673,000 to provide a free AC Transit Bus Pass Pilot Program for seniors and people with disabilities as part of the City's Paratransit Program.
CITY MANAGER RECOMMENDATION
The City Manager concurs with the staff recommendation to authorize the City Manager to execute a three year agreement with AC Transit in an amount not to exceed $673,000. Additionally I concur with the Commission on Persons with Disabilities recommendation to have the Alameda Loop Shuttle phased out through the end of the calendar year 2022.
Respectfully submitted,
Andrew Thomas, Director of Planning, Building and Transportation
By,
Gail Payne, Senior Transportation Coordinator
Katherine Kaldis, Paratransit Coordinator
Financial Impact section reviewed,
Gerry Beaudin, Assistant City Manager/Interim Finance Director
Exhibits:
1. Summary of Issues and Complaints
2. Survey Summary
3. AC Transit Report
4. Draft Agreement
cc: Eric Levitt, City Manager