Work Session Minutes of the Town of
Conference
room
120 Wilkinson Avenue
Present:
Mayor Ernie McAlister, Mayor Pro Tem Jack Smith, Council Members Marla Dorrel,
Mike Joyce, and Jennifer Robinson, Julie Robison and Nels Roseland
Mayor
McAlister called the work session to order at
Mayor
McAlister asked Council members to share comments they received from citizens
regarding C-Tran. Council Members stated that many citizens are concerned
about the possibility of services to senior citizens and the disabled being cut;
some have stated that they would be willing to pay more to keep that service.
There were also geographic concerns about possibly eliminating service to some
of the outer lying areas
Mr.
Roseland said that limiting service to only seniors and disabled could be more
expensive for the town and that by offering service to a broader set of people
the Town can tap into federal funding to offset costs.
Mayor
McAlister informed citizens attending the work session that the Town will have a
fairly extensive public participation process to receive their input before any
decisions are made regarding C-Tran.
1.
Overview of C-Tran Operational Analysis and Three-Year Plan
Ray
Boylston of the Planning Department stated that the purpose of the work session
is to discuss C-Tran’s future with the Town of
Mr.
Boylston stated that the Town has a contract with First Transit, and the three
year plan was completed in March 2004. He said that the amount of funds required
from the general fund for C-Tran has gone down 75 percent due to the Town’s
receipt of $501,000 in federal funds and $140,771 from the State Maintenance
Assistance Program (SMAP) funds for the North Carolina Department of
Transportation division (DOT). (A copy of Mr. Boylston’s PowerPoint
presentation is attached to and incorporated in these minutes as Exhibit
B.)
2.
Brief Summary of C-Tran – Past and Present
Mr.
Boylston stated that the Town has a turn key operation contract, meaning that
the Town contracts with a private provider who provides drivers and vehicles,
and handles all of the maintenance, reservations and scheduling for C-Tran. He
said that this type of contract puts the Town into a certain category for
federal funding.
He
said that the fleet for C-Tran is getting older, with the average vehicle
mileage on most of the fleet being between 125,000-130,000 miles. For every 16
additional passenger trips per day, new vehicles will need to be added to the
fleet. However, the contractor is not going to take the risk during the last
year of a contract to purchase vehicles without knowing if they will be able to
spread the costs out over three to four years.
Mr.
Roseland asked how much the Town spent in 2004 to replace vehicles. Mr. Boylston
said that $80,000 is budgeted, but has not been spent. He said that the $80,000
would probably purchase three to four vehicles a year. The cost of one vehicle
is roughly $55,000 with the market, and federal or state matching fund would
leave the town with a 10-20 percent matching cost. With funds from the state the
town could get several vehicles. He said that the Town sent a request to the
state about a year ago for three vehicles and he is waiting to see if the state
will grant that request.
Mr.
Joyce asked how many passenger trips are made per day per vehicle. Mr. Boylston
didn’t have the exact numbers, but he said it would be 26 on-way passenger
trips per vehicle if C-Tran ran every hour of the day.
Mrs.
Robison asked if he had comparative figures on other municipalities with
door-to-door or demand driven services such as
Mr.
Roseland asked if the comparison factored in
Mrs.
Robison asked if fixed routes would offset the cost of the demand driven
service. Mr. Boylston said that 10-15 percent of existing trips could be
met by a fixed route system. He said in going to a fixed route service system
the Town has to demonstrate consistency and reliability up front.
Mrs. Robinson
asked if door-to-door service would still be maintained if going to a fixed
route and whether that service can be extend only to senior and disabled
citizens without it being considered discriminatory. Mr. Boylston stated that
the Americans with Disability Act of 1990 clearly states that complimentary
paratransit service has to be provided for people who cannot get to a bus stop
and live within 3/4 of a mile of the transport to a fixed route. This is
currently what is done with C-Tran. He said that the Town would maintain
door-to-door service and that it can always be expanded further than the federal
requirements. The Town is only required to meet the minimal federal guidelines.
Federal funding is not jeopardized as long as the Town meets the general intent
of the law.
Mrs.
Robinson asked how many seats are on each vehicle and the maximum number of
people riding in each vehicle at any given time. Mr. Boylston responded that
there are 9 passenger seats in each with a wheel chair securement device. He
said that based on the nature of the service, the maximum number of passengers
riding at any given time is about four. This is due to the need to meet an
efficiency balance, as well as maintaining quality of service.
Mrs.
Robinson suggested staff look into purchasing smaller vehicles for door-to-door
service in order to cut costs. Mr. Boylston stated that he has discussed with
First Transit the option of moving to smaller vehicles to save on fuel costs.
3.
C-Tran Service Alternatives and Impact on Funding (A
description of the proposed service options, population and employment
estimates, and C-Tran ridership and funding summary are attached to and
incorporated in these minutes as Exhibit
C.)
a.
Option A - No service changes
Mr.
Roseland asked why there was an increase in overall costs. Mr. Boylston
responded that it is because of a gradual, steady increase in demand of senior
and disabled citizen services.
b.
Option B – Fixed Routes and New Specialized Transit Services
Mrs.
Robison what the rationale is for decreasing the coverage hours. Mr. Boylston
replied that staff was looking at other options to the current service. He said
that the reduced hours make up the door-to-door component of C-Tran; the demand
is not as great during the proposed reduced hours.
Mr.
Roseland asked what the cost difference would be if the hours remained the same.
Mr. Boylston will obtain that information and provide it to council.
Mayor
McAlister asked if capital costs for additional vehicles were included in the
funding summary. Mr. Boylston responded that the summary is a combination of
both operating and capital funding. He said that if funding is received from the
federal and state it will reduce the revenue per hour rate by $3.50 per revenue
hour.
Mrs.
Robinson stated that there is a Triangle Transit Authority (TTA) fixed route
that runs along
Mr.
Boylston stated that in determining routes staff looked at areas with clusters
of activity and used the census to track data. He said that staff will work with
the public on establishing the actual stops along specific routes and the
distance between stops. Staff is working with TTA to try and prevent duplicative
service.
Mrs.
Robison asked if transfer stations would be available for citizens connecting
from north and south to east and west. Mr. Boylston said staff is continuing to
pursue that option, particularly at the
Mr.
Roseland asked how many current passengers would be affected by the change in
service to fixed and specialized routes. Mr. Boylston responded that the number
of passenger trips for door-to-door service would go down approximately 55
percent; however, general public ridership would triple, if the services is
aggressively marketed. He said that capital costs are stabilized if regular
routes are used.
Mrs.
Robison asked how the change in the system would affect federal and state
funding. Mr. Boylston stated that the examples provided look at the lowest
case scenario. He said that it is possible for the Town to receive more funding
based on performance data.
c.
Option C – Fixed Routes only
Mr.
Boylston said with this option that the Town would receive federal funding,
state funding would decrease, ridership would increase, and the general fund
subsidy would decrease. He stated that the fixed route only option would take
some time for the services to mature and develop.
Several
council members stated that they are not interested in limiting or restricting
the service for seniors and disabled and they would like to see fixed routes
only removed as a service option.
4.
Discussion
Mrs.
Robison asked if changing the service would affect the $5 vehicle license fee.
Scott Fogleman of the Budget Department responded no.
Mayor
Pro Tem Smith asked what the county’s role is with public transportation. Mr.
Boylston responded that the county receives money comes from the federal
government, which is usually matched by the state, to provide rural general
public transportation. He said that the county has very limited funds available
to provide general public trips. The County relies solely on state funding.
Mrs.
Roseland asked if option b would still provide door-to-door service to the
general pubic. Mr. Boylston responded that the only time the general public
would have access to door-to-door service is if they lived within the parameters
set by federal law, which is 3/4 miles of the fixed route stop.
Mayor
McAlister suggested that the public participation process be used to determine
the importance of keep the shopping trips in the door-to-door service.
He said the next step is to get the information out to the public and
then holding public information sessions to hear what they have to say.
Council
members expressed concern about reducing the hours under option B.
Mrs.
Robinson asked what the cost implication is to extend the hours in option B
beyond
Mayor
McAlister said Option B provides a chance to expand C-Tran and it would create
an entire route system as an alternative and create a savings of approximately
25 percent of our existing general fund subsidy. He said it is the consensus
that C doesn’t have support.
Mr.
Joyce stated that he would like to see a scaled down version of services only
for seniors and disabled and requested financial information on that option.
Mr.
Joyce said see fixed routes only kept in as a service option for comment from
the public.
ACTION: A
straw vote was called for and the majority of council members voted to remove
fixed routes only (option C) as an option as an option to be presented to the
public. Mr. Joyce voted to keep option C.
5.
Selection of Preliminary C-Tran Service Design
Staff
was directed to remove option C and to work with options A and B.
6.
Proposed Public Participation Process
Mayor
McAlister asked what the time line is to receive public comment. Jeff Ulma of
the Planning Department responded it would begin in about six weeks and
implementation would be geared toward the next fiscal year budget. Mr. Boylston
added that the ultimate goal to have a clear scope of services by November in
order to develop a request for proposal. He said the Town is in the last year of
the contract with First Transit which ends with the fiscal year.
Mayor
McAlister instructed staff to ensure that information provided to the public
regarding the available options is very clear so that citizens can accurately
weigh in on the options being considered.
Ms.
Dorrel suggested that as staff looks to the future of C-Tran they look at making
connections to hotels, restaurants, movies, and other entertainment venues,
perhaps by developing the service with the cooperative efforts of area hotels.
She also suggested providing service during special events, which would include
extending the hours.
Mr.
Roseland added that consideration should also be given to adding sidewalks from
hotels to transit stops.
Ms.
Dorrel would also like teens to be members of the the recommended transportation
advisory board.
The
work session adjourned at 6:06 p.m.