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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAGENDA REPORT 2005 0615 CC REG ITEM 10FTO: FROM: DATE: SUBJECT: BACKGROUND MOORPARK CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT The Honorable City Council John Brand, Senior Management ITEM 10 - r• MNWA CITY OF MOORPARK, CALIFORNIA City Counell Muting Of ACYION: Analyst 1 2 June 3, 2005 (CC meeting of June 15, 2005) Consider VISTA -East Cooperative Agreement for Commuter Bus Services In July 1994, the Ventura Intercity Service Transit Authority (VISTA) began providing express commuter fixed route bus services between cities in Ventura County. Each route is administered through a Cooperative Agreement among the participating jurisdictions. The VISTA -East route links local transit systems in Moorpark, Simi Valley, and Thousand Oaks to Metrolink and other VISTA routes throughout Ventura County. The Cooperative Agreement provides funding for VISTA -East. It is renewed annually with an Amendment (Exhibit "1 ") that documents how the cost will be distributed. The VISTA routes are administered for the member jurisdictions by the Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC). The VISTA -East service makes eleven round trips on weekdays from approximately 6:00 am to 7:00 pm with headways of about one hour between trips. On Saturdays, there are eight trips from approximately 7:00 am to 6:00 pm with headways of about two hours between trips. As the Council may recall, transit operators must meet a certain farebox ratio in order to receive Transportation Development Act (TDA) funding from the 4 state sales tax. VISTA -East has had to meet a farebox ratio equal to 200 of its operating expenses. If the 20% is attained from the fare box revenue, the remaining 80% may be eligible for TDA or other state or federal subsidy. The VISTA -East route had a farebox ratio of 28.5% in the first six months of 2004- 2005. The fare for VISTA -East is $1.00 for regular passengers and $0.50 for seniors 62+ and persons with disabilities. Children aged VISTA East Agreement 2005 -06 CC Meeting of June 15, 2005 Page 2 five (5) and younger ride free. This fare structure is identical to Moorpark City Transit. DISCUSSION City staff from the cities of Moorpark, Simi Valley, and Thousand Oaks and VCTC staff of the VISTA -East Committee met on May 5, 2005. The agenda for the meeting included VISTA service indicators, passenger surveys, route changes, cost sharing arrangements, consideration of service levels, and the VISTA -East Cooperative Agreement. A route change is proposed to realign the VISTA -East bus route to a transit hub under construction at the Simi Valley Mall currently under construction. Current VISTA -East stops in Simi Valley (Madera Road at L.A. Avenue, and Country Club Drive at Wood Ranch Center) will be eliminated. The sequence of stops will also change, shifting the northern terminus of VISTA -East from Moorpark Station to the Simi Valley Mall. These changes are expected to keep the headways for each trip about the same. With this route change, Moorpark passengers will get direct service to Thousand Oaks instead of the current VISTA -East route that travels through Simi Valley before reaching Thousand Oaks. With the new route configuration, southbound buses will travel directly to Thousand Oaks, and northbound buses directly to Simi Valley. The times of the three VISTA -East stops in Moorpark will be changed. The three stops are: Moorpark College, Princeton & Amherst, and the Moorpark Metrolink Station. VCTC has not developed a new timetable for the route realignment, which is expected to be implemented in August. Moorpark City Transit connects with VISTA -East with an average wait time of eleven minutes at its three stops in Moorpark. For riders traveling to Moorpark on VISTA -East, a Moorpark City Transit Route 2 bus meets them on an average of eleven minutes after the passenger alights from the VISTA -East bus. Riders wishing to connect to an outbound VISTA -East bus can use Moorpark City Transit Route 1 to drop them off at a VISTA -East stop eleven minutes before the VISTA -East bus arrives. These connection times are very good for transit systems. Enough time is allowed between connections to account for traffic delays or other factors that could affect bus arrival and departure times on a day to day basis. Conversely, a rider is not left at a bus stop waiting for an extended period for a connecting bus to arrive. It will not be known how connection times will be affected until VCTC staff establishes the new VISTA- M: \JBRAND \M \MOORPARK \CITY COUNCIUCC AGENDA STAFF REPORTS \CC 2005 \VISTA EAST AGREEMENT 2005- 06.DOC 0 122 VISTA East Agreement 2005 -06 CC Meeting of June 15, 2005 Page 3 East schedule. In the latest VISTA -East passenger survey, no riders indicated that that they transfer to or from VISTA using Moorpark City Transit, although in the past there have been regular riders who do so and it is desirable to maintain good connection times for future riders. The total annual cost to operate the VISTA -East service for FY 2005/2006 is estimated to be $527,017. The federal share is $291,209 which comes from the Moorpark- Thousand Oaks Urbanized Area annual allocation. Anticipated fare revenue (including $10,000 from Moorpark College) is $61,000. This leaves $174,808 to be funded by the cities. VISTA -East Anticipated Costs Total Contract Costs $527,017 Federal Share <291,209> Fare Revenue <61,000> Total Local City Costs $174,808 As has been done since the implementation of VISTA -East, the three cities agree to share costs based on population. Moorpark's population is 12.500 of the three -city total, the same as last year. Moorpark's share of VISTA -East expense will be $21,851 out of the total local cost of $174,808. Sufficient funds are proposed in the City's FY 2005/2006 budget to pay for the City's share of the VISTA -East cost. Approximately 82% of the VISTA -East ridership resides in one of the three sponsoring cities, Moorpark, Simi Valley, and Thousand Oaks. City of Moorpark residents comprised 21.8% of the ridership from those cities, down from last year, when Moorpark residents comprised 29.4% of the total ridership based upon a VCTC on -board survey of VISTA -East riders. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Approve the Amendment and authorize the Mayor to sign the Amendment to the Cooperative Agreement. Exhibit 1 Amendment to VISTA Cooperative Agreement Attachment A Route and Service Description Attachment B Performance Reporting M: \JBRAND \M \MOORPARK \CITY COUNCIL \CC AGENDA STAFF REPORTS \CC 2005 \VISTA EAST AGREEMENT 2005- 06.DOC 0442S3 2 Page 1 Exhibit "1" AMENDMENT (FY 2005/06) TO COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT FY 2001/02 VENTURA INTERCITY SERVICE TRANSIT AUTHORITY (VISTA) EAST This Amendment (FY 2005/06) to the Cooperative Agreement FY 2001/02 VISTA East ( "Amendment ") is made and entered into by and among the CITY OF MOORPARK (Moorpark), the CITY OF SIMI VALLEY (Simi Valley), the CITY OF THOUSAND OAKS (Thousand Oaks) and the VENTURA COUNTY TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION (VCTC). Moorpark, Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks are collectively referred to herein from time to time as the "AGENCIES." This Amendment continues the VISTA East service, under the terms and conditions of the Cooperative Agreement, FY 2001/02, Ventura Intercity Service Transit Authority (VISTA) East ( "Cooperative Agreement "), except to the extent amended hereby, for FY 2005/06. The Cooperative Agreement is hereby amended as follows: A. Section 3: Funding For FY 2004/2005, the required local match shall be paid by the AGENCIES as stated below. Percent Approximate Annual Share City of Moorpark 12.5% $21,851 City of Simi Valley 42.4% $74,119 City of Thousand Oaks 45.1% $78,838 B. (Revised) Attachment "A "- Route and Service Description- is attached and incorporated herein by this reference. C. (Revised) Attachment "B "- Performance Reporting- is attached and incorporated herein by this reference. Except as amended hereby, the terms and conditions set forth in the Cooperative Agreement shall remain in full force and effect. In witness whereof, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement on the dates stated below. CITY OF MOORPARK By Date O(W2SI Cooperative Agreement FY 2005 -06 Ventura Intercity Service Transit Authority (VISTA) East CITY OF SIMI VALLEY By Date CITY OF THOUSAND OAKS By Date VENTURA COUNTY TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION By Date Page 2 APPROVED AS TO FORM City Attorney Date APPROVED AS TO FORM City Attorney APPROVED AS TO FORM Date General Counsel Date ooti;26a Cooperative Agreement FY 2005 -06 Page 3 Ventura Intercity Service Transit Authority (VISTA) East Attachment A (Revised) ROUTE AND SERVICE DESCRIPTION The following is a general description of the VISTA -EAST COUNTY service, which may be revised and /or adjusted during the fiscal year by agreement of the AGENCIES. The route is an intercity, fixed route, express bus service in eastern Ventura County with connections to adjacent Los Angeles County. The route includes stops at: Thousand Oaks Transit Center (Rancho Road), Oaks Mall, Westlake Boulevard/Townsgate Road and the Thousand Oaks Library in Thousand Oaks; Country Club Rd. /Wood Ranch, and Madera Road/Los Angeles Avenue in Simi Valley; Moorpark College, and the Moorpark Metrolink Station in Moorpark. On weekdays, service will operate between approximately 6 AM and 7 PM. In the morning and evening peak hours, the buses will run on approximately 60- minute headways. In the off -peak hours, the headways may increase to approximately 120 minutes. The peak hours will be a minimum of three hours in the morning and three hours in the afternoon. Saturday service will operate between approximately 7 AM and 6 PM. The buses will run on approximately 60- minute headways. In the off -peak hours, the headways may increase to approximately 120 minutes. The peak hours will be defined in the final schedule, but it will be a minimum of three hours in the morning and three hours in the afternoon. The schedule will be arranged to provide timed transfers with local and intercounty transit providers such as the Simi Valley Transit (which provides connecting access to the Simi Metrolink Station); Thousand Oaks Transit, the VISTA- 10 1 /Conej o Connection service, Moorpark Transit, and Los Angeles MTA as feasible. VISTA EAST one -way passenger fares are: $1 for adults between 21 and 61 years of age; $1 for youth 6 to 20 years; and 50 cents for seniors aged 62 and older and for persons with disabilities. Children 5 and under ride free if accompanied by fare paying adult. The SmartCard Passport fares are: adults $40; youth $40; seniors and persons with disabilities $20. Purchased monthly, this passport is valid for unlimited trips on all Ventura County fixed -route public bus systems (not including inter - county service). A cash debit feature is also available. oo( 26'o Cooperative Agreement FY 2005 -06 Ventura Intercity Service Transit Authority (VISTA) East Attachment B (Revised) PERFORMANCE REPORTING On a quarterly basis, VCTC will calculate and provide operating statistics and performance indicators for Weekday service, Saturday service, and for All Periods combined, for monthly, quarterly, and total year -to -date periods, to include: • Farebox Revenues • Farebox Recovery Ratio* • Contractor Operating Cost • Total Adjusted Operating Costs • Passengers • Total Operating Cost per Passenger • Vehicle Service Hours • Total Operating Cost per Vehicle Service Hour • Passengers per Vehicle Service Hour • Total Hours • Vehicle Service Miles • Passengers per Vehicle Service Mile • Total Miles Page 4 * Farebox Recovery Ratios shown will be the adjusted ratio so that all transit systems may be compared equally. For all VISTA contract services, this means that operating costs equal the sum of operating and maintenance costs contained in each contract, or, conversely, contract costs minus all capital costs. 0002S7