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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAGENDA REPORT 2012 0502 CC REG ITEM 10F ITEM 10.F. City council h4eeting J'F� MOORPARK CITY COUNCIL AcrloN:� � AGENDA REPORT _mx TO: Honorable City Council FROM: Dave Klotzle, City Engineer/Public Works Director Prepared by: Shaun Kroes, Senior Management Analys DATE: April 20, 2012 (CC Meeting of 05102/12) SUBJECT: Consider 2012 Moorpark Beach Bus and Summer Youth Bus Pass Programs BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION The 2011 Moorpark Beach Bus program concluded on August 18, 2011. A summary of last year's program is attached. The 2012 Moorpark Beach Bus program is scheduled to begin June 12, 2012 and end August 16, 2012, providing another 30 days of public transit services to Zuma Beach. As mentioned in Attachment 1, staff is recommending that the City discontinue the requirement that passengers provide a photo identification to board the bus. The Moorpark Beach Bus is funded with Transportation Development Act(TDA)funds, and is considered a general public transportation program. Consequently, the City does not have the ability to enforce the photo identification requirement. In the past, passengers who did not have photo identification at the time of boarding the bus were not refused service. It is possible, however, that the posted requirement deterred some potential passengers from using the service because they did not have identification. In 2009,the City implemented a new"Buy Three, Get One Free"Beach Bus pass program. The program has continued since then. There are two types of"Buy Three, Get One Free" Beach Bus passes. The first is for students/adults and costs $15.00. The second is for seniors/disabled and costs $6.00. The Summer Youth Bus Pass sells for$15.00 per pass and is available for any passenger between the ages of 6 and 20. The Summer Youth Bus Pass will provide unlimited ridership on Moorpark City Transit Route 1 and Route 2 from June 1 through September 7, 2012. S:\Public Works\Everyone\Reports\Staff Reports\2012\May\05-02-2012(2012 Beach Bus Program).doc 223 Honorable City Council May 4, 2011 Page 2 The proposed Beach Bus and Summer Youth Bus Pass programs for Summer 2012 are detailed below: 1. The Beach Bus will provide two trips per day, Tuesday through Thursday for ten weeks during the summer (June 12, 2012 through August 16, 2012). 2. Continue not to have the tripper bus service for days when passenger demand exceeds capacity. 3. Beach Bus will start its pick up and drop off at Campus Canyon School and continue to Peach Hill Park. 4. Maintain Beach Bus fare at $5.00 round trip for students/adults. 5. Maintain Beach Bus fare at $2.00 round trip for seniors/disabled. 6. Passengers five and under ride for free. 7. Passengers will be given wrist bands for their return trips. Passengers who use the first trip to Zuma Beach will be required to use the first return trip from Zuma Beach. Passengers who use the second trip to Zuma Beach will be required to use the second return trip from Zuma Beach. This will prevent passenger overflow concerns and ensure that everyone who traveled to the beach will be able to return to Moorpark. 8. Continue the "Buy Three, Get One Free" Beach Bus program. 9. Continue the Summer Youth Bus Pass program. 10.Discontinue the photo identification requirement. FISCAL IMPACT The City awarded a three-year agreement for services with Student Transportation of America (STA) for bus excursions, including the Beach Bus on May 4, 2011. The 2012 rates are$349 for the first five hours of service,then an additional$50.50 per hour for each additional hour. The estimated cost to operate the Beach Bus for 2012 is $20,000.00. In 2011, the City collected $6,593.00 in fares. In 2012, an estimated $6,500.00 in fares is anticipated for collection, for an estimated net cost of$13,500.00. As in previous years, the$13,500.00 will be funded from the City's TDA funds. Sufficient TDA funds have been budgeted for this purpose. TDA funds not spent on transit projects are spent on streets and roads projects. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Approve the proposed 2012 Moorpark Beach Bus and Summer Youth Bus Pass Programs. Attachment: Beach Bus 2011 Summary 224 g°�p 90 ft6hc Works (Department 9a b aggraa MEMORANDUM TO: Honorable City Council Steven Kueny, City Manager FROM: Shaun Kroes, Senior Management Analyst DATE: October 13, 2011 SUBJECT: Beach Bus 2011 Summary The 2011 Summer Beach Bus service began June 14, 2011 and concluded on August 18, 2011. The City provided two trips per day, three days of the week, Tuesday through Thursday. Passengers were instructed that the trip they took to Zuma Beach determined their return trip. Passengers who used Trip 1 to Zuma Beach were required to use Trip 3 to return to Moorpark. Passengers who used Trip 2 to Zuma Beach were required to use Trip 4 to return to Moorpark. If the driver determined that he had enough capacity, passengers were permitted to switch their return trip. The Beach Bus performed two roundtrips between Moorpark and Zuma Beach for 30 days. Numbers used on this report are for Summer 2011 (June —August). Technically, June 2011 is part of FY 2010/11, and any income and costs would be attributed to that fiscal year. Ridership, Table 1: Beach Bus Season 2011 and 2010 Comparison Summer Beach Bus 20,1,1 Days Total Round Average Last Year Trips Ridership June 2011 9 413 46 424 July 2011 12 566 47 389 August 2011 9 471 52 249 30 1,450 48 C 1.062 Table 1 above compares Summer 2011's ridership to Summer 2010's ridership. During 2011, there Were 1,450 roundtrips between Moorpark and Zuma Beach. This is a 36.53% increase over last season, when 1,062 roundtrips were provided. During Summer 2011 the Beach Bus ran 30 days, the same number of days as 2010. 225 Beach Bus Summary 2011 Page 2 Table 2: 2001 -2011 Beach Bus Passengers 2001- 2011 Beach Bus Passengers (Round Trip) 2,200 - 2,000 - 1,800 - 1,600 - 1,400 - 1,200 - 1,000 - 800 - 600 - 400 - 200 - 0 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Table 2 above shows the Beach Bus ridership since the Beach Bus began in 2001. There has been a 110% increase in ridership since 2001. During Summer 2001, there were 689 roundtrips. Since 2001 the Beach Bus has evolved. In 2001 and 2002 the Beach Bus provided one round trip to and from Zuma Beach on Tuesdays and Thursdays. In 2003 the City increased the number of trips to two round trips per day, and began going to San Buenaventura Beach on Thursdays. Beginning in 2004, the City decided to do two roundtrips to Zuma Beach on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The City decided to stop going to San Buenaventura Beach after 2003 because ridership decreased on Thursdays, with passengers citing that San Buenaventura was colder than Zuma, and too rocky to enjoy the beach. After returning to Zuma Beach, ridership increased and the City received positive feedback from passengers. The City increased the number of days of service in 2009 to meet the anticipated demand in service. The previous year, there were frequent days when passenger demand exceeded capacity. When possible, the City provided a tripper bus to meet the demand. The extra days of service were intended to eliminate the need for a tripper bus. Although the tripper bus was not needed in 2009, there was an overall decrease in ridership. This could have been from a number of factors, including the cooler temperatures experienced during several days of service in 2009 compared to 2008; the increase in fare in 2009 to previous years; the extra rules including pre-determined trips that may have dissuaded passengers from using the Beach Bus; and alternative summer plans for passengers as a result of the Moorpark Unified School District's decreased summer school program. 226 Beach Bus Summary 2011 Page 3 In 2010, the City decreased the number of days of service from four days per week to three days per week. Again, the City saw a decrease in ridership. This is attributed to the decrease in days of service and the cooler summer that was experienced in 2010 compared to other years. Program Cost In 2011, the City collected $6,593.00 in fares, compared to $4,209.00 collected in 2010, an increase of 56.64%. The Beach Bus Program cost $17,642.50 this year. This is a 23.15% decrease compared to 2010, when the program cost $22,955.81. The overall farebox ratio for 2011 was 37.37%, compared to 18.33% in 2010. In 2011, Student Transportation of America (STA) received the City's new contract for providing Beach Bus services for the next three years. STA's bid was significantly lower than other bids submitted and was lower than rates charged by the City's previous contractor, Durham School Services. STA provided very good service in 2011 for the Moorpark Beach Bus and Arroyo Vista Recreation Center's activities. Bus Incidents There was one incident this year involving two passengers who were allegedly spotted by the Beach Bus driver smoking marijuana on the bus. The incident occurred on July 28, 2011. The driver notified the Ventura County Sheriffs Department who met the bus at Campus Canyon School. The officers apprehended the two passengers and collected a bag of marijuana that the driver confiscated from the passengers. The passengers were both minors; consequently, the police were unable to provide the City with contact information. The driver was instructed to not permit the two passengers on the bus the remainder of the summer. The driver did not report any incidents involving the passengers attempting to board the bus after the incident. Bus Stops In.2011, the City replaced the Civic Center Beach Bus stop with two new stops. The first was located on High Street across the street from the Metrolink Station. The second stop was at Poindexter Park. The Civic Center bus stop was removed out of concerns of continuing the 3-point turn with a 40-foot school bus. The High Street and Poindexter Park bus stops were used about equally, but, the High Street bus stop had the higher number of total passengers collected out of the two stops, thanks to the Boys and Girls Club using that particular bus stop a couple of times. The ranking of total number of passengers boarding from each bus stop was, Arroyo Vista Recreation Center (430); Peach Hill Park (423); Campus Canyon School (386); High Street (160); and, Poindexter Park (51). 227 Beach Bus Summary 2011 Page 4 Summer Bus Passes In 2009, the City implemented a new "Buy Three, Get One Free" Beach Bus pass program. The program has continued since then. In 2011, the City sold $273 in Beach Bus passes. There are two types of "Buy Three, Get One Free" Beach Bus passes. The first is for students/adults and costs $15.00. The second is for seniors/disabled and costs $6.00. The Summer Youth Bus Pass sells for $15.00 per pass and is available for any passenger between the ages of 6 and 20. The Summer Youth Bus Pass provides unlimited ridership on Moorpark City Transit Route 1 and Route 2 from June 1 through September 9, 2011. The City sold 13 Summer Youth Bus Passes, for a total of $195.00. Summer 2012 Preparation Based upon the ridership in 2011, it is recommended that the 2012 Moorpark Beach Bus program continue in the same manner as 2011. One recommended change is to remove the requirement for photo identification. The Moorpark Beach Bus is funded with Transportation Development Act (TDA) funds, and is considered a general public transportation program. Consequently, the City does not have the ability to enforce the photo identification requirement. Although some passengers do carry identification, it is possible that the requirement deters some potential passengers who do not have identification. The following program features are proposed for 2012: 1. Continue the Beach Bus Service with two trips per day, Tuesday through Thursday for ten weeks during the summer. 2. Continue not to have the tripper bus service. 3. Beach Bus will start its pick up and drop off at Campus Canyon School and continue to Peach Hill Park. 4. Maintain Beach Bus fare at $5.00 round trip for students/adults. 5. Maintain Beach Bus fare at $2.00 round trip for seniors/disabled. 6. Fares will remain free for passengers five and under. 7. Passengers will be given wrist bands for their return trips. Passengers who use the first trip to Zuma Beach will be required to use the first return trip from Zuma Beach. Passengers who use the second trip to Zuma Beach will be required to use the second return trip from Zuma Beach. This will prevent passenger overflow concerns and ensure that everyone who traveled to the beach will be able to return to Moorpark. 8. Remove the photo identification requirement for passengers. 9. Continue the "Buy Three, Get One Free" Beach Bus Pass program. 10. Continue the Summer Youth Bus Pass program. C: Dave Klotzle, City Engineer/Public Works Director 228