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Agenda 12/10/2013 Item #16D 4 12/10/2013 16.D.4. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Recommendation to approve the Comprehensive Operational Analysis (COA) for Collier Area Transit. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the Transit system to identify efficiencies that can be implemented for the system operations. CONSIDERATIONS: Alternative Transportation Modes (ATM) Department and the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) staff worked with the consultant team, CDM Smith, Inc., to develop a Comprehensive Operational Analysis (COA) for the Collier Area Transit system. The COA is a thorough analysis of the fixed-route service and provides recommendations designed to improve productivity and service efficiency. The data collected and the analysis conducted through the COA provides the transit agency with objective information for use in business planning, including use of services provided and how those services meet the needs of the customers. The COA identifies the strengths and weaknesses of the operations, including those services that are the best performing compared to those that need attention. The report has been vetted through the MPO Committees and the Public Transit Ad-Hoc Advisory Committee and received their endorsement. The following are the Key Findings and Recommendations of the report. • Overall System Performance is Good • Top 5 Routes represents 75% of Ridership • Ridership has High Transit Dependency • Priority to Improve Service Frequencies • Implement On Time Performance • Priority to Marketing and Monitoring Service • Route Connectivity and Transfer Points • Clarify Route Names/Numbers FISCAL IMPACT: There is no fiscal impact with this item. LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS: This item is approved as to form and legality, and requires majority vote for Board approval.—SRT GROWTH MANAGEMENT IMPACT: There is no growth management impact associated with this Executive Summary. RECOMMENDATION: That the Board approve the Comprehensive Operational Analysis (COA) for the Collier Area Transit system. Prepared by: Trinity Scott, Public Transit Manager - Alternative Transportation Modes Department Packet Page-1474- 12/10/2013 16.D.4. COLLIER COUNTY Board of County Commissioners Item Number: 16.16.D.16.D.4. Item Summary: Recommendation to approve the Comprehensive Operational Analysis (COA)for Collier Area Transit. Meeting Date: 12/10/2013 Prepared By Name: Scott Trinity Title: VALUE MISSING 10/21/2013 2:07:46 PM Submitted by Title: VALUE MISSING Name: Scott Trinity 10/21/2013 2:07:47 PM Approved By Name: AlonsoHailey Title: Operations Analyst,Public Service Division Date: 11/1/2013 3:06:55 PM Name: ArnoldMichelle Title: Director-Alt Transportation Modes,Alternative Tr Date: 11/15/2013 4:19:20 PM Name: CarnellSteve Title: Purchasing/General Services Director Date: 11/18/2013 4:16:54 PM Name: TeachScott Title: Deputy County Attorney,County Attorney Date: 11/19/2013 1:10:48 PM Name: KlatzkowJeff Packet Page-1475- 12/10/2013 16.D.4. Title: County Attorney Date: 11/19/2013 1:46:19 PM Name: StanleyTherese Title: Management/Budget Analyst, Senior,Office of Manage Date: 11/21/2013 4:25:08 PM Name:FinnEd Title: Senior Budget Analyst, OMB Date: 12/2/2013 4:44:29 PM Name:KlatzkowJeff Title: County Attorney Date: 12/3/2013 8:38:19 AM Name: OchsLeo Title: County Manager Date: 12/3/2013 10:04:15 AM Packet Page-1476- j .ie t' W 12/10 201 D,..,4„,. i . g Y t �� � ;fie- k )4#� , -': 4. ; .`S # *n"`y, `� k 41 was✓.{' ' mss„. _ / � DRAFT � Ar a Transit Comprehensive Operational Analysi Collier sF lr wit F �. January 2013 41 Prepared for: I II ILL>I i 7 COLLIER:. Mrenopdrtan Fennmg or...anm Collier County Metropolitan Planning Organization Collier Area Transit Prepared by: 0 The pre;action of the report has been financed in part through grant s]from the 1,dent CDIVIEI■Hi h� Aamin stration and Fede aI Iran�it Admmistration,U.S Department of 7iai po ionuno thStatc nlannina and Research Proaiam,section 505[or Metropolitan PI imi�q�'rn n�;r}, ��� e unn I 0--�-) ofTitle 7�,U S.Cone,The c nre nts of this:report tio,not necessaril+r tier the official aievas nr.poli€y of the`U.S.Departrent ofTransportation packet Pa_e -1477- 12/10/2013 16.D.4. Executive Summary Public transportation services for the over 333,000 citizens living in Collier County, Florida are provided through Collier Area Transit (CAT). CAT currently operates ten fixed-route bus routes (shown in Figure ES.1) as well as paratransit service within unincorporated Collier County,the City of Naples, Marco Island, and Immokalee. Since inception in 2001, CAT's annual ridership has increased from just fewer than 100,000 trips in 2001 to over 1.2 million trips in FY2012. Over roughly the same time period,from 2000 to 2010,the population in the county has grown by approximately 28 percent. Given these large population and ridership changes,it is essential to periodically review the services CAT offers and provide a meaningful assessment of how this service may be organized to most efficiently and effectively address the needs of citizens in the County. One way that transit agencies address these changing dynamics affecting transit service provision is by conducting a Comprehensive Operational Analysis(COA). The Collier County Alternative Transportation Modes (ATM) Department is responsible for planning, operating, and managing CAT public transportation services through a contract operator, Keolis Transit America(KTA).The ATM Department is also responsible for the direction of CAT services and, as such, has initiated this COA to evaluate existing fixed-route services to identify short term (five- year) recommendations for maximizing route efficiencies and service in Collier County and the surrounding areas. Because times and dynamics have changed over the last five years, the Collier County Alternative Transportation Modes (ATM) Department and CAT requested that the Collier MPO jointly conduct this review of current public transportation services through the COA process. Medium-sized transit agencies typically conduct a COA process approximately every five years, depending upon fluctuation in agency revenues and requests for service. CAT may want to consider adding this detailed analysis as an additional task while conducting the required annual updates for the Transit Develop Plan. The analyses conducted through a COA provides the transit agency with a wealth of objective information for use in business planning, including use of services provided and how those services meet the needs of the customers. This purpose of the COA is therefore to identify the strengths and weaknesses of transit operations in the County,including those services that are the best performing and those that need attention. This, in turn, is used to define actions that the agency can take to improve productivity and service efficiency over a five year period. This COA was designed to effectively review and incorporate the findings of recent studies, analyze the CAT system and provide an early and continuous public involvement process. The study design involved staff and public participation, background data collection and analysis of existing service characteristics,site visits,conducting actual on-site reviews of the major characteristics of each of the routes provided (known as a "ride check" data), and performing on-board surveys with existing CAT passengers. ES.1 Study Design This COA was designed to effectively review and incorporate the findings of recent studies, analyze the CAT system and provide an early and continuous public involvement process. This study design involved staff and public participation, background data collection tasks, and development of ride check and on-board survey data. Smith Packet Page-1479- .,.,..4,../ 12/10/2013 16.D.4. .;.-i„-...'„, Immokalee c.... Is ', , ilf,S,' ,"3"41:-.:?4'ji:7"P:ZIr We'' 4k: *J ,, o, ..r., 7 .... , ',..,'Axg.„-!z,111,:i.'-.4.....-;1‘4,' -r- 4^ -Y` t4174';',1.0'It'a°,11.,, I.. 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V.,.., i - —.... ,, • . .._, . . , 1 I . i ,... , •, OELSO .1, _ 11 ,. 4,..° tX.-..v„ .'...... • ,. ,. . .._., fiaT431;14,nd v,..'',:si?.V ,- 5 .....,..., -, -,,,,-1 41-z!,1,,,,.:,••,,..-4.t , ,,,..4:-'44z...544,C,5-_., •v4ci;•,z4:,;,•.'4 , - -, ... ,.. „....„- -c'-''--, .„- w.,•,:—, -, :•,-, --46i,j1t- i • .,,,,--e4,,''''ev'rl` r.',,,,- ,:- .0015,451, t 1.'1' '-1-....'41"-'":`,,l't'''''''''' = T.Marco Island e, ,, I :,..t ',, -,..,. ,,, ', ;',...,-'''''','t, ,,, t,- .,..... d,71.;,,. 1 If A „.„,,„„: • , ...„ .. CDR! Collier Area Transit+LinC N A Smith Packet Page-1480- 0 12/10/2013 16.D.4. ES.1.1 Public Involvement Public involvement was critical in identifying qualitative data on the existing services.At the start of this study, 60 stakeholders were identified as suggested points of contact. These stakeholders included elected officials, city and county management staff, as well as members of the Chamber of Commerce, other planning agencies, the local coordinating board (LCB), and technical advisory committee (TAC) and citizens advisory committee (CAC) members. All stakeholders were provided with background information on this study and its purpose, information on scheduled meetings and interview times and dates to facilitate public input, and points of contact for providing or requesting additional information on this study.In coordination with agency staff,14 stakeholders representing a cross section of elected officials, agency leaders, and community representatives were identified to conduct one-on-one interviews for additional detailed feedback on community desires. These stakeholder meetings and interviews, combined with field investigations of existing routes, driver interviews, ride check and survey data, and a public open house meeting formed a starting point for identifying strengths and weaknesses of the existing system and defining appropriate goals and objectives for the COA. ES.1.2 Background Data Data collection activities were also undertaken at the start of this project and included a review of previous studies and collection of current operational data sets as well as coordination with concurrent studies. Documents reviewed as part of this process included the most recently adopted Transit Development Plan (TDP) and Transportation Disadvantaged Service Plan (TDSP). Current operational data was obtained from the National Transit Database (NTD) and Collier County staff. In addition, coordination was sought with Collier staff to provide additional information on capital equipment and vehicle information, additional service area and fare data, previous rider surveys conducted, and other data that could assist the project team in analyzing the existing system and making meaningful recommendations on short term service improvements. Finally,a number of plans are being conducted concurrently with this study and were reviewed. The Collier Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) was reviewed to ensure consistency between the short range improvement plan provided in this COA with longer term recommendations in the LRTP. The Collier County Master Mobility Plan is also being conducted concurrently with this COA and all relevant and available documents from that study were reviewed as well. ES.1.3 Collected Data In addition to background data,a ride check survey and on-board survey were conducted for this COA. A 100 percent ride check was conducted on each of CAT's routes.The ride check was conducted over a three-day period from March 23-25, 2012 and included total boardings, alightings, and on-board passengers at each stop for each trip operated on a Friday, Saturday, and Sunday throughout CAT's hours of operation. In addition, surveyors counted the number of bicycle ons and offs and passengers who used wheelchairs. This data provided a representative sampling of the service provided by CAT. An on-board passenger survey was conducted on May 4-6, 2012 to examine travel behavior and demographic characteristics of existing CAT riders. The survey also identified opportunities to improve bus service for current riders and to make it a viable choice for those who currently drive a car or use other travel options. A total of 2,500 surveys were distributed in English, Spanish and Creole.Every passenger over the age of 15 received a survey.A total of 1,033 completed surveys were analyzed,which equaled a response rate of 41 percent,which exceeded the projected response rate of 25 percent. Smith 3 Packet Page-1481- 12/10/2013 16.D.4. ES.2 Key Analysis Findings Public transit agencies develop route alignments and schedules similar to the development of the roadway transportation network alignments. The end result is to provide residents with the most direct routes to/from their destinations.All roads cannot be arterial roads or highways.Smaller feeder roads such as collector and local streets coordinate mobility with the other higher volume roadways. Transit agencies have this same philosophy.The busiest and primary bus routes will likely be the most efficient and operate along high activity corridors, which are usually arterial roads. Many small neighborhood and service routes feed into the busier route and allow passengers transfer opportunities. A series of primary themes have been distilled from the various data analyzed and field observations: • Low Frequency - The low frequencies of CAT routes reduce the spontaneous use of the system. Service frequencies must be increased and complex route patterns removed to encourage more spontaneous use of the system and also draw potential riders to use transit more regularly. • Route Productivity - The ride check analysis completed for this COA shows good route productivity on a system-wide level,averaging over 17 passenger trips per hour. Routes 3, 1, and 2 perform best, with Routes 9 and 4 scoring next highest. Not surprisingly, these routes also report the most transfer activity. These five top-performing routes carry 75 percent of total system-wide ridership. • Bus Stops- The ride check analysis completed for this COA indicates that the highest stop level ridership is occurring at Government Center, Wal-Mart (Collier Boulevard and U.S. 41), Fleischmann Boulevard near Coastland Mall, Creekside Transfer Center, and the Radio Road Operations Center. These locations coincide well with major transfer points listed in Collier County's Transit Development Plan (TDP) and should be given highest priority in developing passenger amenity improvements. Other locations in Immokalee that exhibit high hoardings and alightings may be considered as well, including Farm Workers Way and the Immokalee Health Department. Bus stop shelter and shade were listed as a service quality concern in the customer survey conducted as part of this study. Although ranked by customers as meeting service quality standards,continued improvements to shelter and other amenities is a priority for improving customer service quality. • Operating Ratios -The routes with the best operating ratios correspond closely with the highest levels of ridership. • On-Time Performance - Field analysis indicated there are on-time performance challenges, particularly during peak season. • Route Alignment Names- There are many routes, such as Route 1B, 2A, 2B, etc. that create passenger confusion. The existing schedules/maps do not differentiate the routes, or the direction of travel. Passengers are required to understand the differences in route patterns to understand the schedules. • Route Connectivity- Passengers are required to travel to the Government Center or Transit Operations Building. Additional transfer locations should be available. While population and employment densities and street topography strongly support CAT's transit network, several 4 Smith Packet Page-1482- 12/10/2013 16.D.4. factors point to supplementing this core system with other services. First, the suburban communities continue to grow in both residential and commercial densities, meaning riders need to connect to more places than just the Government Center.Future networks should seek to provide more cross town opportunities to allow riders to connect quickly from one part of the county to another. • Rider Demographics — The ridership base tends to be highly transit-dependent. Four out of five riders live in households with zero or one vehicles earning less than $30,000 annually. The majority of patrons ride the bus four days or more each week,primarily for work trips. • Accessibility Issues — CAT fixed-route services need to continue to be accessible to more of the community. Accessibility, particularly as it relates to transit service, can mean many things. It can imply geographic coverage to reach more of the population, or the extent to which services meet the needs of certain population segments.Accessibility in transit has also come to be associated with meeting the disabled community's needs. As the Collier County area expands beyond the current limits of transit service, CAT must seek to push its service area to new areas where demand for transit may exist, or increase service in some existing areas. Some of these areas are ripe for commuter services and others would benefit greatly from introducing or increasing the level of local service provided. Expanded geographic coverage, increased service frequencies, and longer service spans were top concerns of both riders and non-riders. In particular, evening service and 90-minute service frequencies are a concern.This is an inadequate level of service to attract a significant ridership base. There is much that current CAT fixed-route service is doing right,and future recommendations seek to preserve those elements. Namely, CAT maintains a weekday system-wide average of over 17 passenger trips per revenue-hour,a good value for a key performance indicator. Productivity in some of the key corridors, like U.S. 41 and Airport Pulling Road are also extremely high. But underscoring the myriad of data and analysis are the demographics of CAT's riders that represent a ridership base that is highly transit dependent. This base is less sensitive to deficiencies in service levels or reliability,especially when it comes to work trips. Non-riders are not so immune. Many of them have a choice in transportation options,and CAT simply does not provide service that is direct enough, frequent enough, or close enough to make it competitive, even though most non-riders say they are willing to try transit under the right circumstances. In order to attract new riders to CAT and increase usage among current riders, CAT must continue to increase service as revenues become available and maintain its current strengths. ES.3 Service Change Recommendations In order to determine the community's transportation needs, data was gathered from a number of sources including an on-board survey of bus passengers, discussions with drivers who interact with customers daily,and discussions with CAT staff and supervisors about where service can be improved. The following factors were evaluated from the data for each route as part of the service analysis: ridership patterns, span of service, frequency of service, transfers, schedule adherence, and overall route productivity, efficiency and effectiveness. Based on this analysis, service operation recommendations were made. The recommendations were created to meet both passenger needs and address CAT operational needs. Smith 5 Packet Page-1483- 12/10/2013 16.D.4. The following primary assumptions were made as part of the service recommendations: 1. The level of resources for CAT services will remain stable for the duration of this plan,Year 1- 5. 2. Service expansion would require additional revenues. The time period for this plan is for the immediate future, defined as the next five years. Decreasing the existing headways from 90 minutes to a minimum of 60 minutes is a primary goal for CAT. ES.3.1 New Route Names and Establishing Service Tiers There are many routes, such as Route 1B, 2A, 2B, etc. that create passenger confusion. The existing schedules/maps do not differentiate the routes, or the direction of travel. Passengers are required to understand the differences in route patterns to understand the schedules. Based on the analysis of CAT's existing service and needs observed during the COA, it is recommended that CAT immediately focus existing and new resources in the future toward a hierarchy of four clear levels of transit service and begin renumbering existing routes as such. These service tiers will allow for a renumbering of all existing CAT routes as well,and include both existing and potential future services: • Local Service (Route 1 - 99) - CAT local bus service will be the backbone of the Collier County transit system. The next steps for CAT are to build from the local services to a higher and more frequent level of service.Local service will support future growth in the county.CAT will need to increase service frequencies to become a viable alternative to the single occupant vehicle. • Rapid Transit Service (R-500 series used for route numbers) - Rapid transit service for Collier County is for service along primary corridors with frequent bus service and transit vehicle preemption. CAT does not have this type of service today. However, a viable rapid transit service along Highway 41 would be a likely example in the future. • Express Service (100 series used for route numbers) - CAT currently operates express service to Marco Island.Other future services will play a key role in the future of transporting commuters from outlying communities to employment centers across the county. • Flexible Service (200 series used for route numbers) - Flexible routes consist of several types of service for local residents and visitors. These may include deviated routes, Call-A- Ride service, or checkpoint service. Several areas within the low density Collier county area, such as Everglades City and Ave Maria areas, would be viable candidates for this type of service in the future (outside of the five-year service plan). Given their current geography and service needs, this flexible service would be more efficient than typical fixed-route transit service. Hand-in-hand with the CAT service tiers is the type of development occurring in Collier County to support these different modes of transit. The above service tiers will have different characteristics to accommodate the different types of markets served within the community. Future seasonal routes should use a 300 series for route names, and any special event and/or tripper services are recommended to follow the 400 series for route names.Existing routes are proposed to be renamed in accordance with these new service tiers,as shown in Table ES.1. 6 Smith Packet Page-1484- 12/10/2013 16.D.4. Table ES.1: Recommended Route Name Changes Existing Route New Route Name 1B Route 1, Red Route,Tamiami Trail North lc Route 11, Gold 11 Airport-Pulling Road North 2A Route 2,Orange, NCH-Coastland Mall 2B Route 12,Teal, Bayshore-Coastland Mall 3A Route 3, Purple,Golden Gate City 38 Route 13, Gray,Golden Gate City 4A Route 4,Green, Rattlesnake-Hammock/Edison College 48 Route 14, Magenta,Tamiami Trail South/Manatee 5 Route 5, Blue, Golden Gates Estates/Immokalee 6 Route 6,Yellow, Pine Ridge/Collier Boulevard South. 7 Route 7, Light Blue, Marco Island 7 Express Route 107,Silver, Marco Island Express sA Route 8, Pink, Immokalee Circulator North 8B Route 18, Burgundy, Immokalee Circulator South 9 Route 9, Brown,Tamiami Trail South/Charlee Estates io Route 10, Lime Green, Goodlette Frank via Golden Gate Parkway ES.3.2 Enhance Route Frequencies Decreasing the existing headways from 90 minutes to a minimum of 60 minutes is a primary goal for CAT.The following individual route recommendations,shown in Table ES.2,indicate several routes to increase frequency of service. Service frequencies to optimize headways are outside of the five year plan of this COA,but should nevertheless be pursued as funds become available. Table ES.2:Service Frequency Recommendations Change from 60 to 30 Minute Headways Change from 90 to 60 Minute Headways Routes 2A,2B Routes 1B,1C,3A,3B,4A,6,8A,8B, 9,10 *Please Note:These recommendations represent long term recommendations outside of the COA five year financial plan. The estimated cost for each of these improvements is approximately$164,000 per route,moving from 90 to 60 minute headways.This cost does not include the acquisition of a new vehicle for the schedule improvements. The estimated cost for a schedule change from 60 minutes to 30 minutes is approximately$328,000 per route. This cost does not include the acquisition of a new vehicle. These cost estimates are based upon 12 hours of year round service, 7 days per week,with an operating cost of$75 per revenue hour. ES.3.3 Proposed Route Changes The following route modifications are proposed based on demographic needs, ridership trends, the boardings and alightings analysis, and other input garnered from drivers and public surveys. The proposed recommendations do not increase the existing operating budget or annual revenue hours of service. Smith Packet Page-1485- 12/10/2013 16.D.4. • Route 4(Green Route): Running times for Route 4 have approximately 20 minutes built into the existing schedule. Route recommendations for 4A include an expansion to Edison College. Route 4B would extend south of Wal-Mart, continue south on Hwy 41, Tamiami Trail East, turn right(west)on Manatee Road to Collier Boulevard,then Collier Boulevard,to Wal-Mart. • Route 5 (Blue Route): Route 5 is an average performing route for CAT. Recommendations to improve performance include service through the growing northeast areas of Collier County. The following realignment recommendations include utilizing Immokalee Road north to Oil Well Road,turn right,go to Everglades Boulevard North,turn left (North),back to Immokalee Road and continue route as normal. Census data for the new service area covered by this recommendation show a higher transit dependent population, in addition to increased population projections. In the future (outside of this five year recommended service plan),an additional flex route for Golden Gate Estates should be considered,as revenues become available.This service would complement the new Route 5. Other considerations could be to implement a fixed-route service which could serve the Creekside-Immokalee Road corridor in place of the flex route. The purpose of the route would be to expand cross town service for Immokalee Road to Collier,then south. • Route 6 (Yellow Route): Route 6 is the lowest performing route for CAT. Modifications need to be made to this route to bring the performance of the route higher. Suggested reasons for the poor performance are a result of where the route originates and ends, without major activity in either location. o Route 6 recommendations include changing the route to operate from Golden Gate oolokilk Library (instead of the CAT Operations Center), follow the same route as today along Santa Barbara Boulevard and Pine Ridge Road to Goodlette Road, and extending service north to the transfer area at Creekside. o An alternate route consideration for the longer term (outside of this five year, cost neutral plan) includes extending the route south on Collier Boulevard to Wal-Mart near Collier Boulevard and U.S. 41 via Edison College.The service benefit is to include portions of South Collier Boulevard not currently served. The new route encourages fixed-route ridership from Aventine at Naples apartment community (325 units, Forest Glen, Heritage Meadows and Cedar Hammock subdivisions, Sierra Meadows and College Park Apartments, (additional 400 plus units). The route provides additional connector service from Golden Gate City to PRMC/Collier Boulevard, Edison College, and direct connections to Marco Island service. The disadvantage of this alternative for Route 6 is that headways would increase from 90 to 120 minutes. To maintain 90 minute headways, an additional bus would be needed to operate this service. The estimated cost for this longer term improvement is $164,000 and does not include any capital costs that may be needed for an additional vehicle. • Route 7 (Light Blue Route): Route 7 is one of the lower performing routes for CAT. The service on Marco Island is valuable to many residents, workers, and employers in the area. This route should continue to be monitored. o Service on the island may be more successful if supporting land use and parking requirements are implemented.A marketing plan specifically for the major employers Amok 8 Smith Packet Page-1486- 12/10/2013 16.D.4. should be implemented for continuing success. Route 7 is a viable candidate for Call- A-Ride service. Residents and visitors would call in to schedule rides and be picked up curbside. Appropriate technologies would need to be in place prior to implementing the service. • Route 10 (Lime Green Route): Route 10 is one of the lower performing routes for CAT. Modifications need to be made to this route to bring the performance of the route higher. Suggested reasons for the poor performance are a result of where the route originates and ends,without major activity in either location. Route 10 recommendations include beginning the service from the library in the Golden Gate area and continue the existing route on Golden Gate Parkway for direct east/west connections across Naples. A summary of the individual route change recommendations are depicted graphically in Figure ES.2. While developing the proposed route changes, the study team continuously asked the question whether the changes were the most efficient for CAT. Each year during the required Transit Development Plan updates, CAT staff evaluates existing services and constantly looks for ways in which to lower the number of miles traveled and ways to fill the buses with as many riders as possible in the shortest time possible. CAT also continues to keep the number of vehicles as small as possible in order to reduce costs of purchasing and maintaining too many vehicles. The CAT transit routes provide service to over 70 percent of Collier County, some areas more populated than other areas, which does result in some buses running at less than full capacity for some of the legs of their journeys; thus, some buses may not be completely full when they arrive at CAT transfer centers. CAT staff is often asked why smaller buses are not used for those areas where not many passengers are picked up.While it would seem more efficient to use a small bus where there are fewer bus riders and a larger bus where there are more riders,when we look at the big picture,there are more pieces to the add to the equation. Because a bus services more than one area of Collier County,that bus may have a full load during certain parts of the day, but not so full at another. In that case, it would take two buses if we assigned buses based strictly on capacity,where we can do the job with one bus even if it isn't always full. Having the driver switch to a different bus is not a viable option either because there simply is not enough time to take one bus back to the Operations Center to get another. CAT would lose efficiency in the travel to and from the garage as well. If only one bus on one route is considered, it may look appear that it could be done better with smaller vehicles; however,when the entire CAT transit network of 10 routes is consider, switching vehicles during lower demand times does not improve the overall efficiency of the system and adds additional capital vehicle costs. Vehicles are expensive. The most cost effective buses are those vehicles that can be used for many purposes. Versatility is the key to keeping the number of CAT buses at a minimum. The way to hold down vehicle purchase costs and maintenance costs is to keep the number of vehicles needed low. So, while running a larger bus for a few passengers may seem inefficient,it is more efficient than keeping two vehicles on hand.The miles per gallon gained by using a smaller bus is not enough to make up for the cost of purchasing and maintaining that second bus. In these tough economic times, CAT continues to be diligent in providing efficient and cost effective service. Smith 9 Packet Page-1487- , ...,_..— Legend ""7,„„ ;7.,'37,.,-,v, Immokalee . . . ,,-, iite:,ii `:: — : .. ,.., IT>,,.' -,',?i,,,',T,,,'.7.,?.0--P,Pr:i.*';'.:,:kg" •.--10,Z;--°':,71t- ' ' :',,,,4/1*,3■1*,4777:.;;;'"::-,•-,'93,"f' -+ , „6,7A-i,„ ..., 12/10/2013 16.D.4. -,,,,,. . . ,,, ,„:-1,-- 4;r1Qiiir,i-',...,:, . ..1...,,,..._ ,,,-,,- ',44,P,.,-ytt.:. • i"-H■";041,1C47",,,,,..ToY.1t7*,t:4::iCO'Ij'-:' m -TF---t *' 'g'ggf-f' ---------:" .. ,Nilk,g4:ta--. 'w.r1,.440„,;:'24.4":'"!' ..11104., 1M'...".'"T'.' lii • i ''.:1,7-7. 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A*** = I T Marco Island ,,,, 1,-0,:•;t:),7iiii.4&,.,,,....._,-:::.;i:z.:::,„:,_-,,,,,,,:,,,, I 'I' Collier Area Transit+LinC N A _ Packet Page-1488- 12/10/2013 16.D.4. ES.4 Financial and Implementation Plan The COA includes service recommendations for the next five years,which do not increase the existing operating budget or annual revenue hours of service. The recommended changes reflect the reallocation of resources from unproductive service to areas where service needs have been identified. The service recommendations do not increase the existing operating budget,but do include a small increase of two percent as a result of inflationary factors,which is consistent with the adopted 2011 Transit Development Plan. The route recommendations address only operational costs. Cost estimates have been provided where possible throughout this report. Additional capital costs for improved accessibility to existing and new bus stops, shelters,buses, sidewalks, curb cuts, and other capital improvements are not included in these recommendations. The greatest investment proposed in the long term is to improve service headways, which will continue to improve ridership,produce additional farebox revenues,and attract more choice riders to the system. However, financial constraints do not allow for this to be included in the financial and implementation plan for this five year plan. As funding becomes available, this represents a priority investment for the CAT system. Since service levels remain relatively low with 60 and 90 minute headways, system-wide ridership is expected to remain relatively stable over the next few years.Table ES.3 presents the proposed budget and ridership projections for the next five years. The budget and ridership projections shown below indicate a two percent increase each year.The budget inflation factor of two percent is consistent with Collier County's adopted Transit Development Plan (TDP) and is based on historical consumer price index data. Projected ridership is assumed at two percent and is based on ridership changes from 2010 to 2011 (the most recently available annual data comparison). Specific route modifications are discussed in detail in Section 6 of this report. Table ES.3:Financial Plan Existing Projected Year Budget(1) Ridership(2) Base Year $4,785,000 1.21M 1 $4,881,000 1.23M 2 $4,979,000 1.26M 3 $5,079,000 1.28M 4 $5,181,000 1.31M 5 $5,285,000 1.36M (1)Assumed Budget:2%inflation,consistent with the adopted Collier County Transit Development Plan and based on historical trends in the Consumer Price Index(CPI). (2)Projected ridership:2%annually,based upon CAT 2010 to 2011 percent of ridership change. The implementation plan for CAT includes making the route modifications to existing services and making changes to the nomenclature of the route names. These changes provide CAT the opportunity to promote existing and new service areas. Table ES.4 provides the implementation plan to initiate responsibilities and duties for the change. CDR,'Smith 11 Packet Page-1489- 12/10/2013 16.D.4. Table ES.4: Implementation Plan YEAR 1 Task 1 CAT staff to develop specific times for new scheduled services,including transfer times,and major time points for schedule. 2 CAT staff review existing and new bus stop locations for new services. 3 Ensure MPO Board and BCC support for future changes. 4 ATM/MPO/CAT to develop RFP for design of new bus schedules.Approximate cost $75,000. (1) 5 ATM/MPO/CAT to develop Transit Advisory Group (TAG) to prepare names for new routes. 6 ATM/MPO/CAT to develop RFP for marketing of new services or determine whether providing in-house staffing for this role is more appropriate.Approximate cost for marketing firm to conduct marketing of new services$250,000. (1).Approximate cost for full time staff member in similar role to be determined. YEAR 2 Task 1 CAT staff to finalize new schedules,driver assignments,bus stop locations. 2 Hire firm for development of bus schedules. 3 Hire firm for marketing of new services/outreach or hire a new full-time employee to undertake these efforts. 4 Develop timeline for'go live'for new services w/ATM/CAT/MPO and new marketing firm. 5 Assign local staff to be champion for change and coordinate directly with marketing firm. 6 Hold public meetings for feedback on proposed route changes and names. 7 Ensure MPO Board and BCC support for future changes. 8 Go live with new services. 9 CAT/ATM/MPO staff to provide assistance at transfer stations during first few weeks of service for excellent customer service. 10 CAT/ATM staff to closely monitor all CAT routes. YEARS 3-5 Task 1 Develop marketing plan for years 3-5 and assign responsibilities through the new FTE position or hire marketing firm to assist.Approximate cost$100,000 for a new marketing firm.(1) 2 CAT/ATM staff to closely monitor all CAT routes. 3 Continue to inform MPO Board and BCC of CAT progress. 4 Conduct onboard and ride check survey to check route progress.Approximate cost $50,000. (1) Note: (1)Estimate based upon CDM Smith project experience in other locations.Costs may range from$40K on the lower end for only design services to$300k on the highest end,including printing.This estimate is based on national trends and may be adjusted for actual quotes in Collier County. 12 CDM Packet Page-1490- 12/10/2013 16.D.4. ES.5 Future Considerations An additional list of improvements was identified in the planning process to be considered for future planning purposes. These are not feasible in the short-term, five year period due to lack of available resources or other limitations. These future considerations are consistent with mid- and long range planning documents such as the Transit Development Plan and Long Range Transportation Plan. In particular, future updates of the TDP should look to this COA and continuing service monitoring to update these future considerations and steer the course for the CAT system into the future. Future considerations and priorities identified in this COA process include the following: • New flexible route service for the eastern portions of Collier County,incuding Everglades City and Ave Maria. The flexible route services allow CAT to expand service areas and meet paratransit needs with one service. CAT must have the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) infrastructure in place prior to implementing service. The primary reason for the ITS to be in place for CAT is to provide accurate, real-time trip data to transit riders and CAT staff. The ITS infrastructure will improve productivity, reduce data entry costs, provide the ability for same-day service,provide better monitoring of operators and contractors, collect accurate data for future planning and improve quarterly and annual required reports. Although not feasible at this time given cost constraints, the estimated annual operating cost for a flexible route service is approximately $328,000 based on operating one vehicle. This cost does not include the capital cost required to purchase a new vehicle. These cost estimates are based upon 12 hours of service, seven days a week,with year round service,with an operating cost of$75 per revenue hour. • Increasing service frequency and span of service should be the primary priority for CAT in the future.As discussed throughout the above recommendations,the minimum standard for local service routes should be 60 minutes for all core routes. Additional revenues are needed to provide this service. • Express route services should be implemented from north of Naples and south of Naples.The service would be available to residents and visitors to major destinations and activity centers within Collier County. The cost per route is approximately$246,000 per year,which includes peak morning and afternoon service,with approximately 9 revenue hours of service, 7 days a week. • Additional services should be planned for north and east of Naples to meet the expected growth.Section 2 of this report discusses in detail high growth areas for Collier County,which will also impact the demand of CAT services. • New satellite transfer stations should be planned for the north east area of the county and for south Collier County in the future. The transfer stations would provide opportunities for riders to transfer to multiple routes and get to their desired destinations. 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