HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC AG PKT 2011-01-10 #Q AGENDA STAFF REPORT
DATE: January 10, 2011
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
THRU: Patrick P. Importuna, City Manager
FROM: Sean Crurnby P.E., Director of Public Works
SUBJECT: SENIOR TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM UPDATE
WITH WESTERN TRANSIT SYSTEMS
SUMMARY OF REQUEST:
The City Council is requested . to provide direction regarding the Senior
Transportation Service.
BACKGROUND:
Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) for many years provided
transportation services to seniors. These included various services such as Dial -
A -Ride, Orange County Transit District, Consolidated Transportation Services
Agency, and OCTA. In the 1990's, OCTA developed a program called the Senior
Mobility Program in which local agencies are provided with funds to operate their
own bus program. The idea behind the program is for each municipality to
control their own program and cater it to the needs of their community. The City
of Seal Beach secured this grant funding and has been successfully operating
this program for the past 15 years.
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The program primarily consists of three components. Those components are a
Senior Nutrition program, the Shopping Shuttle, and the Dial -A -Ride program.
Grant funding accounts for approximately 71.5% of the cost for the program.
These grants have requirements both from OCTA and the County of Orange.
OCTA requires that (1) the offered services not duplicate OCTA's existing bus
service; (2) that contracted services be awarded through a competitive
procurement process; and (3) handicap accessible service must be available for
individuals using the program. The County of Orange requires that the program
be used to provide transportation to the City's Senior Nutrition program.
The Dial -A -Ride component of the program has traditionally offered to deliver a
senior resident to any location within the City Limits. Dial -A -Ride service is
available Thursday's from 2:00 pm to 4:30 pm, and can be utilized by calling
Agenda Item Q
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(562) 439 -3699 at least 24 hours in advance to schedule date, time, and location.
The service can be made for any reason such as doctor's appointments,
retail /grocery shopping, and dining excursions.
The current program is the most heavily used Senior Transportation Program
within Orange County. The Senior Nutrition program cannot be modified, but the
Shopping Shuttle and the Dial -A -Ride program can be modified. A schedule of
the program operated in the past is as follows:
Mon — Wed 8:00 AM -11:00 AM Senior Nutrition
11:00 AM -11:30 AM Driver Lunch Break
11:30 AM - 2:00 PM Senior Nutrition
2:00 PM - 4:30 PM Shopping Shuttle - Leisure World
St. Andrews & Seal Beach to
Ralphs /Target and Return
Thursday 8:00 AM -11:00 AM Senior Nutrition
11:00 AM -11:30 AM Driver Lunch Break
11:30 AM - 2:00 PM Senior Nutrition
2:00 PM - 4:30 PM Dial -A -Ride Service to Anywhere in
City Limits
Thursday 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM Shopping Shuttle — Leisure World
(2n Vehicle) St. Andrews & Seal Beach to
Ralphs/Target and Return
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Friday 8:00 AM -11:00 AM Senior Nutrition
11:00 AM -11:30 AM Driver Lunch Break
11:30 AM - 2:00 PM Senior Nutrition
On October 11, 2010 the City Council directed staff to expand the Dial -A -Ride
program. Currently Western Transit provides service to and from any address
within Seal Beach .City limits, plus a 0.5 miles radius (will be expanded to 3.0
miles) outside of the city - limits. This is offered as a Dial -A -Ride service and
made available Thursday's from 2:00 pm to 4:30 pm. Senior citizen's call (562)
439 -3699 at least 24 hours in advance to schedule date, time, and location. The
service can be made for any reason such as doctor's appointments,
retail /grocery shopping, and dining excursions. The expanded Dial -A -Ride
service will require . a 24 hour in advance reservation and service to and from any
address originating from the City of Seal Beach 3. miles outside of the City limits
operating 8 hours per day Monday through Friday. This service will also pick up
a resident from their appointment and take them home. Advanced scheduling of
the service will be a requirement. The expanded program will provide one
vehicle and driver Monday through Friday 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. The City received
a credit to the existing contract for the current Dial -A -Ride program of $6,406 per
year. This additional service with this credit will increase the contract by $89,000
per year ($83,350 after receiving the credit) and anticipates a 1,900 vehicle
service hours excluding weekends and holidays.
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On November 8, 2010 the City Council approved an extension to the Senior Bus
Program with Western Transit. Included with this extension is the expansion of
the Dial -A -Ride component of the program. On December 13, 2010 the City
Council directed staff to review this expansion and provide alternatives on the
next City Council meeting on January 10, 2011.. The January 10 review should
look into the most cost effective method of providing this program. It should also
at a minimum modify the program to only allow trips outside of the city to be
provided for Medical Visits.
Western Transit has been providing a quality program for the City and has been
very flexible and accommodating of the City's needs. The expanded Dial -A -Ride
program was advertised on November 30, 2010 in the Leisure World Newspaper,
Orange County Register Newspaper, The Sun Newspaper, and OC180news.
The Dial -A -Ride program was started on December 1 with the first rides being
taken on December 2 Below is a log of the ridership over the over the first two
weeks of the program.
Date Total Trips Outside City
Thursday, December 02, 2010 9 0
Friday, December 03, 2010 7 3
Monday, December 06, 2010 4 2
Tuesday, December 07, 2010 7 5
Wednesday, December 08, 2010 5 2
Thursday, December 09, 2010 12 2
Friday, December 10, 2010 10 6
Monday, December 13, 2010 8 4
Tuesday, December 14, 2010 9 4
Ridership for any program starts slow and increases as the public awareness
increases. It is expected that these numbers will increase if the program is
continued. During the City Council meeting on December 13, 2010,
recommendations were made to convert the program over to a Cab service at
the quoted rate of $36 per trip. This quoted rate for Cab service includes rides
only within City limits. Additionally, the Cab service provides a vehicle that is not
handicap accessible. Many of the seniors utilizing this program require a
handicap accessible vehicle.
Western Transit has submitted the following pricing proposal:
Cab Service within City limits $36 per trip
Cab Service extended to 3 miles outside of City Limits $40 per trip
for medical visits only
Dial -A -Ride service within City Limits $47 per trip
(handicap accessible)
Dial -A Ride service extended to 3 miles outside of City Limits $50 per trip
for medical visits only (handicap accessible)
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We do not have a breakdown of the riders that required handicap service. For
the two weeks of operation, the expanded Dial -A -Ride program was provided for
a cost of $3,080.77. If half of those riders needed handicap service the City
would have been billed $3,044.50 based upon the per ride billing. Currently the
Senior Nutrition Program is utilized by between 40 and 80 seniors per day. If one
quarter of those Seniors (15 per day) utilized the Dial -A -Ride program within City
limits (50% handicap rides) the cost would be $161,850 as opposed to the fixed
cost of $89,000 per year. By providing one vehicle with one driver 40 hours per
week, the City limits the maximum cost of providing this service.
The existing contract has a clause to re- evaluate the program after 6 months.
Staff recommends continuing the existing service until July of 2011 and
evaluating the program at that time. Western Transit has also offered to run the
program at less than 40 hours per week to reduce the cost of the service.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The Seal Beach Senior Transportation Services program is funded through City
funds, OCTA, and the County. In the approved 2009/10 Budget, funds have
been allocated for the entire fiscal year as follows:
Fund Source Amount per year
AQMD $30,600
OCTA grant $63,721
County of Orange Grant $12,986
Total $107,307
Yearly expenditures for the program are as follows:
Senior Transportation Program $107,307
Expanded Dial -A -Ride Service $83.350
Total $190,657
Budget Amendment No. 11 -07 -01 (item G) in the amount of $48,700 will cover
the expanded program through the end of the 2010 -11 fiscal year. This increase
will fund the increased program prorated for 7 months of the year (December
2010 through June 30, 2011). Gas Tax and Measure M funding are not eligible
to be used for this purpose.
RECOMMENDATION:
The City Council is asked to provide direction regarding the Senior
Transportation Service.
SUBMITTED BY: NOTED AND APPROVED:
Sean Crumby, P.E. / Patrick P. o una, City Manager
Director of Public Works