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Home My WebLink AboutCouncil Work Session_ICATS Vision Enhancements - FINALPitch Deck Title Public Transportation Enhancements City Council Work Session –March 2nd 2021 Iowa City Area Transit Study Timeline Aug 2019 -Launched Study Sept to Nov 2019 –Phase 1 Public Outreach Oct & Nov 2019 –Background review/market analysis Nov & Dec 2019 –Develop alternate service scenarios Jan & Feb 2020 –Phase II Public Outreach Mar to Aug 2020 –Development of Preferred Scenario (with COVID pause) Oct & Nov 2020 –Presented study recommendations to City Council and received feedback regarding preferred transit system scenario, fare recommendations, and the priority of potential service enhancements Nov to Mar 2021 –Preparing for Phase III Public Outreach (TODAY) Mar 2021 –Present potential service enhancements to City Council 2 Vision for Transit: Public Transit Enhancements & Estimated Costs Enhancements Recommendation Operat- ing Costs One- Time Capital Costs 3 PrioritizedPublic Transportation Enhancements Sunday Service Later Evening Service (until midnight) Night-Owl Service (overnight) Ridership estimates developed by evaluating similar services offered in Ames and Cedar Rapids. Preliminary Ridership Estimates Ridership ultimately affected by type of service offered, fare, ease of access, program qualifiers, recovery from pandemic ect. * * Based on FY-19 data, pre-COVID Service Enhancement Daily Annual Sunday - Fixed Route Transit Up to 3,700 192,400 Sunday - Demand Response 100 5,200 Late Evening Service Fixed Route Transit (Additional Riders) Up to 470 additional 171,550 Late Evening Service - Demand Response (Until Midnight) 30 10,920 Night-Owl Demand Response (Midnight - 6 am) 20 7,280 Estimated Ridership 5 * Assumed all rides to be within Iowa City limits Transportation Services/Partnerships Evaluated seven potential options for enhancing mobility in Iowa City Iowa City Transit Fixed-Route | Heavy Duty Buses Neighborhood Transportation Service/Horizons Demand-Response and On-Demand | Vanpool Johnson County SEATS Demand Response | Light-Duty Paratransit Vehicles Yellow Cab Taxi On-Demand and Demand Response | Taxicabs Lyft Transportation Network Company on Demand | Personal Vehicles Uber Transportation Network Company on Demand | Personal Vehicles 6 Via / Iowa City Transit Microtransit Platform | Any vehicle type Iowa City Transit •Fixed routes with set schedule •Dedicated bus stops •Prepaid bus pass or cash fare •Complementary paratransit provided by SEATS •Sunday service would mirror proposed Saturday service with 11 routes on hourly schedule •Later evening service would involve running 11 routes until midnight 7 •Community familiarity •$1/ride; lower if qualified for reduced fare •Addresses top community priorities •Expansion could better serve current riders, and help attract new riders Fixed-route bus service | Heavy Duty Buses 1 Iowa City Transit Fixed-route bus service | Heavy Duty Buses 8 •Less flexible than on-demand or demand response •Buses will be on the road whether there are riders or not •Will need to expand staffing and develop new staff schedules 1 Needs Costs Sunday Service Late Evening Service - Daily (Until Midnight) Late Evening Service - Weekdays (Until Midnight) Late Evening - Saturdays (Until Midnight) Night-Owl Overnight Service (Midnight - 6 am) Iowa City Transit Staffing Included in Service Cost $780,000 $1,060,000 $540,000 $260,000 N/A Transportation Service Provider Annual Service Cost EstimatesStartup NeedsOrganization Neighborhood Transportation Service (NTS/Horizons) Demand response vanpool service with mission to provide transportation for work, education and life-skills •Lower overall costs than fixed route service •Use of Via app or phone to book ride •Can provide demand-response or on- demand service •Curb-to-curb service •Multi-passenger rides; more economical •25-year partnership with Cedar Rapids Transit for off-transit hours transportation service9 •Vanpool service / shared rides •Serves Cedar Rapids metro off-transit hours; evenings, overnight, and Sundays; Riders pay $6 per trip •Schedule day before or 1-hr advance, as of January on-demand •Uses Via platform/App or call-in for ride scheduling •Open to public; no income qualifiers •Provide paratransit service 2 Neighborhood Transportation Service (NTS/Horizons) Demand response vanpool service with mission to provide transportation for work, education and life-skills 10 2 •Vehicles and office space would need to be procured for expansion to Iowa City Needs Costs Sunday Service Late Evening Service - Daily (Until Midnight) Late Evening Service - Weekdays (Until Midnight) Late Evening - Saturdays (Until Midnight) Night-Owl Overnight Service (Midnight - 6 am)  Neighborhood Transportation Service / Horizons Vehicles, Office Space $219,000 for vehicles + office space $92,000 $357,000 ----$321,000 Transportation Service Provider Annual Service Cost EstimatesStartup NeedsOrganization Johnson County SEATS 11 •SEATS already provides transportation services to the community •City already owns and maintains the paratransit vehicle fleet •Paratransit service is included Demand Response | Light-Duty Paratransit Vehicles •Qualified riders call or use Amble app to schedule rides 1-day in advance •Curb-to-curb service •Existing 13 vehicle paratransit fleet 3 Johnson County SEATS Demand Response | Light-Duty Paratransit Vehicles 12 •Customers must have an account set up with SEATS to use the Amble App •All public riders would need to use phone to schedule a ride •Putting mileage on paratransit vehicles for non-paratransit rides 3 Needs Costs Sunday Service Late Evening Service - Daily (Until Midnight) Late Evening Service - Weekdays (Until Midnight) Late Evening - Saturdays (Until Midnight) Night-Owl Overnight Service (Midnight - 6 am) Johnson County SEATS Supervisor + drivers $89,000 to hire a Supervisor $172,000 $361,000 ----$241,000 Transportation Service Provider Annual Service Cost EstimatesStartup NeedsOrganization Yellow Cab 13 On-Demand or Scheduled| Taxi Service •Riders request ride by phone only, and they must call 30 minutes in advance •In North Liberty, ID cards are issued to qualified passengers who pay $1 fare with City subsidizing remaining amount •North Liberty has specified eligible trip locations including grocery stores, medical facilities, governmental buildings, ect •Monthly invoicing to City 4 •Curb-to-curb service •Fleet includes accessible vehicles and could provide complementary paratransit service •Low-cost Yellow Cab •No App, riders must request ride by phone •Meeting service demand without strict eligibility requirements may be challenging 14 On-Demand or Scheduled| Taxi Service 4 Needs Costs Sunday Service Late Evening Service - Daily (Until Midnight) Late Evening Service - Weekdays (Until Midnight) Late Evening - Saturdays (Until Midnight) Night-Owl Overnight Service (Midnight - 6 am) Yellow Cab None identified N/A $57,000 $120,000 ----$80,000 Transportation Service Provider Annual Service Cost EstimatesStartup NeedsOrganization Lyft 15 Transportation Network Company on Demand | Personal Vehicles •Riders request a ride using Lyft App or call Iowa City Transit •Income qualified riders enter a code to receive discounted fare •Independent contractors working on Lyft’s behalf provide ride •Lyft invoices the City monthly 5 •Curb-to-curb service •Can link to Lyft through the Transit App •Service already exists in the community •Low-cost •Those without smartphone can still access to service •Transit planning, reporting and administrative tools Lyft 16 Transportation Network Company on Demand | Personal Vehicles •No accessible vehicles; paratransit services would need to be outsourced •No oversight of drivers/no clear indication of supply of available vehicles •Need to set up call-in process for riders without smart phones or who are unfamiliar with App •Potential for “discount code” abuse 5 Needs Costs Sunday Service Late Evening Service - Daily (Until Midnight) Late Evening Service - Weekdays (Until Midnight) Late Evening - Saturdays (Until Midnight) Night-Owl Overnight Service (Midnight - 6 am)  Lyft w/ SEATS Paratransit Paratransit Services Paratransit included in Service Cost $50,000 $105,300 -- -- $70,000 Transportation Service Provider Annual Service Cost EstimatesStartup NeedsOrganization Uber 17 Transportation Network Company on Demand | Personal Vehicles •Riders request a ride using Uber App or call Iowa City Transit •Code entered for reduced fare •Independent contractors working on Uber’s behalf •Uber invoices the City monthly 6 •Curb-to-curb service •Can link to Uber through the Transit App •Service already exists in the community •Those without smartphone can still access to service •Low-cost Uber Transportation Network Company on Demand | Personal Vehicles 6 18 Needs Costs Sunday Service Late Evening Service - Daily (Until Midnight) Late Evening Service - Weekdays (Until Midnight) Late Evening - Saturdays (Until Midnight) Night-Owl Overnight Service (Midnight - 6 am) Uber w/SEATS Paratransit Paratransit Services Paratransit included in Service Cost $50,000 $105,300 -- -- $70,000 Transportation Service Provider Annual Service Cost EstimatesStartup NeedsOrganization •No accessible vehicles; paratransit services would need to be outsourced •No oversight of drivers/no clear indication of supply of available vehicles •Need to set up call-in process for riders without smart phones or who are unfamiliar with App •Potential for “discount code” abuse Via / Iowa City Transit 19 In-House On-Demand| Vanpool •City Employees would provide transportation •City purchases and employs Via platform to enable on-demand transportation and installs GPS enabled tablets in all vehicles. •Riders request a ride using Via app or by phone call to Iowa City Transit •App strategically routes vehicles to optimize service, reduce travel time and costs •City pays installation fee to help with set up, then a per-vehicle monthly charge 7 •Highly customizable on-demand service •Could use passenger vans, mini-vans, or 40’ buses to provide service •Vehicles are matched to riders, based on location and destination •Staff has access to operations planning tools and dashboard Via / Iowa City Transit 20 In-House On-Demand| Vanpool 7 •Heated storage for vehicles •Integrating on-demand operations into a fixed-route operation Needs Costs Sunday Service Late Evening Service - Daily (Until Midnight) Late Evening Service - Weekdays (Until Midnight) Late Evening - Saturdays (Until Midnight) Night-Owl Overnight Service (Midnight - 6 am)  Via / Iowa City Transit Demand Response Staffing/Dispa tching $276,500 for vehicles and Via installation $188,000 $338,000 -- -- $310,000 Transportation Service Provider Annual Service Cost EstimatesStartup NeedsOrganization Service Comparison 21 Needs Costs Sunday Service Late Evening Service - Daily (Until Midnight) Late Evening Service - Weekdays (Until Midnight) Late Evening - Saturdays (Until Midnight) Night-Owl Overnight Service (Midnight - 6 am) Iowa City Transit Staffing Included in Service Cost $780,000 $800,000 $540,000 $260,000 N/A  Neighborhood Transportation Service / Horizons Vehicles, Office Space $219,000 for vehicles + office space $92,000 $357,000 ----$321,000 Johnson County SEATS Supervisor + drivers $89,000 to hire a Supervisor $172,000 $361,000 ----$241,000 Yellow Cab None identified N/A $57,000 $120,000 ----$80,000  Lyft w/ SEATS Paratransit Paratransit Services SEATS costs included $50,000 $105,300 -- -- $70,000  Uber w/SEATS Paratransit Paratransit Services SEATS costs included $50,000 $105,300 -- -- $70,000  Via / Iowa City Transit Demand Response Staffing/Dispa tching $276,500 for vehicles and Via installation $188,000 $338,000 -- -- $310,000 Transportation Service Provider Annual Service Cost EstimatesStartup NeedsOrganization Recommendation Two-Year Pilot: Fixed Route Bus Service on Sundays •Addresses the unmet demand for public transportation on Sundays, the most requested enhancement in the transit study. Revisit after two-years. •Two-year pilot provides ample time to establish service and build ridership •Sunday service would mirror Saturday service, 11 routes running hourly service 7 AM –7:30 PM •Reinforces Climate Action goals, including enabling a shift 55% of vehicle trips to more sustainable modes by 2050 •Annual Estimated Costs: $780,000. 192,400 estimated annual riders. Partner with NTS/Horizons to provide late night/overnight transportation •Supports late night or 3rd shift workers •Service would begin when transit service ends and run until 6 AM •Shared curb-to-curb service during evening hours for qualified riders •Provide a demand-response (scheduled) or on-demand service •Easy to schedule a ride using Via App or by phone •Long, successful partnership with the City of Cedar Rapids •Annual Estimated Costs: $648,000 + $219,000 startup costs for vehicles. 18,200 estimated annual riders. 22Combined Annual Costs $1,428,000 Optional add-on service if later evening/overnight service is desired: Mar 2021 –Executing implementation plan for transit system changes April or May 2021 –Phase III Public Outreach with final routes/stops and service changes May to June 2021 –Implementation of fare change recommendations May 2021 –Finalize document and City Council consideration of transit study plan July 2021 –Final Phase IV Public Outreach Aug 2021 –Implementation of preferred transit system recommendations including new routes, stops, service frequency, hours of operation Late 2021/Early 2022 –Implement vision item enhancements Transit Study Timeline –Next Steps 23 Thank you! Darian Nagle-Gamm; Director of Transportation Services Email: darian-nagle-gamm@iowa- city.org Phone: 319-356-5156 Website: www.icgov.org/transit