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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02.15.23 Minutes (pending approval) TRANSIT ADVISORY BOARD MEETING MINUTES February 15, 2023 Attendees: Evelyn Meuret, Chair Jim Collins, Transportation Director Karl Buelow, Co-Chair Steve Tomasik, Operations Mgr. Kari Straus, Board Jane Weber, Secretary Lynnsey Erickson, Council Absent: Jeff Armstrong Call to Order – Chairperson Meuret called the meeting to order at 4:05 p.m. Public Comment – Meeting Chairperson Meuret invited anyone present for public comment to speak. TJ Hobbs (136 High Ave. Unit C, Oshkosh) was present and wanted to relay a few comments and concerns from both riders and non-riders.  Excessive cigarette butts by the Walmart bus stop. TJ would like to see some type of receptacle / garbage placed at the stops so the smokers have somewhere to put their used cigarette butts.  TJ also would like to see the buses run later to accommodate 2nd and 3rd shift workers.  TJ said a message passed on from another rider is that the drivers are not doing a good job of announcing stops. This is especially important for riders that do not have English as their primary language. Another example of poor communication is when a bus is changing – it is important that the driver clearly announce when there is a change (example: Route 1 to 2 and Route 5 to 7). Also, for riders that are hard of hearing/deaf – some type of visual aid would be nice. Jim Collins & Steve Tomasik addressed the concerns as follows:  Purchasing the garbage bins and cigarette receptacles isn’t the issue. The problem is maintaining them as there are currently only 3 Diesel Mechanics and 1 Laborer on staff so emptying the garbage becomes the issue. The Parks & Rec Department struggles with this same issue which is why there are limited trash bins along the River Walk area. Lynnsey asked if there are any trash bins on each bus; Jim said they all have a small bin up by the driver. TAB AGENDA ITEMS 2 February 15, 2023  As far as running later than the current schedule, Jim said this has been studied many times and it isn’t cost effective to extend the hours. Other Transit Agencies such as Green Bay Metro is actually looking at reducing their extended hours as it doesn’t fiscally make sense for the limited riders that utilize public transit after hours. One thing that is currently being studied is the addition of a micro transit service but is still in the early stages. Kari asked what “micro transit” means; Jim stated it is a shared on-demand service. Currently, the Access-to-Jobs program would accommodate the 2nd and 3rd shift workers and since the income level was just increased, single family workers making $19.28 and below would qualify as long as they work (30+ hours) and live within the City of Oshkosh limits. Another temporary option to assist workers after hours is a program called “Winnebago County Catch-A-Ride”.  Steve addressed the final point and said that announcing the ADA stops has been an on- going complaint from other riders and he has brought it up to the drivers on numerous occasions that the announcements are part of the driver’s daily expectation. He said that bus changes are also supposed to be announced every time, so he will again send out a reminder to the drivers. Steve said he did look into an auto-ADA intercom option but the software was in excess of $300k so it would be tough to justify. TJ asked if Federal Grants/Funding would be available to help with any of these issues; Steve said he manages the grants and has to prioritize spending. Karl asked if Council could approve a budget increase for Transit; Jim stated it would be difficult to approve such a random labor shortage to collect trash/cigarette butts as needed. The better option may be a volunteer organization or concerned property owner like the one that empties trash by the Mallard & Evans stop. Karl said he is involved with a lot of volunteer organizations so will keep that in mind. TJ appreciated the feedback and the Board listening to the concerns presented. Next on the agenda was approval of minutes. Karl Buelow made a motion to approve as presented; seconded by Lynnsey Erickson. Motion approved. Chairperson Meuret asked if there is any old business. Jim stated he just wanted to give an update on board vacancies. A new member, Deb Martin was appointed by the Mayor at last night’s Council Meeting so she will be joining us next month, however Brooke did resign so the Board still has a vacancy. Building Tour - Chairperson Meuret asked about the next agenda item which was a quick tour of the new Transit Center; Jim stated that will be saved for after the meeting. He invited everyone to go on a self-guided tour and ask questions. He said the remodeling project is about 2/3 complete and should be finished this spring. Route 10 Update – Jim stated that he is still waiting for final confirmation from Winnebago TAB AGENDA ITEMS 3 February 15, 2023 County in regards to funding Route 10. There have been several meetings but no final commitment from them as to what the new program will look like. If a pilot program cannot be ready by the end of March, the County has agreed to fund through May. The next step is to get them to sign an agreement of understanding. One possible solution is a shared micro transit type program. Other Transit peers have something similar and basically it would be an on- demand program from the downtown Oshkosh Transit Station to the downtown Neenah Station. East Wisconsin Central Regional Planning Commission has been working with the County and Go Transit to put together a pilot program. Karl asked if it would require a day in advance notice for rides; Steve said it probably would have the same rules and operate like the current rural program. One thing to keep in mind is it would be a shared ride service, not a personal cab ride for each rider. Lynnsey asked if it was a shared ride, would it still just be station to station for a flat fee; Steve confirmed that is the intention. Jim is hopeful to hear an update from the County next week. Steve said with the next contract, he hopes to require better dispatch software as a vendor requirement to make scheduling a ride more user friendly. Meeting Frequency – Jim said he put this on the agenda before he realized that Council has put together a committee to study each Board & Committee. They will be gathering information such as what is working well, what could be changed, how is the current frequency of the meeting working etc. Lynnsey Erickson is on that committee and said she will be working with each staff liaison to gather information and report back to Council. Karl & Evelyn both said they prefer having a scheduled monthly meeting vs. only quarterly as it is easy to keep the 3rd Wednesday available as a tentative meeting. Karl also mentioned that one advantage of this meeting is having a strong staff Director that presents items that have already been thoroughly researched. Transit Equity Day – Steve said Transit Equity was a good way to gain Social Media coverage. He had Red Shoes come onsite when signatures were being gathered from the riders on the thank you card for the drivers. Student Pass Program Update – Steve said the new student passes were available for download on the 19th of January but the actually requirement wasn’t until the following week. The goal is to have every middle school and high school student present the driver with either an electronic student pass on Token Transit or a paper pass. One frustration is the number of paper passes that the school offices have been handing out when the goal was to only have a handful of exceptions that wouldn’t utilize Token Transit. One thing that is out of our control is if a parent doesn’t allow their child to have data or even a phone for that matter. Jim said he is hopeful that this new requirement will at least weed out the problem kids that weren’t even current OASD students. Steve said the idea is that when a pass is given out or the student downloads the electronic pass, they are agreeing to the Go Transit ridership policy. It is important to him that all riders are held accountable to the ridership rules to make the ride safe and enjoyable for the entire community. Lynnsey asked if there is a way to track the number of TAB AGENDA ITEMS 4 February 15, 2023 suspensions; Steve said it is a manual log at this time with most suspensions being related to vaping & disrespect to other riders and the driver. Karl asked how the decision is made for a suspension; Steve said it is handled as a case-by-case basis as sometimes they are simply kicked off the bus for that day, others that are repeat offenders are suspended longer. Jim said with the student that had possession of a firearm, it resulted in much longer as he is suspended for the entire semester. Bus Update – Steve said the remaining two hybrid buses are active in the fleet and the 2010 models they replaced should be sold and gone by the end of the month. Triennial Review 2023 – Jim said every 3 years Transit has a very in depth Triennial Review. The audit consists of a long list of items that need to be uploaded. After the assigned auditor reviews the materials, they will schedule a 10-day review and then report back any “findings” that the client needs to work on. Transit Development Plan – Jim said that East Wisconsin Central Regional Planning Commission will assist with the TDP plan. After a consultant is hired, they will put together a steering committee to study things like routes and fares to see if any changes are needed. This process is done usually every 5 years. One additional thing Jim wanted to give an update on was Phase 2 of the building. He said Phase 2 will be much larger and the goal is to actually have public restrooms and a waiting area. The thought also is to have the space to get Coach USA and Amtrak off the street and give them an assigned pick-up area. The project will probably be around $4 million and Cares Act and ARPA funds probably will cover about $2 million. He said the first step is to complete an environmental study. Jim said Phase 2 will be more involved so a real estate expert will be hired to assist. Future Agenda Requests Chairperson Meuret asked if there are any future agenda requests; to which there were none. Lynnsey Erickson made a motion to adjourn; seconded by Kari Straus. Meeting adjourned at 4:56 pm. Motion Moved.