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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTransit Advisory Mtg Minutes March 2015 Please contact the Transit Advisory Board at TAB@ci.oshkosh.wi.us with any questions or concerns. TRANSIT ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES MARCH 18, 2015 PRESENT: Diane Hoffman, Diane Lowe, Caroline Panske, Troy Monday, Mike Norton, Evelyn Meuret, Lee Williams STAFF PRESENT: Jim Collins, Transportation Director David Vickman, GO Transit Operations Manager Marlene Binder, Secretary Vice Chair Troy Monday called the meeting to order at 4:03 p.m. Ms. Hoffman moved to accept the February 18, 2015 minutes. Ms. Lowe seconded the motion. (Motion carried 6-0) CITIZEN'S STATEMENTS Kate McQuellen, of 1405 Willow Tree Lane, Neenah, which is in the township of Menasha, said she works at the university, but is here on behalf of herself and in no way is representing the university. She says she loves the idea of Route 10 stopping in the university area. She stated she has rode Route 10 for years, has seen changes to the route and has advocated for the bus. She says people don't want to wait a long period for a connecting bus or walk a half mile to their destination. Kim Donat, of Neenah who works at UW-Oshkosh, says he is a proponent of ride share and he car pools currently. He stated he is interested in transportation and sustainability. He supports Route 10 picking up passengers on campus and thus taking traffic off Highway 41. Ms. McQuellen stated she wanted to mention it is important that the Route 10 stop at Lake Street and Winneconne Avenue be maintained. She said riders use the Route 10 like a park and ride; passengers park their cars in the Advance Auto and Starbuck's parking lots nearby and catch the Route 10 bus there. NEW BUSINESS 1. MEETING START TIME Mr. Collins said in consideration of everyone's time he suggests a 4:10 p.m. start time for the Transit Advisory Board meeting. Ms. Meuret said she supports the 4:10 p.m. start time. Ms. Panske asked that the meeting time be changed online and on any notices. Mr. Norton moved to accept this item. Ms. Meuret seconded the motion. (Motion carried 7-0) 2. ROUTE 10 Mr. Collins told that Route 10 is an underperforming route and had come up during the budget process for a reduction of service or possible elimination. He said feedback received through Facebook and rider surveys indicated interest in an express service to get to the university and back. He explained that Mr. Vickman got input from the jail, Winnebago County, Sherriff's Office, current riders, Route 10 drivers, Facebook, and rider surveys. The majority suggested that Route 10 provide better service to the TAB MINUTES 2 MARCH 2015 Please contact the Transit Advisory Board at TAB@ci.oshkosh.wi.us with any questions or concerns. university. He explained that together with Winnebago County a plan was devised for the Route 10 bus to travel outbound on Algoma Boulevard and inbound on High Avenue to provide better access for the university area. He clarified Route 10 will continue to serve the jail as per requirement of county funding. He stated input we received also suggested Route 10 have better connections with Valley Transit in Neenah. Mr. Collins explained Route 10 will connect directly to Valley Transit four times daily with this plan. He said the proposed Route 10 plan addresses both issues brought forth by input received. Mr. Norton said he doesn't think the Route 10 bus needs to go through the university area both inbound and outbound. He stated there already are two buses serving this area. He said some time ago when he suggested Route 10 travel Highway A, Mr. Vickman told him stops could not be added because it was an express route, but now more stops are being added. He expressed interest in having this bus serve County Park and other county buildings in this northern area. Mr. Vickman clarified that he told Mr. Norton that if stops were added in the townships, paratransit services would have to be implemented. Mr. Collins told that Mark Weisensal and Mary Krueger, of Winnebago County, are onboard with this plan. He added that in the future they will try to work together with East Central Planning to devise a plan for transportation to the area. Mr. Collins further explained that currently Route 10 is an express route but if stops were added in the townships, it could be considered a fixed route and then paratransit services would have to be added for all areas within three quarters of a mile from the stops and this would be very costly. Ms. Hoffman stated it appears to her the effectiveness of helping people get from Neenah to the university and back is minimized if only half the job is done. She supports the current proposed route. Ms. Meuret said she also supports Route 10 as proposed. Mr. Norton asked what the cost was to operate the route. Ms. Panske asked for a breakdown of the funding for this route. Mr. Vickman replied the cost of this route is approximately $130,000 annually, with $32,000 funded by Winnebago County, 55% funded by the state of Wisconsin and federal government, and the remainder from passenger revenue. He continued to say in 2014 the passenger revenue was not enough to cover cost and the City of Oshkosh funded the difference. Mr. Collins said Winnebago County could run this route on their own but partnered with GO Transit for federal funds and administrative work. Mr. Vickman stated our passengers, the university and the county all benefit from this partnership. There was discussion about advertising to promote Route 10. Mr. Williams inquired why there is a two hour gap of service in the middle of the day. Mr. Vickman answered this was done to control cost. Mr. Collins added there was decline in ridership at that time of day and it was decided it was better to stop service a short time each day rather than eliminate Saturday service or other alternatives explored to meet budget. Mr. Collins said 939 passengers rode in February versus 958 last year. This equates to less than 20 rides or 10 round trips per day. Ms. Hoffman moved to accept item 1. Ms Lowe seconded the motion. (Motion Carried 7 -1) TAB MINUTES 3 MARCH 2015 Please contact the Transit Advisory Board at TAB@ci.oshkosh.wi.us with any questions or concerns. STAFF STATEMENTS 3. FREEDOM TO GO UPDATE Mr. Collins said the Freedom To GO program provided 1,272 free rides to seniors and individuals with disabilities. He said the program ran from November through February, a total of 18 free Saturdays, averaging approximately 71 rides each Saturday. Over the same period previously, 46 reduced fare rides were provided, which means we had over a 50% increase in ridership from these groups. Our hope is that these riders, now comfortable using fixed route service will continue to do so. AGENDA ITEMS AND GENERAL COMMENTS 4. SCHEDULE TOUR OF TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT It was decided there would be no formal meeting of the Transit Advisory Board in April. A tour of the Transportation Department was scheduled to be held April 15th at 1:00 p.m. for Board members. Ms. Panske asked if ridership data from Route 10 after the change in route could be presented at the May meeting. Mr. Vickman replied that automatic passenger counters are not installed on the Route 10 bus but that the driver will track boarding and alighting counts. Ms. Panske said she would like to keep Route 10 on the agenda. Mr. Vickman distributed the new route maps to the Board members. ADJOURNMENT There being no more items to come before the Transit Advisory Board and upon being duly moved and seconded (Lowe, Hoffman), the meeting adjourned at 4:50 p.m.