sr-081010-1oCity Council Meeting: August 10, 2010
Agenda Item: 1 '"b
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Stephanie Negriff, Director of Transit Services
Subject: Elimination of Mini Blue's Tide Ride Service
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council directs staff to eliminate the current weekend-
only Tide Ride service effective September 7, 2010 and return with a recommendation
for a new service.
Executive Summary
The Big Blue Bus (BBB) proposed eliminating the Tide Ride service as a cost saving
measure in February, 2009. City Council directed staff to conduct additional community
outreach prior to implementing the recommendation. Extensive outreach with
community and business groups took place in an attempt to reach a consensus on a
new type of transit service that would operate within the budget of the current hotel
contribution.
Big Blue Bus is requesting to discontinue Tide Ride operation as of September 7, 2010
and deposit the money from the hotel agreements into an account that can be used to
finalize the development of the new service proposed herein. Staff plans to return to
Council by December 2010 with a recommendation for a new service to be launched for
the 2011 summer season.
Background
Big Blue Bus staff is working to close its structural budget shortfall. Eliminating
unproductive services and redeploying resources to routes with greater rider demand is
necessary to maintain quality service. On average, the BBB system carries 50
passengers per service hour. At the time staff requested elimination of the Tide Ride it
was the system's least productive service with an average ridership of only 12
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passengers per hour. As a result, the Tide Ride along with other inefficient segments of
the BBB system was proposed for elimination.
Part of the funding for the Tide Ride is generated from five hotels (Casa Del Mar,
Doubletree Guest Suites, Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel, Sheraton Delfina, and
Shutters on the Beach); each hotel makes a contribution which is applied toward
operation of a shuttle service in downtown Santa Monica. In FY 2009 - 2010 total
contributions were approximately $231,000.
The Tide Ride has been operated by the Big Blue Bus since 1993, with support from
local hotels. Beginning as a summer-only service, the Tide Shuttle has operated year-
round since 1996: After operating more than 14 years the Tide Shuttle was rebranded
to. become part of the new Mini Blue service and renamed the Tide Ride in 2007.
Since its inception the BBB has heavily marketed the Tide Ride through a wide variety
of media which targeted residents, shoppers, and tourists without success. Various
advertisements ran through an assortment of media outlets such as print, radio,
Internet, bus advertisements, direct mailings, event marketing and through strategic
partnerships. with public and private organizations.
On February 24, 2009, the BBB requested that City Council eliminate the Tide Ride as a
cost-saving measure since it was the lowest performing service with only 12 passengers
per hour. City Council directed staff to continue to operate the service, do further
community outreach, and return to City Council with an alternative solution. On July 14,
2009 Big Blue Bus requested that the weekday service of the Tide Ride be eliminated
as of September 8, 2009 while further community outreach was being completed with
the business community on concepts that could be implemented in the summer of 2010.
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Discussion
Starting in March 2009, BBB began working with an advisory group consisting of
participating hotels, the Santa Monica Convention and Visitors Bureau, Main. Street,
Montana, and Pico Business Improvement Districts, the Santa Monica Pier, the
Chamber of Commerce, and Bayside District Corporation to examine how the Tide Ride
benefited. the community and investigate ways that it could be modified that would
reduce the overall costs of operation and still adhere to the requirements of the
agreements with .local hotels. Neighborhood council representatives were informed that
additional community transit resources would be investigated once funding was
available and were therefore not included in the advisory group.
The discussions at the meetings were designed to examine what type of transit service
could be provided that would most benefit the contributing hotels and the. overall
movement of tourists throughout the city. Topics included reviewing the financial
aspects of the agreements and setting the hotel contribution at the maximum allowable
budget for a new service. Vehicle type was also discussed at length. The group felt the
type of vehicle needed to look and feel high-end and not seem too `bus-like'. Big Blue
Bus investigated options such as open air trolleys and other vehicles, but few vehicles
were found that met the City's safety and alternative fuel requirements. In the
discussion around services several suggestions, such as free bike sharing program and
a sand tram, fell outside of what Big Blue Bus could operate. The four concepts that
were most viable were:
• A pass program where participating hotels receive bus passes for guests
• An expanded GetAways program offering weekend trips to tourist locations
• A seasonal fixed route service using a creative vehicle similar to what is now
in operation
• An on-demand transit service using a more car-like vehicle
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The on-demand concept had the most group support. The on-demand concept would
allow guests of the participating hotels to schedule ashared-ride vehicle at no cost to or
from anywhere within the downtown core of Santa Monica. The service area would
include the southern end of Main Street in the south, the business district area of
Montana Ave to the north, and 14~h St. to the east. The general public would be able to
use the service for a flat fee. Working within the defined budget of $231,000 service
could operate between Memorial Day, Monday, May 30, 2011 through Labor Day,
Monday, September 5, 2011, on a Wednesday through Sunday schedule; service would
the Monday of Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends. The service would operate
Wednesday through Sunday for a total of 54 hours per week, and Big Blue Bus would
contract out to provide the service similar to the way Dial-A-Ride operates.
Some interest in continuing with affixed-route service was expressed using a creative
open-air vehicle. This option was explored and some vehicles reviewed, but to date,
none were found that meet the safety and alternative fuel requirements. Further
research will be done on other possible vehicles and an analysis of this option and the
others along with a final recommendation will presented with a December 2010 staff
report to Council
Financial Impacts & Budget Actions
The original cost to operate the 7-day a week Tide Shuttle service was $656,682. The
hotel contribution last fiscal year toward operating this service was $231,221. The Big
Blue Bus contributed the balance of $425,461. The cost of the current operation of the
Tide Ride on weekends is $102,000 per fiscal year.
Funds from the development agreements Tess the operating costs of the existing service
through September 7, 2010 will be placed in account #41654.55501A Contract Services
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- Tide until applied toward the new service in the summer of 2011. Staff will .present a
cost analysis of the new suggested service with the staff report in December, 2010.
Prepared by: Dan Dawson, Customer Relations Manager
Approved:
Step ~ nie Negriff ;
°~_ - ~~ ~-
Dire r of Transit Services
Forwarded to Council:
~~--
Rod Gould
City Manager
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