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SR-1000-002-003 , , ( I".. (i]f'I h ''"\ n _ rr.<j..- \ U L"~i" .~, l.' (,!." .':J TD:JFH:RLA:jw Council Meeting: 4/28/87 Santa Monica, California ,,_ y APR 2 8 1987 TO: Mayor and city council FROM: city staff SUBJECT: Recommendation to continue Operation of the Main Street Trolley Through the End of FY 1988 Introduction since June 1986, the City has contracted for the operation of a trolley-type vehicle to shuttle people between the south beach parking lot adjacent to Barnard Way and the Main street commercial area. During the past nine months, hours and days of service have been adjusted based on ridership surveys. This report recommends that the City Council authorize up to $85,000 in Prop A Local Return funds to continue operation of the service from May 1, 1987 through June 30, 1987 and for service in FY 1987-88. Backqround In June 1986, the City purchased a trolley-type vehicle and authorized the City Manager to spend up to $60,000 to operate a shuttle route on an experimental basis between the beach parking lot on Barnard Way and the Main street commercial area. The city entered into an agreement with Commuter Bus Lines to operate the trolley, while the City supplied fuel and performed administrative functions. The service was established to alleviate parking problems in the Main street area by providing a - 1 - ~-y APR 2 8 1917 TD:JFH:RLA:jw Santa Monica, California Council Meeting: 4/28/87 shuttle from the beach parking lot. Originally, service operated six days a week from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., while on Friday and Saturday nights, service was extended to 3 a.m. In January 1987, it was decided to reduce the hours of trolley service from 60 per week to 31 per week by providing service only on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays: Fridays from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m.; Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.; and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. At the same time, the Transportation Department was asked to perform passenger surveys of the service. The results of the Transportation Department analysis indicated that an average of 280 passengers rode the trolley during the 31 hours each weekend. Of the 280, approximately 100 belonged to groups which had parked in the parking lot and used the trolley between the lot and Main Street to visit a Main street business or entertainment; another 40 walked to the beach lot and used the trolley to visit Main Street; an estimated 110 boarded the trolley just to ride around; and, finally, 30 people used the trolley to travel from the beach lot to another location via Main street. Significantly, no one parked in the parking lot and used the trolley to commute to work on Main Street. The analysis also indicated that the average cost per one-way trip on the trolley was $3.17, which included a cost of $10.98 per one-way trip for the poorly patronized nighttime service. On March 28th, night service was cancelled. Currently, service operates from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. with - 2 - TD: JFH: RLA: jw Council Meeting: 4/28/87 Santa Monica, California this adjustment, the present cost is $1.25 per one-way passenger trip. It should be noted that none of the above costs includes the costs for fuel and administration, both of which were borne by the city. No fare is charged to ride the trolley. The $60,000 in Prop A Local Return funds was originally intended to cover only the first 6 months of operation. However, as explained earlier, hours and days of operation were reduced, permitting the original appropriation to be stretched to May 1st. If the service is to continue between May 1st and June 30th, an additional $20,000 in Prop A funds must be appropriated. In addition, staff must submit a Prop A Local Return fund application to the Los Angeles County Transportation commission (LACTC) for the FY 1987-88 service, in order to receive their approval in time to continue service after July 1, 1987. If the city continues to operate service seven hours a day on Saturdays and Sundays between May 1st and the end of FY 1987-88, the cost would be $56,000. However, the trolley may very well be a more popular attraction during the summer, necessitating adjusting its seven hour daily schedule, or the number of days per week that it is scheduled to operate. It appears prudent to maintain enough flexibility to expand the hours and days of service if the ridership demand materializes. If, for example, service were needed up to 54 hours a week (9 hours per day for 6 days) for the 15 week period between Memorial Day and Labor Day, the total cost of operating the trolley would - 3 - TD: JFH: RLA: jw Council Meeting: 4/28/87 Santa Monica, California be $20,000 to operate service for the remainder of FY 1986-87 and $65,000 to operate the service in FY 1987-88. This assumes that the two day a week schedule would be restored after Labor Day. Fare Up to this point, no fare has been charged for the trolley service. currently, the Westwood shuttle, operated by the city of Los Angeles between the Federal Building parking lot and Westwood Village, charges a 254 fare, while the Venice Beach shuttle, soon to be initiated by the city of Los Angeles between parking facilities and Venice beach, will also charge a 25~ fare. Staff proposes that a 25~ fare be established for the Main street Trolley. The revenue collected would permit an accurate measure of patronage, without the need to go through the expense of conducting surveys, and, the 25~ is low enough to avoid discouraging those who wish to enjoy the trolley ride. Financial Analysis Under the city's original Prop A plan, presented to the City Council on March 27, 1984, operating costs for any trolley service were to be financed by the private business community. However, the total costs for operating the trolley in FY 1987, came from prop A funding. Since LACTC has already approved an additional $20,000 to cover the operating costs of the trolley for the remainder of FY 1986-87, Council need only make the necessary appropriation. For FY 1987-88, this report asks the City Council to authorize the City Manager to file an application - 4 - .~. TO: JFH: RLA: jw council Meeting: 4/28/87 Santa Monica, California wi th the LACTC for $65,000 to continue trolley operations next year. To appropriate the $20 1000 for the balance of FY 1986-87 the following accounting entries are required: Appropriate $20,000 at Account No. 01-700-274-000-798 Appropriate $(20,000) at Account No. 01-700-695-000-770 Appropriate $20,000 at Account No. 20-700-695-000-770 The $65,000 for FY 1987-88 operations will be reflected in the proposed FY 1987-88 budget. Recommendation City staff recommends that the City Council approve the following: 1. Authorize the City Manager to pursue the necessary authorization from LACTC for use of Prop A Local Return funds to operate trolley service for FY 1987-88; 2. Appropriate $20,000 at Account No. 01-700-274-000-798 to continue service for the period May 1, 1987 through June 30, 1987. As part of this action, also appropriate $ (20, 000) at Account No. 01-700-695-000-770 and appropriate $20,000 at Account No. 20-700-695-000-770; 3. Direct the City Manager to include $65,000 in Account No. 01-700-274-000-798 as part of the FY 1987-88 City budget for operation of the trolley in the next fiscal year; - 5 - ,- . TD:JFH: RLA: jw Council Meeting: 4/28/87 Santa Monica, California 4. Authorize the city Manager to negotiate and enter into an agreement to operate and maintain the trolley service for the period May 1, 1987 through June 30, 1987, and for service in FY 1987-88; 5. Establish a 25~ fare for trolley trips effective July 1, 1987. Prepared by: J. F. Hutchison, Director of Transportation R. L. Ayer, Assistant Director of Transportation - 6 -