SR-1000-002-003
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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;
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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
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