SR-11-C (27)
CM:LCB:bp
C~ty Counc~l Meet~ng: March 27, 1984
Santa Monlca, Cal~forn~a
Il-c'
TO:
Mayor and C~ty Counc~l
MAR 2 7 19d4
FROM: Clty Staff
SUBJECT: Use of Proposltlon A Transportat~on Funds
INTRODUCTION
The prlmary purpose of thls report is to present program opt~ons
for expend~ture of transportatlon-related Propos1tlon A Local
Return Funds over the next three years. To date, port1ons of the
Clty'S entltlement have been budgeted for SMMBL's operat1ng
SUbSldy: WISE paratranslt programs: and Senlor Nutrltlon Program
van serVlce.
ThlS report rev~eW5 these as well as other
alternatlves for fundlng such as the proposed metrorall and a
downtown shuttle serVlce.
It 1S recommended that the opt lanaI
expend~ture recommendatlons be conS1dered 1n the context of the
1984-85 budget dellberatlons.
In addltlon, thlS report requests authorlzat1on for the Clty
Manager to pursue negot1atlons with the C1ty of Beverly Hl11s and
the Los Angeles County TransportatLon COmmlsslon for addlt10nal
TDA 4.5 money for paratranslt purposes.
PROPOSITION A FUNDING
proposLtion A Local Return funds may be used for publlC transLt
proJects WhlCh are deflned as ellglble translt, paratranslt and
transportatlon system management lmprovements WhLCh benefLt one
Jurl.sldlctl0n.
II - '-
1
MAR 2 7 1984
Actual FY 1982-83 Local Return funds rece~ved and ava~lab1e to
Santa
Monlca were $563,616. For
County
Mon~ca
Transportat~on CO~~l$SlOn
FY 1983-85
(LACTC) has
the Los Angeles
indJ.cated Santa
will recelve $719,820. The LACTC has advlsed the C1ty to
use an annual 5% growth factor to estlmate the amount of funds to
be recelved 1n future years. Based on these assumpt1ons,
Proposltlon A Local Return fundlng for the C~ty of Santa Monlca
16 shown below:
FY 1982-83 $563,616
FY 1983-84 $719,820
FY 1984-85 $755.811
FY 1985-86 $793.602
FY 1986-87 $833,282
FY 1987-88 $874,946
These funds are aval1able to the Clty for the year of a11ocatlon
plus three addltlonal f~scal years. If FY 1982-83 funds are not
commltted by the end of FY 1985-86. the funds can revert to LACTC
for reallocatl0n. LACTC uses a "Fl.rst- In, F1rst-Out" polu::y of
allocatl.on, so any funds used are automatically assumed to be the
oldest aVa~lable funds.
The chart
comm~tments
Memorandum
expendl.ture
below shows a project~on of ex~stlng fundl.ng
for PrOposlt~on A Local Return Fundlng. The Clty'S
of Understandlng wlth the LACTC requlres the
of elther 25% of the Local Return allocatlon or an
amount equal to 5% of Santa Monlca Munlclpal Bus Ll.nes operatlng
budget (whlchever 1S less) to subskdlze the operatlon of the
2
MunlClpal Bus Llnes.
Clty allocatlons to the WISE paratranslt
program and to the Senlor Nutrltlon
program are estlmated to
grow at 5% each year.
PrO]ectlon of EX.lstlng P.ro,Eosltlon A Commltments
FY
proJe,c~ 1982-83
~'Y
1983-84
FY
1984-85
FY
1985-86
FY
1986-87
FY
1987-88
MunJ..Clpal
Bus Llnes~
o
$179,955 $188,953 $198,401 $208,321 $218,737
WISE
Para-
tranS1.t $7,400
60,000
63,000
67,000
70,000
73,000
Sen.lor
Nutrl-
tlon 5,490 5,675 6,OOQ. 6.300 6,600 7,000
-- -- --
Total 12,890 245,630 257,953 271,701 284,921 298,737
UncoInrnl.tted
Bal-
ance $550,726 $474,190 $497,858 $595,201 $624.961 $656,209
Based solely on these spendl.ng assumptlons, the chart clearly
shows a substantlal uncommltted fund balance 1.n the Proposltlon A
Local Return program. These funds can be expended for ellglble
tranS1.t proJects or reserved for future use.
It .lS useful to
Vlew eXlst.lng commltments 1n terms of the requlred obl1gatlon of
Local
Return funds three flscal years after the year of
allocat1.on.'k
* The above assumes that the 25% requlred expend1.ture of Local
Return fund~ng to support the MUn1.C1pal Bus LJ..nes w111 not be
1ncreased by the LACTC at the end of the Fare Reduct~on Program.
3
COMMITMENT SCHEDULE
PROP. A LOCAL RETURN FUNDS
Amount Amount
F~sca1 WhlCh Must CO,1lIDltted
Year Be Comml t ted'" (Cumulatlve) Balance
FY 1982-83 0 $ 12,890 ($ 12,890)
FY 1983-84 0 $258,520 ($258,520)
FY 1984-85 0 $516,473 ($516,473)
FY 1985-86 $ 563,616*'" $788,174 ($224,518)
FY 1986-87 $1, 283,436 $1,073,095 $210,341 'jtjrjr
FY 1987-88 $2,039,247 $1,371,832 $667,415 -1t1t:i<*
* To avo~d reverSl0n to LACTC
*1t: Amount allocated three f1scal years earller
***
SubJect to revers~on
1<1<"'*
Represents a cumulative flgure subJect to
reverSlon. $210,341 1S double-counted from
prevl.OUS year.
The chart shows that the Clty 15 not 1n danger of 1051n9 funds
through reverSlon untl1 the end of Flscal Year 1986-87.
PROG^AM OPTIONS
The ratlonale behlnd the range of opt1.ons presented here for
Proposltlon A expenditures 1.8 to provlde support for a balanced,
affordable set of transportatlon serVlces for the C1.tlzens of
Santa Manlca.
4
SMMBL OPERATING SUBSIDY
It ~s recommended that the CLty ma~nta~n a substant~al revolv~ng
balance of Local Return fund~ng ~n reserve aga1Dst potentlal
losses of federal and state translt subs~d~es and agalnst the
$100-200 m111~on bus translt fundlng shortfall WhlCh wlll occur
throughout Los Angeles County as the Propos~t~on A Fare ReductLon
program ends. Beglnn~ng ~n FY 1985-86, at least 35% of the
overall Propos~tlon A funds must be devoted to rall construct~on.
PrellIDlnary lndlcatlons from Washlngton are that the Reagan
Adm~n~stratlon w~ll agaln mount an attempt to el~m~nate federal
translt operatlng Subsld~es. Currently, the Mun~c~pal Bus L~nes
lS budgeted to receLve $2.2 m1ll1on annually fro~ th~s source,
down from a one tlme hlgh of $3.5 mllllon. Under the proposed
Adm~n~strat1on budget for FY 1984-85, the allocat~on would be
reduced to $1,116,000. In addlt1on, the State Translt Asslstance
program, wh~ch provldes SMMBL wLth $688,000 1n SubS1d1e5, 15 up
for reapproprlatlon thlS year. The contlnued uncertalnty of
trans~t fundlng suggests It would be prudent for the Clty to
commlt a portlon of Proposltlon A Local Return funds to some type
of reserve ra~her than fund substantlal on-g01u9 serV1ce
expanslons.
The ma~ntenance of a revolv~ng reserve of one-half of the C1ty'S
Local Return funds would allow the Clty some flex1bll~ty to
respond to chang1ng f1nanClal condlt1ons 1n order to achleve the
Clty'S prlmary translt Ob)ectlve of malntalnLng affordable and
conven1ent trans1t serVlce for eXlst1ng trans~t users.
5
A . ProposltLon A spendlng target of one-half of the annual
allocatlon lS thus recommended. Th~s target 15 deplcted agalnst
eXlstlng commltments below:
FY 1984-85
FY 1985-86
FY 1986-87
Funds Aval.lable:
Revolvlng Reserve (50%)
EX1StlUg Comm~tments:
Balance (Avallable
for Comrnl.tment):
$755,8l1
$377,906
$257,953
$793,602
$396,801
g71,70!.
$833,202
$416,641
$284,921
$119,952
$125,100
$131,640
In addltlon, $550,726 In uncommltted funds 1S ava11able from FY
1982-83 and $474,190 1S aval1able from the current flscal year
(FY 1983-84). It 15 recommended that these funds totallng
$1,024,916 be utillzed for some or all of the proposed proJects
dlscussed below.
P ARATRA..\l"S IT
In the last two years, the Cl.ty of Santa Monlea has become
lncreaslngly lnvolved wlth fundlng of paratrans1t serVlce for
senlor c1tlzens and the dlsabled. Although the Clty 15 fortunate
to have a bus I1ne that operates w1thln one quarter ID1le of all
C1ty res1dences and has 84 of 1tS 130 buses equlpped wlth
wheelchalr llfts, there are many sltuatlons 1n Wh1Ch an
lndlV2dual 28 unable to use a flxed route bus system.
At the present tlme, Wests1de Independent SerVlces to the Elderly
(WISE) operates both a van plck-up and a taxl-coupon SUb51dy
6
program 1n the C1ty of Santa Monlca (See Appendlx). In addltlon,
the Clty'S Senlor Nutrltlon Program operates a van plck-up
serVlce for meals, shopp~ng and some recreatlonal uses. Both of
these programs recelve Proposltlon A Subsldles from the Clty.
Because of the relatlvely hlgh per-trlp costs of paratranslt
serVlce,
the C~ty has been lnterested ln obtalnlng a more
accurate assessment of paratranslt need In the Clty. A report
prepared by a prlvate consultant for the LACTC received by the
Clty In October, 1983, entltled Westslde T,ransport,atlon S,t.u_dy,
purported to identlfy thlS need.
After reVlew by a Clty staff proJect team conSlstlng of
representatlves from Transportatlon, Program and POllCY
Development, Communlty and Nelghborhood SerVlces and the Clty
Manager's Offlce, it was concluded that thlS report 1S vlrtually
useless as a plannLng document for the CLty. Not only do staff
quest10n the valLd1ty of the methodology but there are several
1nstances of assertlons made In the report wlth no substantlatlng
reference. Most lmportantly, 1t was not posslble to determlne
what proJected demand fLgures should be utll1zed.
One
other
stated obJectlve of the report was to pursue
opportunltles for consolldatlon of paratranslt serVlces between
Santa Monlca, Culver Clty and the Clty of Los &~geles. These
efforts were unsuccessful on the part of the consultant as well
as 1n subsequent 1nqulrles by Clty staff.
7
As an alternate analys~s, C1ty Transportat~on staff app11ed
generally accepted transportat~on plann1ng pr~nc1ples to the
creatlon of a model for the needs of elderly and dlsabled C1ty
resldents for addlt10nal paratrans1t serVlce. Thelr analYS1S
(see Tables 1 and 2) seems to 1nd~cate a justlflcat10n for an
~ncremental expans10n 1n the eX1stlng serv1ce. To derlve these
demand est1mates, the Transportatlon Department used data from
the 1980 U.S. Census and from reports by the U.S. Department of
Transportat1on. Rldershlp est1mates on current servlce were
derlved from SMMBL, SCRTD and WISE reports.
Brlef1y, the analYS1S shows a potentlal unmet need of 48 tr1pS
dally for the elderly and 41 trlpS dally for the dlsabled. Tn~s
number represents a maxlmum rate as many of these persons m~ght
be bed-rldden or otnerwlse unwlll1n9 or unable to travel.
Nonetheless, as Table 1 and Table 2 lnd~cate, the unmet demand
JUst~fles an 1ncrementa1 expanslon of about 1,000 annual taxl
tr~ps and 4,500-5,000 addltlonal van trlps per year.
8
TABLE 1: POTENTIAL UNMET TRAL"iSIT NEED FOR SAtITA MONICA'S ELDERLY
1. Total Santa Mon~ca Households w1th Elderly Members 10,350
2.
% of Households wlth ~o auto avallable
x .15
3. Households wlth elderly members, no auto avallable 1,553
4. Average number of elderly members 1n Households wlth
elderly members x 1.4
5. Santa Monlca's elderly wlth no auto avallable 2,174
6. Correctlon for elderly ln group homes (assumed not
to have autos, correct1ng for 4 homes Wh1Ch have
vans, not correctlng for many ln convalescent homes
WhlCh are bedrldden) +1, 206
7. Balance 3,3BO
8. Dally Santa Monlea Munlclpal Bus Llnes elderly
rlders 2,205
9. Balance 1,175
10. Dally SCRTD Santa Monlca Elderly rldershlp 400
11. ~umber of elderly not using bus and w1thout access
to auto 775
12. Elderly uSlng WISE serVlce (from 83-84 WISE
breakdown of cllents: 60 dlsabled elderly and
83% of total non-d~sabled) 724
13. Number of elderly potentlally needlng aSslstance 51
14. Dally tr1p rate x .948
15. Unmet trJ.p needs 48
9
TABLE 2: UNMET TRANSIT NEEDS FOR DISABLED CITY RESIDENTS
1.
Santa Monlca resldents (16-64 years) w~th publ1C
translt dlsablllty
952
2.
Auto avallablllty or unable to travel
x .45
3.
Dlsabled resldents wlthout auto access
428
4.
SMMBL dlsabled rldershlp (llfts lnstalled on 80% of
SMMBL buses Slnce '80 Census)
273
5.
Dlsabled resldents wlthout accesS to auto or flxed
route bus
165
6.
Dlsabled resldents served by WISE (175 X .65
to correct for elderly dlsabled)
114
7.
Dlsabled resldents potentlally 1n need of serVlce
41
(Data sources for Tables 1 and 2: 1980 U.S. Census~ SMMBL and
SCRTD rldershlp flgures; Natlonal Personal Transportatlon study
flgure; WISE report to Clty~ Santa Monlca/Westslde Paratranslt
Study; and conversatlons wlth BeAG planners)
Incremental ~x~an~~on of ParatranSlt and TaXl Subs~dy p~ogram
Operated b~ WestSlde Independe,n.t Servlces for the Elderly (~I.S.E)_
As part of the FY 1983-84 budget,
the Clty Councll allocated
$60,000 ln Proposltlon A Local Return fundlng to WISE for the
operat~on of a dlal-a-rlde and taxl subs~dy program for the
Clty's senlor and dlsabled cltlzens. Some lnterest has been
expressed In examlnlng the need for an expanslon of thlS program.
WISE staff lndlcated that about 30 calls for serVlce per month
are refused due to lack of serV2ce avallablllty.
In addJ.tlon, as
10
shown earlLer,
a Clty
staff analysls of latent demand for
serVlce In Santa Mon~ca found that the
type of serVlce could be as hlgh as 89
speclallzed paratranslt
unmet demand for thlS
trlpS per day. Because paratranslt demand estlffiatlon 15 at best
an lnexact SClencel thlS demand could best be met by an
lncremental expanSlon of the eXlstlng WISE paratranslt and taxl
SUbSldy program.
Clty staff have dlscussed varlOUS program expanSlon optlons wlth
WISE and feel there may be some posslbll1ty for program expanslon
1U future years of elther the tax1-coupon or van program.
It 18 recommended that the Counell
fundlng request from WISE as part
Development budget hearlngs.
conslder any supplemental
of the 1984-85 Commuulty
In addltlon, authorlzatlon 15 requested for the C1ty Manager to
1nltlate negotlat1on5 wlth the C1ty of Beverly H~lls and the
LACTC to pursue TDA Sectlon 4.5 funds for consolldated
paratranslt plannlug In con]Unct1on w1th the taxl-coupon program
currently operated by WISE. It lS felt that ]Olnt negotlat1on
wlth cornmon vendors may result 1n a lower per-trlp cost and
expanded serVlce area.
RESERVATION OF FUNDS AS LOCAL CONTRIBUTION TO METRO-RAIL OR LIGHT
RAIL TRANSIT CONSTRUCTION IN S~NTA MONICA
The Los
~nvolved
Angeles County Transportatlon CommlSSlon has been
In the evaluatlon of hlgh prlor~ty rall corrldors for
11
the past year. Two of the f~ve h~gh pr~or~ty cQrr~dOr5 have
potent~al ~mpact on the Clty af Santa Manlca: the West Los
Angeles North/South Corrldor, wh~ch extends from Hawthorne to the
Marlna: and the West Los Angeles East/West Corr~dor, WhlCh
lnvolves e~ther a Metro-Ra~l extens~on to Santa Monlea or the
Expos~t~on llght rall l~ne WhlCh enters Santa Monlea parallel~ng
Olymplc Boulevard. The Metro-Ral1 extenslon on the Wllshlre
Boulevard allgnment has been selected by the LACTC as the
"representatlve" allgnment for the West Los Angeles East/West
Corrldor. A declslon on the llkellhood of a Santa MonlCd
extenslon may come wlthln the next SlX months to a year.
Whlchever allgnment 15 selected, however, prellmlnary lndlcatlons
are that local contr1butions wlll be expected of corrldors
selected for early lmplementatlon. For example, the Clty of Los
Angeles appears to be develop~ng a POllCY of reserv:tng one-half
of lts Local Return funds for eventual ra~l constructlon. The
lnltlal reservation of $504,916 towards a local match for rall
constructlon would demonstrate Santa Monlca's lnterest In belng a
partner
County.
1D the ral1 trans1t development program In Los Angeles
Such a reserve could also help ln negotlatlons wLth the
COffimlSS10n on such lssues as statlon locatlon and deslgn as well.
It 15 therefore recommended that the Clty seek a LACTC walver of
the three year 11ffilt on reserves of Proposlt1on A Local Return
funds so that the Clty can reserve $504,916 for ral1 constructlon
ln Santa Mon~ca. wlth add:Ltlonal funds belug reserved as funds
become avallable :Ln future years. ThlS walver should be
condltloned to allow reallocat:Lon of local return funds :Ln case a
12
dec~s~on on Metro-Ra~l extens~on ~s not forthcom~ng In a tlmely
manner. Alternat~vely, the Clty could choose to pursue rlght of
way or land for statlons for the eventual rall Ilne once an
allgnment declslon 1S flnallzed.
INSTITUTION OF A DOWNTOWN SHUTTLE SERVICE
The Counell has expressed lts lnterest in a shuttle bus serVlce
llnKlng Maln Street, the Santa Monlca Pler, the Thlrd Street Mall
and Santa Monlca Place, and adJacent hotels. Recent maJor
development proJects ln the oceanfront area have lncluded pledges
from d~velopers for contrlbutlons towards a shuttle serVlce,
~ncludlng the Bayvlew Plaza Hollday Inn ($50,000 annually), the
Bay Inn (the cost of operatlng a shuttle), and the Century West
ProJect (a condltlon of Coastal COffiffilsslon approval - $80,000
over three years and $7,500 thereafter). Glven thlS source of
prlvate sector fundlng, It seems approprlate for the C~ty to
conslder prov~d~ng seed money for a shuttle serv~ce (vehlcle
purchase and plannlng) and operate the shuttle wlth operat~ng
costs be~ng defrayed by prlvate sector fund~ng.
Accordlng to a Transportatlon Department analysls, capltal costs
for vehlcle purchase could range from $50,000-$130,000 per
vehlcle depending on the vehlcle selected. A dlstlnctlvely
deslgned type shuttle vehlcle would cost about $130,000. The
number of vehlcles requ~red wlll depend on the route and serVlce
frequency des~red. For plann~ng purposes, It 15 assumed that
three vehlcles would be needed to provlde sufflClent route
13
serv~ce plus one spare veh~cle. However, ~t wlll be d1ff~cult to
des~gn one route wh~ch l~nks all of the deslred locatlons and
stlll provldes convenlent serVlce to the publlC.
It may In fact
be necessary to deslgn two shuttle routes,
each Ilnklng at a
common pOlnt, such as the C1V1C Audltorlum parklng lot or Santa
Monlca Place. In thlS case, four vehlcles may be requlred plus
one spare vehlcle.
The cost of operatlng the shuttle route I1nk1ng the ?ler, the
Thlrd Street Mall, Santa Monlca Place, Maln Street, oceanfront
area hotels and the C1V1C Center can be estlmated based on the
operatlng cost per hour of MunLcpal Bus Llnes serVlce. An
estlmated cost per hour for serV1ce beglnnlng ln FY 1984-85 would
be $40.00.
For planning purposes,
a cost est~mate 15 presented
below for 3 buses operatlng at needed serVlce frequencles for
both a hlgh number of serVlce hours and a low number of serv~ce
hou rs .
Annuallzed Cost Estlmate for Shuttle at Two Serv1ce Levels
Hlgh Servlce Leve~
Monday thru Saturday
9 a.m. - 10 p.m.
$478,920
Sundays & Hol1days
10 a.m. 6 p.m.
$ 55,680
TOTAL COST
$534,600
Lower Serv1ce Level
Monday thru Saturday
10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
$294,720
14
No Sunday or Hollday SerVlce
Part of
charg~ng
thls klnd
would be
the cost of operat~ng the serVlce could be defrayed by
a fare for the serVlce. An appropr~ate fare level for
of serVlce (WhlCh lnvolves relatlvely short trlps)
25 cents per rlde. ThlS fare level would not only help
to recover some operatl.ng costs, lt would dl.scourage "Joyr1.dlng"
by LndlV1.duals who are not us~ng the serv~ce to shop or access
recreatlonal opportun1.t1.es. At these fare levels. SCRTD's
downtown shuttle recovers less than 10% of the route's operatlng
costs from passenger revenues.
The pr~vate fund~ng comm1.tments rece1.ved to date are encourag~ng,
for they mark the beglnnLng of a pr1.vate sector commltment to
help fund the operat1.on of a shuttle bus serVlce by the C~ty. An
appropr1.ate use of propos1.t1.on A Local Return fund1.ng would be as
seed money to fund the cap1.tal costs assoc1.ated w1.th serVlce.
The Counell could act to reserve up to $520,000 for the purchase
of four shuttle vehlcles, WhlCh could be of a cable-car des~gn or
spec1.ally des~gned "Baby Blue Buses." In the meantl.me, the Clty
~ay seek to obta~n commltments from other prl.vate sector groups
to subs~d~ze the shuttle's operatlon.
OTHER TRANSIT OPTIONS
One obJect~ve of the draft Clrculatl.on Element lS to develop a
publl.c translt system capable of accomodatl.ng up to 10% of all
trlps generated In the Clty by the year 2000. To encourage
tranS1.t usage, the C1ty must malnta1n and ~mprove publl.c tranS1.t
15
faCll1t1es and 1nformat~on, partlcularly In the downtown area and
along the maJor commerc~al boulevards.
Optlons for expendlture of Propos1tion A Local Return fund~ng to
lmplement thlS POllCY would lnclude lmprovements to translt
facllltles or lmprovements to publlC tranSlt lnformatlon (bus
stop slgns or passenger luformatlon slgns). The Munlclpal Bus
Llnes 18 completlng the lnstallatlon of deta1led passenger
lnformatlon slgnage at 275 hlgh volume bus stops throughout the
system. Th1S effort, along wlth a recently completed program to
1mprove our translt schedules, should provlde a hlgh level of
publlC lnformatlon to Blg Blue Bus users. Addltlonal PrOposlt1on
A fundlng for thlS purpose lS therefore not recommended, Slnce
faclllty fundlug 16 generally avallable from other sources.
SUMMARY
Clty staff has attempted to develop a balanced program for
expend1ng Propos1tlon A Local Return Funds Wh1Ch takes luto
account the many purposes WhlCh translt fund1ng can serve In
Santa Maulca. The plan prov1des for fundlng of trans1t programs
for th~ mobll1ty lmpa1red, for seed money towards the development
of a publlc/pr1vate partnersh~p 1n operatlng a commerclal core
shuttle, for SUbSldy of flxed route trans1t serVlces, and for a
local match towards a rall program WhlCh can meet the Clty'S
long-term plannlng and development goals.
16
SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS AND THREE-YEAR EXPENDITURE PLAN
, .
It is recommended that the following pol~cy gu~delines be
ut~l~zed 1n developing the proposed 1984-85 PropoB1tion A budget
for Counc11 cons~deration:
Set a spend~ng target of one-half of the C1ty'S Propos~tion A
funds w~th the other 50% be~ng reserved on a revolv~ng bas~s
for municipal bus l1nes operat1ons.
Establish
a
ra11
project reserve of $504,916. to be
supplemented from future year available funds.
Establ1sh a revolv~ng reserve of approx1mately $520,000 for
purchase of four shuttle veh~cles.
Ma1nta1n current fund1ng commitments to the Munic1pal Bus
L~nes. WISE and the Senior Nutr~t1on Program.
Cons1der 1ncrease 10 the current WISE paratrans1t subs1dy
dur1ng 1984-85 budget del~berat1ons.
Cons1der
seek1ng add1t1onal pr1vate sector contr1but~ons
towards the operat1on of a shuttle serv~ce and proceed w1th
route plann~ng for the shuttle service, ~ncluding in the
plann~ng process public interest groups and c1t~zens.
Author~ze the C1ty Manager to negotiate an appl~cat~on w1th
the LACTC and City of Beverly H1118 for TDA Sect10n 4.5 funds
17
to support conso1~dated p1ann~ng and expans~on of the ex~st~ng
tax~-coupon program operated by WISE.
Based on the above r~commendat~ons, the chart below dep~cts one
poss~ble 3-year expend~ture plan for Propos~tion A Local Return
fund~ng .
FY 1982-83
&
FY 1983-84 FY 1984-85 FY 1985-86 FY 1986-87
1. Ava~lable Funds: $1,024,916 $ 755,811 $ 793,602 $ 833,282
2. Existing Cornm~tments: 257,953 271,701 284,921
3. Revolving Reserve: 377,902 396,801 416,641
4. Add'l WISE Operations: 35,000 40,000 45,000
5. WISE capital 32,500 35,000*
6. Purchase of Shuttle
Vehicles: 520,000 -0-
7. Rail Reserve: 504,916 52,456 85,1QO 51,720
8. Balance: -0- -0- -0- -0-
*Replacement Van for Wise
PREPARED BY: Lynne Barrette, Deputy City Manager
Jack Hutchison, Director of Transportat~on
Hank Dittmar, Senior Administrat~ve Analyst
Ellyn Kielb, Sen10r Adm1nistrative Analyst
Paul S~lvern, Act~ng Planning Director
Attachment: Append~x A
18
APPENDIX A
WISE PARATRA.L~SIT SERVICES - PAST A..l\fD PRESENT
On September 91 19821 WISE (Wests~de Independent Serv~ces to the
Elderly) submltted a proposal to the Clty of Santa Mon~ca
requestLng that a port~on of the C1ty's Proposltlon A funds be
allocated to fund an expanded paratranslt program ~n the Clty.
The amount initally requested was approximately $200,000 per
year.
At the tlme thls proposal was presented. WISE was operat~ng a two
and one-half van, weekday paratranslt serV~ce (Transwest) for the
elderly flnanced by a $75.847 annual grant from the Area Agency
on Aglng. Thelr Transwest program had been 1n operatlon for
seven years (as of 9/82). Due to llmlted fundlng and a 11mlted
number of vehlcles, rldershlp was restrlcted to approxlmately one
trlp per week for senlor cllents of WISE who were resldents of
Santa MOUlea. Tr~ps were prov~ded wlthln the Clty of Santa
Moulea and to the followlng three satelllte locatlous:
UCLA Medlcal Center
Veteran's Adm~nlstratlon Hospltal
Israel LeVln Senlor Adult Center
At the tlme WISE submltted thelr proposal,
stat1st1cs on the
demand
for thelr Transwest serVlce were l~m~ted.
It was
estlmated 600 cl~ents used the serV1ce on a regular basls, and
roughly 16,000 one-way passenger trlpS were provlded annually.
Flfteen per cent of the rlders were physlcally hand~capped. The
cost per passenger trlp was approxlmately $5.88 and the service
provlded approx~mately 4 trlps per hour WhlCh compared favorably
19
w~th the countyw~de average of 3.7 tr~ps per hour and countyw~de
tr~p costs wh~ch ranged from $2.89 per r~de to $6.99 per r~de.
On November 15, 1982, Clty staff presented a report to the C~ty
CoUnc~l deta~l~ng WISE's proposal and recommend~ng that
conslderatlon of WISE's $200,000 request be postponed untl1 the
C~ty consldered ~ts FY '83-'84 budget.
On November 23, 1982, the Clty Councl1
ProposLtlon A funds to WISE to serve
approprlated $3200 of
as a match for the
acquls1tLon of a 16-passenger, 11ft-equlpped van from CALTRk~S
for use 1n thelr paratranslt program. On February 8, 1983, an
add~tlonal $4200 match was approprlated by the Clty to enable
WISE to obtaln a second CALTRANS van. Both vans were used to
replace WISE vehlcles WhlCh due to the~r age and excess~ve use,
were ~n constant need of repalr.
As was recommended, the WISE fundlng request was reconsldered
dur~ng the Sprlng '83-'84 budget hearlngs. The Clty Counell
approprlated an addltlonal $60,000 of the Clty'S Proposltlon A
fiOUles for WISE's paratranslt program. ThlS $60,000 has enabled
WISE to expand thelr van operatlon to serVlce non-elderly
dlsabled lndlvlduals and to lnltlate a taxl coupon progra~.
20
CURRENT Vk~ SERVICE
WISE now operates a three and one-half van, weekday paratrans1t
serV1ce. Of the four vans operat1ng, one 1S used exclus1vely for
Ollve Stone Center (an adult day care facl1lty) and another lS
used as a back up van, f1ll1ng 1n dur1ng peak demand per~ods or
f1ll~ng ln for vans 10 need of repa1r or serv1c1ng. Two of the
four vans are wheelchalr 11ft equlpped. Beglnnlng October 15,
1983, the WISE van serV1ce became ava1lable to all resldents of
Santa Monlca 60 years and older and to dlsabled persons over 16
years of age. In add1tlon, the van program hours of operat1on
were expanded to 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
To help COVer the cost of the van serVlce, donatlons from r1ders
are requested, but not requlred. Otherwlse, WISE's
transportatlon operat1ng funds conslst largely of the $60,000
grant from the C1ty of Santa Monlca (Proposlt1on A) and
approxLmately $76,000 of Area Agency on Aglng mOUles.
Program partlclpants
schedule the trlpS
Requests for trlps
whenever posslble.
are asked to call one week In advance to
they need as the vans fl11 up qU1ckly.
made w1th less not1ce wl11 be accommodated
21
Tr~ps are prov~ded w~th1n the Santa Mon~ca C~ty l~m~ts as well as
to,
UCLA Med~ca1 Center
Veteran's Admln~strat1on Hospltal
Israel Lev~n Sen~or Adult Center
Westslde Center for Independent Llvlng
MaJor Medlcal bUlldlngs lU the Vlclnlty of Wllshlre and
Bundy
Venlce Fam11y Cl~nlc
Dur1ng the per10d of July 1, 1983, through November 30, 1983, the
average number of one-way trlps provlded per month was 1,555.
ThlS equates to an annual f1gure of 18,660. The average trlp per
hour for thls same perlod was 4.16. From 7/1/83 to 10/31/83, 499
undupllcated cl1ents were served. of those served, 60% were
handlcapped. Substant~al lncrease ~n number of handlcapped
served (15% VB. 60%) can be explalned 1n part by ch~nges 1n the
County's cr1terla for what constltutes a dlsabled lnd1vldual
(crlterla now lncludes vlsually lmpalred and severely hearlng
lmpalred).
WISE Dlrector Marla Arechaederra and her staff have d1scovered
that servlng the needs of the non-elderly dlsabled 15 qUlte a blt
dlfferent from servlng just the elderly. Elderly cllents enJoy
travellng ~n groups, wh~le the non-elderly d~sabled have trlp
needs that requ~re them to travel ~ndependently. In add~tlon,
non-elderly d1sabled lnd1vlduals frequently have a need to travel
outslde of the C~ty and for greater d~stances (e.g. to Rancho Los
22
Am~gos Hosp~tal} than do the elderly. Under ~ts current program
structure, ~t 1S ~mposslble for WISE to meet same of these needs.
Mrs.
Arechaederra and her staff have also learned that a van
serVlce for handlcapped persons often becomes more than a
transportatlon serVlce. Some cllents requlre escort serVlce for
such act2vltles as shopplng. On more than one occaSlon, drlvers
have had to phys~cally carry cllents to and from the van because
thelr homes or apartments Were not handlcapped access1ble. Th1S
not only results 1n strenuous physlcal labor for the van drlvers,
but also results 1n slowlng the van down, reduclng the number of
trlps per hour a van can make and ~ncredslng the cost per
passenger of operatlng such a serVlce.
TAXI COUPON PROGRAM
As stated prevlously, on October 15, 1983, WISE expanded the
scope of ltS paratranslt operat1on to 1nclude a 24-hour a day,
seven day a week, demand-response taxl coupon program. Letters
were sent out descrlblng the serV1ce and explalnlng how one could
become certlfled to partlclpate.
A commlttee of WISE staff members screened the app11catlons
carefully to determlne who had the greatest need for the tax~
coupon serV1ce. The screenlng commlttee consldered, among other
crlter~a, the types of trlps requlred by program appl~cants and
the appllcants abll1ty {or lnab~llty} to aval1 themselves of the
WISE van serVlce and/or flxed route translt serV1Ces.
23
.
Flfty-flve lndlvlduals were certlfled and sent 4-6 coupons. A
total of 600 coupons were dlstrlbuted In the flrst two months of
the program. Three hundred were dlstrlbuted to the flfty-flve
cllents certlfled, two hundred are belng dlstrlbuted through
WISE's Transportatlon Department staff on an as needed basls, and
one hundred are belng dlstr1buted through WISE caseworkers as
translt needs of thelr cllents are ldent1f1ed. How many of these
coupons have actually been used, to date, 1S not known as WISE
had stl11 not recelved a blll1ng statement from the cab company
(Checker Cab) when thlS report was prepared.
WISE devlsed thelr method of coupon dlstr1but1on after havlng
Vlslted a number of other tax1 coupon programs. Thelr 1ntent was
to ldentlfy those 1n greatest need to try to aV01d problems
experlenced 1n other ]ur1sdlctlons where only a handful of
lndlvlduals recelved the avallable vouchers and some lndlvlduals
sold thelr coupons for a proflt to other senlors.
Under WISE's current program structure, taxl servlce 15 avallable
only wlthln the Santa Monlca Clty llmlts. The tax1 cab company
recelves a $3.00 relmbursement for each coupon they recelve.
To lnltlate a Tlde,
scheduled for plck-up.
certlfled cllents call WISE and then are
WISE's concern 1S that taxl coupons may be belng used 1n lleu of
the van serVlce, and that coupons are belng used for low prlor1ty
types of trlp5. Some cllents very def~n~tely prefer the pr1vacy
and luxury of a tax~ cab over a 16 passenger van. By requ~rlng
24
.
cl1ents to call ahead, WISE transportat1on staff can select the
mode most appropr1ate for the requested trlp.
Another change WISE 15 conslderlng 1S to el1mlnate the use of
coupons. A number of WISE's elderly cllents have become confused
when they recelve thelr vOllcl1ers In the mall. One woman thought
ners were raffle tlckets and sent 1n a donat1on to pay for them.
An ObVl0US dlsadantage to both of these suggested reV1Slons, 1S
the lnabl11ty of the cllent to take trlpS spontaneously. Program
partlclpants have to plan thelr schedules for evenlngs and
weekends ahead of tlrne so they CQuld call ln thelr requests
durlng the WISE off1ce's hours of operatlon.
Addltlon of a taxl coupon program has allowed WISE to meet a
number of thelr cllents' even1ng and weekend trans1t needs. It
has not, however, solved the problem of how to meet all the needs
of the elderly and dlsabled. For lnstance, many dlsabled
lndlvlduals have electrlc wheelchalrs that wl11 not collapse to
flt lnto a regular taxl cab, and the Checker Cab Company does not
have any 11ft equlpped vans to accommodate these people.
As thlS 15 a new serVlce for WISE, they are
and evaluatlng procedures and results to
reflnements as needed.
closely monltor1ng
lnstltute needed
25