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City of
Santa Monica°
City Council Report
City Council Meeting: January; 2010
Agenda Item: ~ -
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Stephanie Negriff, Director of Transit Services
Subject: Professional Services Agreement with Transportation Management and
Design, Inc. to Undertake an Alternatives Analysis for High Capacity Short
Distance Transit Connections with Expo Light Rail, a Line-by-Line
Analysis of Transit Service and Prepare a Three-Year Service
Improvement and Efficiency Program
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council authorize the City Manager to negotiate and
execute an agreement with Transportation Management and Design, Inc. (TMD) to
undertake an alternatives analysis which incorporates aline-by-line analysis of Big Blue
Bus transit service and to prepare athree-year Service Improvement and Efficiency
Program (STEP) for an amount not to exceed $698,863.
Executive Summary
The alternatives analysis will identify which corridors are most likely to be impacted by
large increases in travel demand to the City's three Expo light rail stations from
locations that are too far to walk and will evaluate the benefits of various modes of
public transit to provide these needed links. The line-by-line analysis, which includes
counting passengers and conducting an in-depth on-board survey, will establish the
ridership baseline against which future light-rail. generated ridership will be measured.
The analysis will identify bus service corridors that will most likely experience the
greatest growth as a result of the rail line. The line-by-line data and passenger survey
analysis will be completed in summer 2010 and will also be used to identify potential
modifications to routes and schedules over athree-year period priorto the completion of
Expo light rail. A study of potential opportunities to expand the employer-sponsored
transit card program and improve transit connections between neighborhoods within the
City are also included in the scope of work. The entire scope of work will be completed
for an amount not to exceed $698,863.
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Background
Previous Council Actions
At its April 28, 2009 meeting, he City Council authorized the submission of a funding
application as part of the Federal Transportation Reauthorization process to analyze
transit alternatives including modern streetcars to carry passengers arriving at the future
terminal of the Expo light rail line to major attractions.
At its Mav 12. 2009 meeting, the City Council authorized the submission of an
application as part of the Federal Transportation Reauthorization process for a Federal
Transit Administration Small Starts Authorization for a downtown streetcar project.
Discussion
With construction to begin soon on the final phase of the Expo light rail line to Santa
Monica, the local transit system must now begin to prepare for thousands of additional
daily passengers who live too far to walk to one of the three stations to be built in the
City. The alternatives analysis will identify the major connecting destinations of Expo
passengers, the preferred routing to link those locations with rail stations and determine
which of three transit types would be the most effective: more frequent conventional bus
service, short distance bus rapid transit where buses would have signal priority and
congestion bypass lanes, or modern streetcars.
Increased conventional bus service would consist of additional buses operating as they
do now, mixed with other vehicles and subject to prevailing traffic conditions and delays.
Short distance bus rapid transit operates on exclusive lanes with traffic signal priority
using longer articulated buses to connect at least two points that are located one to
three miles apart and generate thousands on trips between them on a daily basis.
Denver's 1.3 mile long 16th Street Transit Mall which connects Union Station rail
terminal with downtown is a notable example.
Modern streetcars can be conceived as sub-compact light rail vehicles that are relatively
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easy to insert into an existing street configuration.. They are entirely low floor so that
passengers can step on .from a stop at normal curb height, are narrow enough to
operate in a typical traffic lane width, and construction does not require underground
utility relocation. A different transit solution could be tailored for each corridor impacted
by travel to an Expo station.
The line-by-line analysis includes passenger boarding and alighting counts at every stop
for every trip on every route, the number of passengers who ride each segment of each
route, a transfer count by route to determine major patterns of indirect transit travel, and
the schedule adherence of every trip in the system.
The on-board passenger survey consists of an in-depth questionnaire distributed on all
routes to identify the type of fare paid, trip origin and destination locations, the priorities
for service improvement from the passenger's point of view, and demographic data. At
least half of future Expo riders are expected to be former bus riders so these findings
will be essential elements of the alternatives analysis.
Big Blue Bus has established transit pass programs in cooperation with the two largest
trip generators on the Westside: the University of California Los Angeles and Santa
Monica College that have resulted in a reduction of car trips among students and staff
by over 25 percent. With the intention of building on that success, the study will seek to
identify other institutions and major employers in the service area that could partner with
Big Blue Bus to implement similar transit pass programs.
Santa Monica's Big Blue Bus (BBB) will also use findings from the line-by-line analysis
to determine what service changes should be made in the near term including those to
be presented in the next three-year Short Range Transit Plan and the ongoing Service
Improvement and Efficiency Program (STEP). The SIEP develops overall strategy and
priorities based on current and projected travel needs in the service area and serves as
a detailed planning guide focused on implementation of service changes. Data
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requirements for transit improvements overlap. One -goal of this comprehensive analysis
is to provide a smooth evolution of BBB transit services from the present to the
inauguration of Expo Phase I and subsequent completion of Phase II.
Contractor/Consultant Selection
The RFP was posted on the Planet Bids website. Three proposals were submitted. The
proposals were evaluated by staff based on the following criteria:.
1) Understanding of project requirements
2) Responsiveness and thoroughness of proposal
3) Experience of the firm and personnel
4) Past performance in conducting similar projects
5) Cost
Based on the evaluation, staff recommends that the agreement be awarded to
Transportation Management and Design, Inc. TMD demonstrated prior experience in
planning and designing short-distance streetcar lines and bus-rapid transit systems,
understanding of potential applications of line-by-line data in the service planning
process, and the ability to identify potential service opportunities using geographic
information systems in conjunction with the most recent data from the US Census and
other sources. TMD's record in performing similar studies for other transit agencies
illustrates a sound approach to planning transit improvements and efficiencies based on
an understanding of operational constraints and community needs. While not the lowest
bidder, only TMD demonstrated the necessary level of experience to complete the
complex set of tasks in the scope of work with imagination and exactitude.
Public Outreach
TMD staff will participate in a series of community outreach meetings to be conducted
by Big Blue Bus in the summer of 2010 to present findings of the line-by-line analysis
and to hear concerns and suggestions of riders and members of the community at large
in the overall study. TMD staff will also participate in the City's Land Use and Circulation
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Element process in cooperation with the Planning and Community Development
Department.
Financial Impacts & Budget Actions
Funds in the amount of $698,863 are available in account 0417034.589000.
Prepared by: Paul Casey, Senior Transit Programs Analyst
Approved:
Forwarded to Council:
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Stephani NegrifF . L o t Ewell
Director of Transit Services Cit Hager
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