SR-01-13-2015-3JCity Council Meeting: January 13, 2015
Agenda Item: —S--T
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Edward F. King, Director of Transit Services
Subject: Big Blue Bus Unlimited Ride Transit Pass Program with the University of
California, Los Angeles
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council authorize the City Manager to negotiate and
execute an agreement to renew the Big Blue Bus Transit Pass Program (BruinGo!) with
the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) effective January 1, 2015 for a five and
a half year term through June 30, 2020 at the rates and total payment ceilings noted in
the "Negotiated Rates and Total Payment Ceilings" section of the staff report.
Executive Summary
Big Blue Bus currently has an agreement with UCLA to provide unlimited bus access to
student, staff, and faculty members utilizing the BruinGol transit pass program. Under
this agreement the BBB charges UCLA a "negotiated rate" for each passenger boarding
made by a UCLA identification card holder. Currently, all students, faculty and staff can
board any BBB bus with a UCLA ID card and pay only a fifty -cent ($0.50) copay to ride.
The balance of the agreed upon fare is paid by UCLA. Alternatively, the rider may elect
to purchase a quarterly "Flash Pass" from UCLA, at which point, UCLA pays the entire
rider fare, and the rider is not expected to produce any cash or incur any incremental
cost per ride. The new proposed contract seeks to build on this successful model by
making several significant changes that will help boost both ridership and revenue,
thereby, having a positive influence on BBB finances, and the traffic conditions in the
service area.
The following changes to the contract are proposed:
• Per ride rates – an escalation in the copay fare per ride should BBB's base fare
of $1 per ride increase after year one of the contract term.
• Total annual billing ceiling – a progressive increase each year of the five -year
contract from $1.1 m in year one up to $1.8m in year five.
• Contract term – a five -year term instead of one -year terms.
• Transitioning Riders from "BruinBus" Shuttle Riders to BBB Riders – efforts by
UCLA to reduce duplication of service that currently exists by providing fewer
BruinBus shuttles, and exploring ways to transfer those current riders on to BBB
buses.
• Transition to proximity card technology — intention of both UCLA and the City to
migrate away from magnetic stripe technology and toward proximity card
technology in order to obtain faster boarding times, and better data collection.
• Transit Demand Management — agreement from UCLA to dedicate $100,000 per
year to incentivize UCLA faculty and students to ride BBB under certain fare
conditions.
• Summer fare discounts — continuation of BruinGol discounts during summer
months.
• One blended fare - elimination of the two - tiered fare structure between local
rides and Express rides to a single blended fare with express accommodations
for increases over the five -year contract term.
Background
The Big Blue Bus transit pass program with UCLA called BruinGo! was the first of its
kind in the nation when implemented in September of 2000. The goal of the program
was to reduce the demand for parking at the UCLA campus. Under this program, any
UCLA student, faculty or staff member may board a Big Blue Bus and swipe their
"Bruin" identification card at the farebox. The card has a magnetic stripe encoded with
an identification number which is read and then recorded by the farebox. After the initial
implementation of the program, 50 percent of all students in walking distance of a direct
line to campus took transit compared with 35 percent before the BruinGol program was
initiated. Faculty and staff who live inside the Big Blue Bus service area made 134
percent more daily bus trips and 9 fewer drive -alone trips to campus after BruinGo!
began (Brown, J.; Hess, D.; Shoup, D. 2003). In FY2013 -14, BruinGo! passengers
took over 1.1 million rides on Big Blue Bus.
The current negotiated rate is based on UCLA rider demographics, transit use patterns,
and the current fare structure as approved by Council on April 27 2010 with an
extension of this contract through December 31, 2014 approved by Council on June 10
2014. New rates would be effective January 1, 2015 and the payment billings would be
retroactive to this date.
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Discussion
UCLA and Big Blue Bus currently have a partnership whereby all students, faculty and
staff can board any BBB bus with a UCLA ID card and pay only a fifty -cent ($0.50)
copay to ride. The balance of the agreed upon fare is paid by UCLA. Alternatively, the
rider may elect to purchase a quarterly "Flash Pass" from UCLA, at which point, UCLA
pays the entire rider fare, and the rider is not expected to produce any cash or incur any
incremental cost per ride. Ostensibly, on a day -by -day basis, the ride for quarterly
Flash Pass holders is "free." These quarterly Flash Pass riders currently make up 65%
of all UCLA riders. These types of programs have been shown to be one of the
strongest influences on increasing ridership, both nationally and at the local level, with
both UCLA and Santa Monica College. The new proposed contract seeks to build on
this successful model by making several significant changes that will help boost both
ridership and revenue, thereby, having a positive influence on BBB finances, and the
traffic conditions in the service area.
Negotiated Rates and Total Payment Ceilings
Rates (See Table 1):
Rides with UCLA Card swipe made with onboard cash co- payment:
$0.34 per trip effective January 1, 2015 through June 30, 2017
® $0.34 up to a maximum of $0.55 per trip effective July 1, 2017 through June
30, 2019 based on the calculation of the December 31, 2016 base fare x 84%
minus $0.50 copay
® $0.34 up to a maximum of $0.55 per trip effective July 1, 2019 through June
30, 2020 based on the calculation of the December 31, 2018 base fare x 84%
minus $0.50 copay
Rides with UCLA Card swipe made with .Flash Pass:
® $0.84 per trip effective January 1, 2015 through June 30, 2017
® $0.84 up to a maximum of $1.05 per trip effective July 1, 2017, through June
30, 2019 based on the calculation of December 31, 2016 base fare x 84%
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® $0.84 up to a maximum of $1.05 per trip effective July 1, 2019, through June
30, 2020 based on the calculation of December 31, 2018 base fare x 84%
Table 1
BruinGo! 2015 — 2020 Fare Schedule
r2nl A; — 2n2ol
$0.34 $0.84
$0.34 $0.8
Total Payment Ceilings (See Table 2):
$0.55 max $
$1.05 max
(base fare x 84% - (
(base fare x 84 %)
$0.50)
a January 1, 2015 through June 30, 2016 -not to exceed $1,100,000.00 per
year.
• July 1, 2016, through June 30, 2017 - not to exceed $1,350,000.00 per year.
• July 1, 2017, through June 30, 2018 - not to exceed $1,400,000.00 per year.
• July 1, 2018, through June 30, 2019 - if BBB base fare is $1.24 or less on
December 31, 2017, then, not to exceed $1,450,000.00 per year. If BBB base
fare is $1.25 or more on December 31, 2017, then, not to exceed
$1,750,000.00 per year.
® July 1, 2019, through June 30, 2020 - if BBB base fare is $1.24 or less on
December 31, 2018, then, not to exceed $1,500,000.00 per year. If BBB base
fare is $1.25 or more on December 31, 2018, then, not to exceed
$1,800,000.00 per year.
M
Table 2
BruinGo! Annual Billing Ceiling
Five -Year Term instead of One -Year Terms
The university budgeting process for a school year is settled often far in advance.
UCLA has been bound by the agreed -upon budget and has not been able to pursue
long term substantive goals regarding increasing ridership for fear of exceeding budget
in the present year. A longer term contract enables the university to adapt budgets to
meet ridership increase goals over time, and gives both parties better assurances
regarding long term financial impacts. Therefore, staff recommends a five -year contract
term.
Transitionino Riders from "BruinBus" Shuttle Riders to BBB Riders
The current service model has Big Blue Bus carrying full loads of riders each morning to
UCLA from the south and west, with each bus passing through Westwood Village on its
way to UCLA. When buses pass through the village, they often let off ten to twenty
percent of their passenger loads depending on the time of day, freeing up seats
between the village and UCLA. The same is true in the reverse direction in the
afternoon. At the same time, UCLA is spending in excess of $1 million per year,
running small 'BruinBus" free shuttles back and forth between UCLA and Westwood
Village. The presence of these shuttles causes a duplication of services with BBB,
where empty seats are available on BBB buses. The reason that passengers choose
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the BruinBus shuttles over BBB services is that the shuttles are free to all UCLA parties
regardless of whether the passenger carries a paid quarterly Flash Pass from UCLA.
UCLA aims to work toward reducing this duplication by providing fewer BruinBus
shuttles, and exploring ways to transfer those current riders on to BBB buses. By
reducing these shuttles where duplication exists, UCLA stands to save several hundred
thousand dollars, and BBB can increase revenues by a similar amount simply by filling
seats that are available.
Transition to Proximity Card Technology
The proposed new contract articulates the intention of both UCLA and the City to
migrate away from magnetic stripe technology and toward proximity card technology in
order to obtain faster boarding times, and better data collection. The current UCLA ID
utilizes a magnetic stripe technology to interface with BBB fareboxes. Due to dirt and
debris, these cards can at times misread, or the magnetic stripes can get worn beyond
recognition by the farebox. This can cause a potential loss of revenue for BBB,
inaccurate ridership counts, and delay of service as operators manually inspect the
card, and then let the passenger board without the ride being recorded. Proximity card
technology has a proven far lower failure rate, which should improve boarding speed,
and revenue per rider.
Marketing Support
In the proposed contract, UCLA has agreed to guarantee $100,000 per year in
marketing support for as long as the fare remains $.84 for Flash Pass rides, and may
continue this support beyond that point. These funds will be used to purchase short
term "free passes" for new BBB riders and other incentive programs to encourage
people to try BBB services to reach UCLA.
Accommodation for Fare Increases
The five -year contract anticipates the possibility that the fare may increase and makes
provisions to adjust per ride pricing as a result in the following year.
Raising the Total Billing Ceiling
Assuming the successful transition of local Westwood Village riders from BruinBus
shuttles to BBB services, and the projected impact of Expo Phase II on overall ridership
to campus, there is an opportunity for growth of overall ridership and revenue under the
UCLA contract. The five -year contract raises the total billing ceiling substantially, from
the current $1.1 million to $1.8 million, creating the opportunity for BBB and UCLA to
work together on mutually beneficial opportunities noted above.
Opportunity for Summer Fare Discounts
As opposed to the current contract, which automatically eliminates the co -pay rides in
summer, this contract offers UCLA the opportunity to continue subsidizing trips to
campus in summer, which should stimulate rides on services otherwise uncrowded at
that time of year.
One Blended Fare
Currently, BBB charges UCLA $0.86 per ride for local rides and $1.69 per ride for
express rides on Route 10. Distinguishing express rides and differentiating them from
local rides require a back office procedure that delays payment, and generates little
revenue. Currently, express rides on Route 10 make up approximately one percent of
billed rides under the UCLA contract. Given the de minimis BruinGo! ridership on
Route 10 and the expected decline in ridership on Route 10 with the introduction of
Expo Phase ll, staff determined that maintaining a two - tiered fare structure is not
worthwhile and instead pursued conversations with UCLA to increase BruinGol
ridership overall, which is mutually beneficial to both entities.
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At the onset of negotiations, UCLA offered to reduce its BruinBus service from
Westwood Village to UCLA, thereby opening up the opportunity for BBB to serve this
ridership. UCLA raised concerns that these trips would be "short trips ", within a mile of
campus, and began contract negotiations by requesting a reduced fare of $0.50 for
these trips. BBB conducted a statistically valid survey of current BruinGo! riders and
found that 9% of riders boarding Big Blue Bus at Hilgard alighted prior to reaching
Westwood and Wilshire Boulevard. As an acknowledgement of this current ridership
condition that some trips are unusually short, BBB successfully negotiated one blended
rate for all trips on all BBB services of $0.84 per ride, or 84% of the base fare up to
$1.05 should BBB's fare rise during the contract period. While this blended rate is a
$0.02 reduction per trip, it incentivizes UCLA to reduce their BruinBus shuttles as it is
less than their current cost per passenger to carry the passengers on UCLA shuttles.
This rate is also still substantially higher than the average fare paid by all BBB riders of
$0.73 per ride. (See Table 1)
Financial Impacts & Budget Actions
There is no immediate financial impact or budget action necessary as a result of the
recommended action. Revenue increases resulting from the blended rate will be
contingent on an increase in ridership. As this data becomes available and material,
BBB will return to Council to request corresponding budget adjustments as necessary.
Prepared by: Suja Lowenthal, Transit Government & Community Relations Manager
Approved:
Forwarded to Council:
l- Edward F. King Rod Gould
Director of Transit Services City Manager
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Reference:
Agreement No. 10016
(CCS)