SR 05-23-2017 3I
Ci ty Council
Report
City Council Meeting : May 23, 2017
Agenda Item: 3.I
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Edward King, Director , Big Blue Bus, Planning & Community Engagement
Subject: Access Services Free Fare Reimbursement Agreement
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council authorize the City Manager to nego tiate and
execute a new agreement with Access Services Inc., a Los Angeles public agency, to
accept Access -issued identi fi cation cards as fare payment on Big Blue Bus and to
reimburse Big Blue Bus using the prevailing Council approved fares for seniors and
persons with disabilities.
Executive Summary
City of Santa Monica’s Big Blue Bus (BBB) is a member agency of Access Services, the
complementary paratransit service which provides point -to -point service for all eligible
Los Angeles County r esidents. Big Blue Bus accepts Access Services identification
cards as a form of fare payment, thereby to expand access to transportation options for
eligible riders. Access Services partners with operators such as BBB because t he cost
per ride on Access Services is s ignificantly more than a single trip on fixed -route transit.
The agreement with Access Services enables Big Blue Bus to invoice Access Services
for the number of trips taken each year by Access Services enrollees as recorded
through onboard TAP mobile vali dators. Access Services reimburses BBB
approximately $450,000 per year for roughly 800,000 trips.
Background
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) requires all public transit service
agencies to provide complementary paratransit services to p ersons with disabilities who
are unable to use fixed -route transit services. Since 1992, Access Services has
provided the complementary paratransit service to all residents of Los Angeles County
with eligible disabilities on behalf of all fixed -route trans it operators. Eligible Santa
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Monica residents regularly use Access Services to get to points beyond the reach of
Santa Monica Dial -a -Ride.
Since 2000, Access Services has promoted a “free ride” campaign to eligible ADA
riders. Big Blue Bus joined the progr am in 2004 and began accept ing the Access
Services identificati on card as a form of fare payment on its routes .
Big Blue Bus is committed to providing transportation to persons with disab ilities as
safely and efficiently as possible. The F ree Fare Progra m allows Access Services
customers to ride Big Blue Bus a t no cost to them. In FY 2015 -16 , Big Blue Bus
provided 849,152 trips for Access Services customers. Access Services reimbursed Big
Blue Bus $441,559 for these trips , which is a combination of BBB’s local and express
Senior/Disabled/Medicare fare s .
Discussion
Under the proposed agreement, Access Services customers can ride Big Blue Bus at
no cost to them us ing their smartcard -equipped TAP Access photo identification card
onboard each time they board a Big Blue Bus . Access will reimburse Big Blue Bus
monthly for total recorded Access customer boardings at the prevailing
Senior/Disabled/Medicare local and express fares. Boardings are recorded through the
onboard TAP mobile validators each time Access S ervices customers “tap” their TAP -
enabled Access Services card.
The premise of the F ree F are P rogram is to maximize limited resources to provide
mobility services to a greater number of people that qualify for Access Services than
what the traditional para transit small passenger count van or other small vehicle service
is able to accommodate . Access Services provides door -to -door service for persons
with disab ilities , however not all enrollees require door -to -door service . Many are able to
use fixed -route s ystems with ease and are better able to meet their mobility needs riding
transit, especially during peak times when their local Access Services provider is
booked.
Meeting the demands of Access Services customers through fixed -route systems is
cost -effici ent to Access Services as well as customer -friendly with more customers able
to make their desired trips during peak -demand times. A single trip on Access Services
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is significantly more expensive than fixed -route transit primarily because it lacks the
econ omies of scale fixed -route systems provide. A trip on fixed -route transit is much
less labor intensive as a single motor coach can carry hundreds of passengers in an
hour. It costs Access Services $33.02 per passenger trip while the operating cost per
pass enger trip on Big Blue Bus is $4.77. Each time an Access Services customer
chooses to ride Big Blue Bus instead of Access Services , the region saves $28.2 5.
The proposed agreement allows for fare adjustments should Big Blue Bus change its
fare structure during the term of the agreement , whereby the new rates will apply
without the need to renegotiate the agreement. The proposed agreement is open -
ended , but will allow either party 90 days to terminate the agreement.
The F ree F are P rogram has grown to 22 p articipating transit systems across Los
Angeles County. Costs to pay for the program have grown exponentially and Access
has capped the operators at their FY 2014 -15 reimbursement levels as a way to control
their costs . T he agreement establishes a one -year reimbursement cap of $456,877
based on the Big Blue Bus FY 201 4 -1 5 total amount reimbursed . Big Blue Bus expects
to be under this amount for FY 2016 -17.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
There is no immediate financial impact or budget action necessa ry as a result of the
recommended action. Staff will return to Council if specific budget actions are required
in the future. R evenues have been included in the FY 2016 -17 adopted budget.
Prepared By: David Feinberg, Transit Government Relations Officer
Approved
Forwarded to Council
REFERENCE:
Agreement No. 10462
(CCS)