Okaloosa County BOCC — August 16, 2016 — Access EC Rider TDP - August Draft Report — reading text

ii  Table of Contents Discretionary Market Assessment ......................................................................................................... 121 Traditional Market Assessment ............................................................................................................. 125 Forecast Ridership Analysis............................................................................................................................ 127 Model Inputs/Assumptions and Limitations.......................................................................................... 127 Ridership Forecast ................................................................................................................................. 129 Forecast Ridership Analysis Summary ................................................................................................... 130 Section 8: Alternatives Evaluation ....................................................................................................... 131 Development of 10-Year Transit Needs ......................................................................................................... 131 Service Improvements ................................................................................................................................... 132 Improvements to Existing Routes .......................................................................................................... 132 New Service Expansions......................................................................................................................... 133 Capital Improvements.................................................................................................................................... 136 Policy/Other Improvements .......................................................................................................................... 138 Alternatives Evaluation Process ..................................................................................................................... 140 Alternatives Scoring Thresholds ............................................................................................................ 143 Alternatives Evaluation .................................................................................................................................. 144 Evaluation Results .......................................................................................................................................... 144 Section 9: 10-Year Transit Plan ............................................................................................................ 146 Access EC Rider TDP Cost Feasible Priorities .................................................................................................. 146 Cost Feasible Service Improvements ..................................................................................................... 146 Cost Feasible Capital Improvements ..................................................................................................... 148 Other Improvements ............................................................................................................................. 149 10-Year Financial Plan .................................................................................................................................... 149 Cost Assumptions................................................................................................................................... 150 10-Year Cost/Revenues.......................................................................................................................... 151 10-Year Implementation Plan and Unfunded Needs ..................................................................................... 152 LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix A: Peer and Trend Analysis Appendix B: Public Involvement and Supporting Materials Appendix C: Annual Farebox Recovery Ratio Report Appendix D: Fixed-Route and Paratransit Route Efficiency Review Appendix E: Plans and Study Review Appendix F: Recommended Performance Monitoring Program ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan iii  Table of Contents LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2-1: Age Distribution of Residents (2014) ............................................................................................. 14 Figure 2-2: Okaloosa County Annual Household Income ................................................................................ 17 Figure 2-3: West Panhandle Commuting Flows ............................................................................................... 29 Figure 2-4: Major Activity Centers ................................................................................................................... 29 Figure 2-5: Okaloosa County 2035 Roadway Deficiencies ............................................................................... 33 Figure 3-1: Uptown Station .............................................................................................................................. 34 Figure 3-2: Emerald Coast Rider Passenger Trips, 2008–2013 ........................................................................ 38 Figure 3-3: Uber Demand Hot Spots by Time of Day ....................................................................................... 43 Figure 3-4: Uber Demand Hotspots for Weekend Evening ............................................................................. 44 Figure 3-5: Uber Driver Demand Hotspots for Weekend after Midnight ........................................................ 45 Figure 4-1: Emerald Grande at HarborWalk Village, Destin ............................................................................ 55 Figure 4-2: Is more public transportation needed in Okaloosa County? ......................................................... 57 Figure 4-3: If yes [to previous question], how much growth should there be in the next 10 years? .............. 57 Figure 4-4: In your opinion, what has been the role of Okaloosa’s public transit services? ........................... 57 Figure 4-5: Do you think transit services can be a viable alternative to access jobs/services on and off military bases? ................................................................................................................................................. 58 Figure 4-6: Do you think the current fixed-route system should serves additional major employers and activity centers? ............................................................................................................................................... 58 Figure 4-7: What improvement do you believe is most important to attract more riders? ........................... 58 Figure 4-8: In the future, what should be the primary role of public transit in Okaloosa? ............................. 59 Figure 4-9: Stakeholder Responses on Transit Funding ................................................................................... 61 Figure 4-10: Bus Stop Location at Walmart in Fort Walton Beach .................................................................. 63 Figure 4-11: Bus Stop on Hollywood Boulevard and Memorial Parkway, Fort Walton Beach ........................ 63 Figure 4-12: How much awareness is there in the community about transit/public transportation?............ 70 Figure 4-13: What do you think of EC Rider transit service? ........................................................................... 70 Figure 4-14: Is traffic congestion a problem in Okaloosa County? .................................................................. 71 Figure 4-15: What role do you see transit playing in alleviating traffic congestion? ...................................... 71 Figure 4-16: Have you used EC Rider transit service?...................................................................................... 72 Figure 4-17: Do you think there is a need for additional transit service in Okaloosa County? ....................... 72 Figure 4-18: What benefits of transit do you believe could occur as a result of additional service?.............. 72 Figure 4-19: What type of additional transit service you would most like to see? ......................................... 73 Figure 4-20: What do you think is a reasonable one-way fare to pay for transit service? .............................. 73 Figure 4-21: Do you believe there is a willingness in the community to consider additional local funding for transit? ............................................................................................................................................................. 74 Figure 4-22: Are you willing to pay additional local taxes for an expanded transit system? .......................... 74 Figure 4-23: What is your home ZIP code? ...................................................................................................... 75 ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan iv  Table of Contents Figure 4-24: What is your work ZIP code? ....................................................................................................... 75 Figure 4-25: What is your age? ........................................................................................................................ 76 Figure 4-26: What is the range of your total household income for 2015? .................................................... 76 Figure 4-27: Favorability of each proposed improvement to expand/improve existing services ................... 78 Figure 4-28: Favorability of each proposed improvement to expand transit system ..................................... 79 Figure 4-29: Top three major roads/areas where more transit service or improvements needed ................ 79 Figure 4-30: What type of place are you coming from now? .......................................................................... 81 Figure 4-31: What is the ZIP code of the place are you coming from now? .................................................... 82 Figure 4-32: How do you get to the first bus stop for this one-way trip? ....................................................... 82 Figure 4-33: List all the bus routes in the exact order you will use to make this one-way trip. ...................... 83 Figure 4-34: What type of place are you going to now?.................................................................................. 83 Figure 4-35: What is the ZIP code of the place are you going to now? ........................................................... 84 Figure 4-36: How did you get to the first bus stop for this one-way trip? ...................................................... 84 Figure 4-37: What type of fare did you pay for this one-way trip? ................................................................. 85 Figure 4-38: How many days a week do you usually take buses? ................................................................... 85 Figure 4-39: How long have you been using EC Rider?.................................................................................... 86