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

park-and-ride/shared-lot facilities be provided at the following locations: o SR 20/SR 293 before Mid-Bay Bridge o Entrance of Eglin Air Force Base West Gate The Cost Feasible Plan includes funding for signage or other minor improvements that are likely needed to establish these facilities.  Bicycle Access/Infrastructure – Improvements to ensure that bicyclists have safe access to transit stops and buses as well as the necessary infrastructure, such as bicycle racks, at bus stops and on buses are identified for funding in the 10-year plan. ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan 148  Section 9: 10-Year Transit Development Plan  Building Improvements – Miscellaneous building improvements and a new equipment storage building were identified by Okaloosa County staff as a capital need.  Other Miscellaneous Capital Improvements – Okaloosa County staff identified a number of other miscellaneous capital needs, including hardware, communications/software, ITS needs, security technologies, and equipment to be funded in the 10-year plan. Other Improvements Other improvements not necessarily route-specific or capital-related are summarized below. These improvements would support service needs and were indicated from input from public involvement efforts. These improvements are not specifically included as cost line items in the 10-year plan, but could be prioritized for funding within the 10 years as desired.  Shared-use park-and-ride agreements – The recommended plan assumes establishing shared‐use lot agreements in areas of the county where new transit service might be established, such as Niceville, in conjunction with the proposed regional express services.  EC Rider rebranding – Consider rebranding EC Rider for a uniform theme and logo throughout the EC Rider website, buses, bus stops, and bus schedule.  Improve EC Rider schedule – Consider overhauling the EC Rider schedule with easy-to-read timetables for all routes, a system map with correct route alignments and hours of service for all routes.  Expand EC Rider’s marketing program – Continue to expand marketing program, particularly for new service areas.  Promote/expand TDM strategies – Continue to coordinate outreach with WFRPC’s rideOn program.  Establish a route-level performance monitoring program – Performance monitoring programs track the performance and efficiency of routes and the system as a whole and are a tool used by transit agencies for ensuring the provision of the most efficient and effective transit service. Appendix F provides the recommended program for Okaloosa County to track performance of the new fixed and flex routes. The methodology uses specific route- level data and identifies three levels of performance thresholds for tracking routes for potential ongoing monitoring as well as potential modifications and/or discontinuations. 10-Year Financial Plan This section presents the capital and operating cost assumptions as well as the costs and revenues associated with the 10-year Cost Feasible Plan. The summary shows the service, capital, and other improvements that can be programmed and funded within the next 10 years using the revenues already programmed annually for the current service as well as new revenues to fund the proposed service expansion. ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan 149  Section 9: 10-Year Transit Development Plan Cost Assumptions Numerous cost assumptions were made to forecast transit costs for the 10-year period. These operating costs assumptions are based on a variety of factors, including service performance data from the current fixed-route transit service, information from other recent Florida TDPs, and data obtained from Okaloosa County. These assumptions are summarized as follows: Operating Cost Assumptions  Based on inflation rates used in transit plans throughout Florida and standard FDOT budgeting practices, an average annual inflation rate of 3% was used for all operating cost projections.  Annual operating cost for existing services is based on the proposed FY 2017 EC Rider operating budget.  The proposed fixed-route service improvements is based on the total proposed revenue hours and operating cost per hour.  The operating cost per revenue hour for existing services and future operating enhancements is assumed at $37.87 (in 2016$). The rate was derived using historical and current cost per revenue hour data from the National Transit Database (NTD) and annual inflation factor of 3%. Capital Cost Assumptions  Vehicles are assumed to cost $100,000 based on information provided by Okaloosa County staff.  No additional vehicle purchases are assumed for improvements to the existing services. It is assumed that new vehicles will be purchased to support the expanded services and replacement vehicles will be purchased based on the system’s vehicle replacement program.  Based on the data available from recent transit plans in Florida as well as data published by FDOT, an annual growth rate of 3% was used for capital cost projections. Revenue Assumptions  Existing operating revenues will fund the existing services as well as proposed improvements to existing services, including the additional evening trip and Saturday service.  Section 5311 program funds, which are specific to rural areas, will be used to partially fund (50%) the Crestview Circulator Flex Route with local contribution from Crestview used to fund the remainder. It is assumed that fare revenue collected from this new service will be used to offset the required federal and local contributions.  The Eglin-Destin-Niceville Service Improvements package is assumed to be funded with a special assessment and fare revenue generated by the new services. ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan 150  Section 9: 10-Year Transit Development Plan  FDOT Service Development funds will be used to partially fund (50%) the Eglin Internal Circulator for the first three years, with Okaloosa County contributing the reminder (less fare revenue). After three years, this service is no longer eligible for Service Development Funds; therefore, it is assumed that Okaloosa County will fund the route in its entirety or another local revenue source will need to be identified. It is assumed that fare revenue collected from this new service will be used to offset the required state and local contributions.  The capital costs will be funded entirely with anticipated Section 5307 funds projected to be available by Okaloosa County. All capital needs, with the exception of the new transfer facility, will be funded within the first 7 years of the 10-year plan, providing a fund balance of approximately $4.03 million over the 10-year period. This fund balance could then be applied towards the estimated $5 million cost of the transfer facility that is currently unfunded. 10-Year Cost/Revenues Using the above operating and capital cost and revenue assumptions, the Access EC Rider TDP Cost Feasible Plan was developed. Figure 9-1 show the operating and capital costs for the plan, and Figure 9-2 shows the total costs and revenues for the next 10 years. The detailed 10‐year financial plan is presented in Table 9‐2. Figure 9-1: Annual Operating and Capital Costs (millions) $6 Operating Capital $5 $1.6 $1.3 $1.3 $0.3 $4 $0.5 $0.9 $3 $0.7 $4.2 $4.3 $4.5 $4.6 $2 $3.7 $4.1 $3.5 $3.6 $2.6 $3.0 $1 $0 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan 151  Section 9: 10-Year Transit Development Plan Figure 9-2: Annual Costs and Revenues (millions) $7.0 Revenue Costs $6.0 $5.7 $5.8 $5.0 $5.4 $5.2 $5.2 $4.8 $5.0 $5.0 $5.0 $4.0 $4.6 $4.7 $4.5 $4.5 $4.6 $4.4 $4.3 $3.9 $4.2 $3.0 $3.7 $3.3 $2.0 $1.0 $0.0 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 10-Year Implementation Plan and Unfunded Needs The implementation plan in Table 9-3 outlines improvements that are included in the Cost Feasilbe Plan from 2017 through 2026 (presented previously in Table 9-2), as well as unfunded needs for FDOT's transportation deficiency assessments. The table also shows the implementation years, the operating and capital costs associated with each improvements, and whether existing or new revenues are anticipated to fund the improvement. It is important to emphasize that the schedule shown in the table does not preclude the opportunity to delay or advance any projects. As priorities change, funding assumptions do not materialize, or more funding becomes available, this project implementation schedule should be adjusted. ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan 152  Section 9: 10-Year Transit Development Plan Table 9-2: 10-Year Costs and Revenues Cost/Revenue 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 10-Year Total Operating Costs Maintain Existing