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

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Fiscal Year ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan A-19  APPENDIX B: PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT AND SUPPORTING MATERIALS ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan B-1  Appendix B: Public Involvement and Supporting Materials ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan B-2  Appendix B: Public Involvement and Supporting Materials ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan B-3  Appendix B: Public Involvement and Supporting Materials ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan B-4  Appendix B: Public Involvement and Supporting Materials ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan B-5  Appendix B: Public Involvement and Supporting Materials ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan B-6  Appendix B: Public Involvement and Supporting Materials ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan B-7  Appendix B: Public Involvement and Supporting Materials ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan B-8  Appendix B: Public Involvement and Supporting Materials ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan B-9  Appendix B: Public Involvement and Supporting Materials ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan B-10  Appendix B: Public Involvement and Supporting Materials ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan B-11  Appendix B: Public Involvement and Supporting Materials ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan B-12  Appendix B: Public Involvement and Supporting Materials ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan B-13  Appendix B: Public Involvement and Supporting Materials ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan B-14  Appendix B: Public Involvement and Supporting Materials ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan B-15  Appendix B: Public Involvement and Supporting Materials ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan B-16  Appendix B: Public Involvement and Supporting Materials ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan B-17  Appendix B: Public Involvement and Supporting Materials ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan B-18  Appendix B: Public Involvement and Supporting Materials ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan B-19  Appendix B: Public Involvement and Supporting Materials ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan B-20  Appendix B: Public Involvement and Supporting Materials ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan B-21  Appendix B: Public Involvement and Supporting Materials ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan B-22  APPENDIX C: ANNUAL FAREBOX RECOVERY RATIO REPORT (AUGUST 2016) ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan C-1  Appendix C: Annual Farebox Recovery Ratio Report Current Farebox Recovery Ratio The farebox recovery ratio for EC Rider, the public transportation provider for Okaloosa County, was 25.67 percent in FY 2012. The background with regards to the farebox recovery ratio includes the following. PRIOR YEAR FARE STUDIES AND CHANGES Okaloosa County’s last fare increase occurred January 1, 2009 to bring Okaloosa County closer in line with nearby and peer systems and to offset increased operating costs and decreased funds. Additionally, Routes 11 and 12 in Crestview and Route 33 in Destin (Crystal Beach) were eliminated due to the lack of appropriate funding levels and the lower ridership numbers. Other fare changes included the requirement for riders must show an OCT Reduced Fair ID Card in order to qualify for a reduced fare. Medicare (not Medicaid) cards are accepted as the proof of eligibility for seniors. In addition military personnel no longer receive free rides beginning January 1, 2009. Electronic fareboxes were installed March 2009. EC Rider has not conducted any fare studies or changes since then. PROPOSED FARE CHANGES FOR THE UPCOMING YEARS EC Rider is not planning to implement a fare increase at this time. STRATEGIES THAT WILL AFFECT THE FAREBOX RECOVERY RATIO The following is a list of strategies EC Rider will employ to improve the farebox recovery ratio: 1. Determine most cost-effective service type on all major corridors, given demand, routings, and coverage areas. 2. Increase ridership by increasing average frequency and improving fare collection options and fare media accessibility for riders. 3. Increase ridership by transitioning paratransit service patrons to fixed-route service. 4. Minimize costs required to operate and administer transportation services. 5. Continuously monitor performance to determine if adjustments need to be made. 6. Conducted bus on-board surveys to gather valuable information on how to make services more convenient and useful to patrons. 7. Strive to increase ridership by enhancing marketing activities. ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan C-2 Appendix D: Fixed-Route and Paratransit Route Efficiency Review ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan D-1 Appendix D: Fixed-Route and Paratransit Route Efficiency Review Fixed-Route and Paratransit Efficiency Assessment As part of the Access EC Rider TDP, an efficiency review also was conducted for the existing fixed-route and paratransit services in Okaloosa County. This report summarizes this effort, which was conducted using data collected specifically for this effort as well as data and analysis performed as part of the TDP to evaluate fixed-route services operated by Okaloosa County. The project team analyzed route and segment level performance and the system-wide performance standards, including service effectiveness (e.g., trips per hour) and service efficiency measures (e.g., cost per trip and hour). In addition, a review of paratransit services was conducted, as summarized later in this report. Fixed-Route Service Overview Transit services in Okaloosa County have been provided by Okaloosa County since 1987. Okaloosa County Transit, formerly branded as “Ride the WAVE,” rebranded its transit services in 2015 to “Emerald Coast Rider,” also known as EC Rider. EC Rider offers fixed-route bus service countywide to Crestview, Niceville, Fort Walton Beach, and Destin as well as an express bus route called the Wave Express, which runs north- south between Crestview and Fort Walton Beach. The hub of the fixed-route services is located in the Uptown Station, an outdoor mall considered to be the town center of Fort Walton Beach (see Section 3, Figure 3-1). EC Rider also offers limited paratransit service to Okaloosa County residents who are unable to access fixed-route bus service, with cost based on distance traveled. Reservations are required to schedule a ride through paratransit service. Currently, EC Rider provides 10 fixed routes in Okaloosa County—5 that serve Fort Walton Beach, 1 that serves Okaloosa Island, 3 that serve Destin/South Walton, and 1 that connects Crestview to Fort Walton Beach. The routes in Fort Walton Beach have headways that range from one to four hours, and most operate between 7:00 AM and no later than 7:45 PM on weekdays; no weekend service is currently provided. The routes in Destin/South Walton and Okaloosa Island typically have 60-minute headways, although Route 30 increases its headways to 30-minutes in the summer. The Wave Express (Route 14) operates one trip during the AM peak, noon, and PM peak hour (3 trips total). The regular one-way fare for EC Rider is $1.50, and the regular one-way fare for the Wave Express is $2.00, or $30.00 for a regular monthly pass and $45.00 for an Express monthly pass. A 50% discount for the regular fare or monthly pass on both the Wave and the Wave Express is given to seniors and persons with disabilities. Table D-1 shows characteristics of routes currently operated by the Emerald Coast Rider. ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan D-1 Appendix D: Fixed-Route and Paratransit Route Efficiency Review Table D-1: EC Rider Route Inventory and Characteristics Route Key Location/Corridors Served Freq. Hours No. Fort Walton Beach–connects NW Florida State College to Fort Walton Beach Medical Center, Uptown Station. Stops at Green Acres, YMCA 7:00 AM– 1 75 mins Choctaw Village, Teresa Village, Falcon Ridge Apartments, Mariner 7:30 PM Plaza. Fort Walton Beach–connects Mary Esther Post Office to Uptown 7:10 AM– 2 Station along Hollywood Blvd. Stops at Mary Esther Library, Santa Rosa 60 mins 6:46 PM Mall, Fort Walton High School. Fort Walton Beach–connects NW Florida State College to White- 60–180 6:30 AM– 3 Wilson Medical Center, Walmart, Santa Rosa Mall. Stops at Pier 1, mins 7:42 PM Walgreens, YMCA, Green Acres. Fort Walton Beach–connects Walmart transfer station to Uptown 6:50 AM– 4 70 mins Station. Stops Florida Dept. of Health and Sun Plaza. 7:28 PM Fort Walton Beach–runs primarily along SR 85, connects Santa Rosa 7:50 AM– 5 Mall to Walmart transfer station, YMCA, White-Wilson Medical Center, 4 hrs 4:55 PM CHOICE High School and Technical Center 14 WAVE Connects Crestview City Hall to Uptown Station, limited stops at NW 6:20 AM– Florida State College (Niceville), Niceville City Hall, VA Clinic, Shalimar 4 hrs Express 5:55 PM Court House Annex. Okaloosa Island–runs along Santa Rosa Blvd, US Highway 98, and Eglin Summer– Parkway. Stops at Uptown Station, Fort Walton Beach Landing, area 30 mins Not 20 hotels, Gulfarium, Tourist Development Council Visitor’s Center,