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

County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan D-32 Appendix D: Fixed-Route and Paratransit Route Efficiency Review Route Efficiency Analysis Summary The following is a summary of facts and recommendations that apply to the entire EC Rider system. Route Deviations Issue EC Rider allows ADA-eligible passengers to request a route deviation for pick-up 2 hours in advance of the passenger’s actual pick-up time. However, this ADA-eligible passengers’ advantage has been abused by the normal riders, which causes the low on-time performance for some routes (e.g. Routes 3 and 14). Based on this fact, it is recommended that EC Rider requires proof of ADA eligibility when receiving a call for route deviation requests. A report of the ADA card number when calling for deviation requests should suffice this requirement. Marketing and Branding This is the most frequently referenced issue by the majority of bus operators. The low awareness of the public transportation service in Okaloosa County is a major hindrance in attracting new transit users. EC Rider needs to further examine this topic and implement continuous marketing campaigns to promote the awareness of EC Rider service. Branding is another issue that should be noted. A successful branding, including the new system name, logos, color, and etc., is an essential component of all the marketing strategies for achieving better awareness from general public. Before the transfer of ownership in October, 2015, Okaloosa County Transit system logos and unique color schemes were painted on the body of the bus vehicles. However, due to the ownership change of transit system, the original system name, logo, and colors were no longer allowed to be used, and logo and color scheme painting was removed from the exterior of bus vehicles. It is imperative for EC Rider to come up with branding strategies so a new logo and colors can be used and painted on the bus vehicle to distinguish EC Rider bus vehicles with other personal vehicles. The successful branding, combined with other marketing strategies, can be a very important stimulus to achieve higher route-by-route productivity. Fares and Passes The lack of a daily pass option makes it inconvenient for passengers who make multiple trips per day. This issue was mentioned by several bus operators. It is recommended that a daily pass be introduced. This could potentially eliminate the need for transfer tickets. ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan D-33 Appendix D: Fixed-Route and Paratransit Route Efficiency Review New Express Service Route 33 currently provides an early morning trip from Uptown Station to Destin for commuters. This bus operates at capacity, thus demonstrating the success and need for this trip. However, those workers for the early morning trip need to make three transfers to return to Uptown Station (Routes 33, 32, 30, and 20) in the evening. An express service that eliminates transfers for the late evening trip from Destine to Uptown Station would help those commuters. System-wide Route Efficiency Summary Operating Cost per Trip Operating expense per passenger trip measures the efficiency of transporting riders, both on how service is delivered and the market demands for the service. When excluding inflation, the operating expense per passenger trip in Okaloosa County decreased from $6.39 in 2009 to $6.28 in 2013, or 1.7% overall. The operating expense per passenger trip has declined since peaking in 2010, suggesting efficiency improvements during this period. Figure D-12: Operating Expense per Passenger Trip $8 $7 $6 $5 $4 Operating Expense per Passenger Trip $3 Oper. Exp. per Passenger Trip (in 2009$) $2 $1 $0 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Fiscal Year  Operating Expense per Revenue Hour The operating expense per revenue hour measures the efficiency of transporting riders when factoring vehicle speed. In Okaloosa County, the operating expense per revenue hour increased 6.9% between 2009 and 2013. While taking inflation into consideration, the operating expense per revenue hour decreased overall by 1.7% during this five-year period. EC Rider’s operating expense per revenue mile is 50.4% below ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan D-34 Appendix D: Fixed-Route and Paratransit Route Efficiency Review the peer group average, indicating that EC Rider’s service is operating less efficient, on average, than its peer group. Figure D-13: Okaloosa County Operating Expense per Revenue Hour $36 $35 $34 $33 $32 $31 $30 $29 Operating Expense per Revenue Hour $28 Oper. Exp. per Revenue Hour (in 2009$) $27 $26 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Fiscal Year Paratransit Efficiency Assessment Okaloosa Paratransit Services Overview The Okaloosa County BOCC provides public transportation to the County’s TD population. When serving TD populations, priority is given to older adults and persons with disabilities or who are economically disadvantaged in Okaloosa County. TD service also is provided based on needs; medical needs and life-sustaining activities are given higher priority than business or recreation. Service for the TD population is funded by the FTA, FDOT, Florida CTD, local governments, and social service agencies. The remainder of this section reviews the efficiency of this service. Paratransit Efficiency Review In addition to the fixed-route efficiency analysis, an assessment of current paratransit services operated in Okaloosa County also was conducted. The emphasis in this effort was to assess the transit market to identify opportunities to transition demand response riders to fixed-route bus services. The project team worked with EC Rider staff for their input and also gathered existing paratransit demand data for Okaloosa County. Current transit performance and operations and operating policies related to paratransit were also reviewed to identify any issues/opportunities. In addition, the on-board rider surveys completed under the TDP effort as well as data from the annual TD rider survey conducted by the Okaloosa-Walton TPO was also ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan D-35 Appendix D: Fixed-Route and Paratransit Route Efficiency Review reviewed for demographic trends and travel behavioral patterns. The efficiency analysis conducted as part of this effort is summarized in the remainder of this report. It should be noted that paratransit data is only reported at the system level as no designated fixed- routes/schedules are used for providing door-to-door type paratransit services. According to the Florida CTD, the 2014 TD population in Okaloosa County was estimated at 62,277 persons, and the unduplicated passenger head count or individual persons provided paratransit transportation services was 5,812. Table D-2 below presents the trend in the TD population and TD passengers in Okaloosa County between 2012 and 2014. As shown, although the County’s potential TD population increased overall by 2.4% during this three-year period, there was a significant decrease in the number of TD passengers served from 2012 to 2014. While this is primarily due to funding shortfalls due to the Medicare funding cuts that occurred statewide, as Florida experienced a decrease of 19.7% in TD trips statewide, some of the reductions may be attributed to potential shifts to fixed-route services. Table D-2: Okaloosa County TD Population and Passenger Trends Year 2012 2014 % Change (2012–2014) Potential TD Population 60,814 62,277 2.4% TD Passengers Served 6,682 5,812 -13.0% Source: Florida CTD 2012-2014 AOR Table D-3 summarizes the TD trips by purpose and passenger type that occurred between 2013 and 2014. Medical and employment are the most frequent trip purposes. Table D-3: Okaloosa TD Trips by Purpose (2013–2014) Trip Purpose Trips % Distribution Medical 63,153 47.0% Employment 48,371 36.0% Education/training 6,718 5.0% Nutritional 12,092 9.0% Life-sustaining/other 4,032 3.0% Total 134,366 100.0% Source: Florida CTD 2014 AOR ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan D-36 Appendix D: Fixed-Route and Paratransit Route Efficiency Review Table D-4 below shows trips by passenger type and as shown, low-income persons (26%) and older adults (16.8%) made the most trips outside of passengers classified under “Other.” Children were another large proportion of passengers, representing 12.8% of trips. Table D-4: Okaloosa TD Trips by Trip Type (2013–2014) Trip Purpose Trips % Distribution Older adults 22,582 16.8% Children 17,306 12.9% Low-income 34,956 26.0% With disabilities 16,062 12.0% Low-income/with disabilities 14,172 10.6% Other 29,288 21.8% Total 134,366 100.0% Source: Florida CTD 2014 AOR Paratransit Rider Survey In an effort to monitor the services and quality assurance provided to the transportation disadvantaged by the Community Transportation Coordinator (CTC), a survey of TD riders is conducted annually by the Okaloosa-Walton TPO in collaboration with WFRPC, CTC, and LCB. According to the 2016 survey, the majority of TD trips (42%) were for medical purposes, as shown in the Figure D-14. This is expected as typically, majority of TD trips tend to be for medical purposes. However, it is noteworthy that 36% of trips were for work purpose, indicating that some of these trip may be served instead by EC Rider fixed-route transit service, which typically serves most of the major employment areas/corridors in Okaloosa County. ACCESS EC RIDER | Okaloosa County’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan D-37 Appendix D: Fixed-Route and Paratransit Route Efficiency Review Figure D-14: