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HomeMy Public PortalAbout14) 10A Ridesharing Partnership to Complement the Currect Dial-A-Ride ProgramAGENDA ITEM 10.A. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT MEMORANDUM DATE : July 17 , 2018 TO: The Honorable City Council FROM: Bryan Cook , City Manager Via : Michael D. Forbes , Community Development Director By: Ashley Avery , Management Analyst SUBJECT : PUBLIC SECTOR RIDESHARING PARTNERSHIP TO COMPLEMENT THE CURRENT DIAL -A-RIDE PROGRAM RECOMMENDATION : The City Council is requested to provide direction to staff regard ing interest in obta ining a public sector ridesharing partnersh ip with a private rideshare company to complement the cu rrent Dial-A-Ride (DAR) program provided by the City . BACKGROUND: 1. In June 2018, C ity Council approved the Third Amendment to the Agreement to Provide Services w ith Southland Transit, Inc . for DAR transportation servi ces for a period of six mo nth s a nd directed staff to develop a nd issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) for DAR and oth e r transpo rt ati o n programs in Janua ry 2019. 2 . In the past few years several ci ties in the United States have entered into publ ic sector ridesharing partnerships with private rideshare companies . These partnersh ip s enable public agencies to s ub sidize the cost of rides , making them more affordable to e ligible users. This has allowed some cities to reduce their DAR prog rams . ANALYSIS : The City of Temp le City curre nt ly contra cts with Southland Transit , Inc . fo r DAR transportation services . Th e DAR program provides transportation to Templ e City sen iors City Council July 17, 2018 Page 2 of 3 and disabled residents . The fare is 50 cents per pick up and uses ADA accessible vehicles . Eligible residents may take DAR anywhere within Temple City for any reason and may take trips to the surrounding cities of Arcadia , El Monte , Rosemead , and San Gabriel for limited purposes . This service is available Monday through Friday from 7 :00 a.m. to 8 :00 p .m ., Saturday from 9:00a.m . to 7 :00p.m., Sunday from 8 :30a.m . to 6 :30 p.m., and holidays from 9:00a .m. to 5:00p.m . The City currently pays an hourly rate of $64 .84/hour for DAR services. Based on 2017 data provided by Southland Transit, Inc ., DAR in Temple City averages about 33 passengers per day, with less than 1 person per day requiring an ADA accessible vehicle . Some cities have found the DAR service to be costly and have opted to use a private rideshare company to provide affordable transportation for their residents . The cities subsidize the cost of a ride so that eligible residents may ride anywhere within a predetermined service area for a reduced rate . According to Metro , the City may pay for a rideshare subsidy program with funds from Prop C , Measure M, Measure R, and potentially Prop A (although Metro d id not recommend its usage for this purpose). Currently , the City has available funds from Prop C to use for this program . The largest app based rideshare companies in the Los Angeles area are Lyft and Uber. Customers can request a ride at any time through the use of the ir respective smartphone apps . The companies claim that public sector partnersh ips with them can cut transportation costs for cities , encourage the use of public transit , and significantly reduce traffic congestion . Partnering with a rideshare company could drastically reduce the need and cost for DAR services as most passengers do not require ADA accessible veh icles . Locally , the City of Monrovia has partnered with Lyft to provide rides for everyone within Monrovia 's predetermined service area . Monrovia staff stated that it was the growing concerns about rapid population growth and traffic mitigation that led to the decision to partner with a private rideshare company . Monrovia has found this program (GoMonrovia) to be much more cost effective than their DAR services and DAR was reduced to residents requiring ADA accessible vehicles only . Temple City does not have a major transit station or any eas ily access i ble public transportation to get to nearby transit stations . A rideshare partnership may encourage increased use of public transportation. A partnership may also be effective for decreasing parking demands in the downtown area. However, there are some significant considerations to implementi ng a public rideshare partnership . • The City will have limited control over the rideshare company and very l im ited access to any of its data . City Council July 17, 2018 Page 3 of 3 • Based on the techn ology that rides hare compan ies currently use, th e scope of the program can not be limited to just seniors or residents . Anyone within Temp le City's pre-determined boundaries will be able to receive subsidized rides . • Cost management must be considered . If the program is popular, the cost of the amount of rides taken may exceed the program 's available funds . Defining geographical boundari es for subsidized rides will be a very important component in managing program cost. • The program must be able to operate on its own . The users of the program will be solely responsible for appropriately utilizing this service . City staff will not be able to request rides, make payments , address customer service issues , or act as an intermediary on behalf of the public. Users will have to use the app to request rides and must contact the rideshare company directly for any other issues . In its initial stages a rideshare partnership should not be viewed as a direct substitute to the traditional DAR service , but as an alternative to it. As it is not known how quickly current DAR users will adopt using rideshare instead of DAR. This program should also not be considered as a traffi c mitigation measure . As some studies have shown , rideshare companies may be having a negative impa ct on traffic congestion . However, it may be viewed as a method for potential parking mitigation . CITY STRATEGIC GOALS: Subsidizing a rideshare program in Temple City is cons isten t with the City's strategic goal of Economic Development. FISCAL IMPACT: The fiscal impact of th is service is not able to be determined at this time, as it depends of the scope of the rideshare partnership program . Temple City currently pays $64 .84/hour for DAR services per the current six month extension agreement with Southland Transit, Inc . A rideshare partnership could potentially redu ce the amount of DAR services currently provided . ATTACHMENTS: None