Agenda Item Name:
Title
Regional Transit Service FY22 Annual Service Contract and Potential Enhancements
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Presenter:
Chris Dawson, AICP, Transportation Planning Manager, x5211
Description:
Presentation on current RTS service funded by Alachua County, two recent service enhancement requests, and potential for fare free service
Recommended Action:
Recommended Action
Provide direction to Staff on funding for RTS for FY22
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Prior Board Motions:
N/A
Fiscal Consideration:
Fiscal Consideration
FY21 budget for RTS service was $1,056,426 in account 008.79.7940.544.34.00. Proposed FY22 cost for transit service would be $1,086,501.
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Background:
Each year the Board enters into a one year contract with the Regional Transit System to provide transit service within the unincorporated area. The County funds a portion of several routes. Additional routes and service enhancements are also funded by the University of Florida and Santa Fe College. The current proposed contract amount is $1,086,501 for FY22. Additionally, the proposed contract would be for two years, providing for better planning for the City and County.
On January 26, 2020, the Board received from the School Board of Alachua County a request to fund an extension of Route 75 to support the relocation of students from Terwilliger Elementary to Elementary School “I”. Staff believes altering the existing Route 75 would not support either existing users of Route 75, or students travelling to and from Elementary School “I”. This item proposes a new route, run by the Regional Transit System and funded by Alachua County, to support students and families travelling to and from Elementary School “I”. At this time, the City is not proposing to fund any portion of the route. The cost would be $462,726 per year.
The Board has received, from the RTS Citizen’s Advisory Board, a recommendation to extend Route 13 to service Prairie View Apartments. After consultation with RTS, the cost of this route enhancement would be $109,265 annually.
Finally, the Board requested information about fare free service on RTS for seniors and school-age children. The cost of fare-free service for those groups would be approximately $230,000 per year systemwide. The Board also inquired about making RTS fare-free for all users. The costs of this would depend on how much ridership increased as a result. An increase of 20% would result in system costs of approximately $23.5 million. If the Commission wishes to move forward with funding fare-free transit for seniors and school-age children, the Commission would need to identify funds in the budget.