Minutes

Public Transit Advisory Committee Meeting: June 20, 2006

4:10 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Public Transit Division Office
933 New Hampshire Street

Members present: Chairman Danny Kaiser, Jessica Mortinger, Marian Hukle, Marc Epard, Alan Black, Ann Foster, Martin Miller, Richard Heckler

Members absent: Darlene Mortell

Staff present: Public Transit Administrator (PTA) Cliff Galante, Mike Sweeten, Emily Lubliner and Wendy Koerner

Public present: Mark Anderson, Saunny Scott, Marion Babb, CL Maurer, Dan Boyle

---

Call to Order

Chairman Danny Kaiser called the meeting to order at 4:10 p.m.

Public Comment

Saunny Scott said she was impressed with last Monday's public meeting with the consultant.

Agenda Review

Danny Kaiser said he will insert an announcement at the end of the meeting. Introductions were made around the table for the benefit of new PTAC and staff members.

Approval of February PTAC Board Minutes

Jessica Mortinger moved to approve April 18, 2006 minutes; Ann Foster seconded. Minutes were approved.

Public Transit Administrator Update

a. Public Relations Specialist

PTA introduced Emily Lubliner as the new Public Relations Specialist for the transit system. Emily started June 1st, and in her first two weeks, she was instrumental in preparing for the Carpool Connection kickoff and media release, and our June 8 "Dump the Pump Day" campaign.

b. Ridership and Other Performance Statistics

PTA said ridership in May 2006 increased 24.9% over May 2005. This is a tremendous accomplishment, and Emily will be doing a press release. Although we don't have specific data on the cause of the increase, PTA suspects rising fuel prices had a lot to do with it.

PTA said that on May 13th we offered a free ridership day for the Helmet Fair which was a very successful event. June 8 was "Dump the Pump Day" and approximately 400 transit agencies across the country participated in this national event. We had the Mayor do a proclamation, and free rides were offered, which resulted in record fixed-route ridership of 2038 passengers for the promotion.

PTA explained that May expenses appear unusually low due to the fact that one progress payment to MV did not hit the month's books. The progress payment will appear on the July reports, which will undoubtedly make them appear inflated.

c. Increase in T Lift Revenue Hours

Paratransit was up 11.2%, as well. The City Commission approved an increase in paratransit service to meet increasing demand for service in the evenings and on Saturdays. This will add an additional 24 hours of service each week. Also, the City Commission approved amending the MV contract to add an additional road supervisor starting in July.

d. Ridesharing "Carpool Connection" Program

PTA said that as of last week a total of 350 people had signed up for Carpool Connection, and approximately 50 of them were from Lawrence. We won't know how many matches are made unless we do a survey of registrants in the future. As an incentive to register, prize packs will be awarded to individuals picked at random who have signed up for the service. With Emily's assistance, radio spots were developed for Kansas Public Radio, to help get the word out. In addition, PTA approached Topeka Transit to see if they are interested in partnering in the program. Inter-city transportation has always been a goal, but data supporting this has not been available. As the Carpool Connection database develops and grows, valuable information on destinations, travel times, individual preferences…etc., will be collected for use in future planning activities.

e. Transit Amenities Update

PTA advised the board that the city was not awarded a downtown improvement grant that we would have used to improve the downtown transfer locations. We will use our FTA amenities grant to purchase and install larger transit shelters for downtown. Route map decals have been ordered and should be in June 21. Marc and Marian are in the process of evaluating proposed bus stop locations suggested by drivers and the public.

T Lift Arrival Notification Policy

Mike Sweeten updated the board on the trial period of providing additional service over our door-to-door policy in regards to the Schiefelbusch Clinic. Staff distributed a handout of language drafted as an amendment to the Driver Assistance Policy, for placement in the T Lift manual, regarding the provision of additional service over and above our door-to-door policy.

Marc Epard moved to adopt the language as drafted; Marian Hukle seconded. No public comment was provided. The motion passed.

LMH Expansion Project

CL Maurer, LandPlan Engineering, provided an update on the evolving plans for the expansion project at LMH. The proposed project will affect our existing Route 3 service. LandPlan had approached the city and transit to see if there were objections to closing Arkansas Street, between 3rd & 4th Streets, to use as parking as long as considerations or adjustments were made to accommodate transit. PTA said some options include the creation of an improved bus stop on 3rd Street, and/or rerouting Route 3 around the north side of the hospital to Maine Street, which would improve service to Bert Nash. PTA said that as long as this route would always be treated as public right of way, there should not be a problem. Staff will draft a letter to the City Commission giving their approval to relocate the route through the north parking area of the hospital, to Maine Street.

City/KU Transit Service Coordination Feasibility Update

Danny Kaiser introduced Dan Boyle, of Dan Boyle & Associates, who is in the process of performing the feasibility study in regards to LTS/KU coordination. Dan explained there are two stages to the transit study, the first being a classic study, evaluating current routes, ridership, and public perception of the system. Several public meetings, as well as meetings with KU provosts, MV operators and staff, the City Manager, Kansas Department of Transportation, KU on Wheels, and Lawrence Bus Company, have been held to determine what is desired by all stakeholders in regards to a coordinated system.

The second stage will be to develop a plan(s) for a coordination and/or consolidation of the systems. Dan said he will look at what other agencies and universities have done in terms of coordination and what has made their efforts successful. In addition, the consultant welcomes input from any of the board members.

Some of the items people have suggested for the system are more route frequency, a north-south connector west of Iowa Street, service later in the evening and Sunday service.

Schedule July Sub-Committee Meeting

PTA said he will get with Marc, Marian, Ann and Richard after the meeting to set up a time to meet.

Public Comment

Marian Babb asked if we are going to start up travel training again now that Emily is on staff. PTA said we will revive the Saturday workshops, but we still do one-on-one training when requested.

Saunny Scott said the only negative comments she heard at Monday's public meeting for a coordinated transit development plan were in relation to the condition of KU on Wheels buses. The she asked about the LMH expansion and wondered if passes could be offered to people to promote T ridership and help eliminate parking woes at the hospital.

Tentative Next Meeting Date

August 15, 2006

Danny Kaiser Announcement

Danny informed the board that he is assuming the duties of assistant director for the parking/transit department of KU, and he is stepping down as PTAC board chairman. Vice-chair Marian Hukle will move up into the position of board chair. A new vice-chair will be selected at the next PTAC meeting.

Adjournment

Meeting was adjourned at 5:44 p.m.

— Submitted by Wendy Koerner
Approved at August 15, 2006 PTAC meeting