SOCIAL SERVICES TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY COUNCIL

                        MINUTES                 May 5, 2021

Present              Voting Attendees:

Ted Ceasar                               Consumer

Sarah Enz                                 Area Agency on Aging (AAA)

Mitzi Perez                               ARC Imperial Valley

Raul Cordova                           Work Training Center (WTC)

Kitty Gay                                 Imperial County Public Health (ICPH)

David Aguirre                         CTSA–ICTC

Maricela Galarza                      CTSA–ICTC

Gustavo Gomez                        CTSA–ICTC

                        Non-Voting Attendees:            

Cesar Sanchez                          IVT/IVTAccess/IVTRide/IVTMedtrans

Helio Sanchez                          IVT

                        Jose Guillen                             IVT MedTrans

                        Karla Aguilar                           IVT Ride

1.       Ms. Enz called the meeting to order at 10:01 a.m. A quorum was not present. Introductions were made.

2.       Minutes were reviewed for April 7, 2021. Motion carried forward to next meeting.

3.       CTSA Reports:

Mr. Aguirre had the following updates:

-          The free fares program is ongoing across all services except IVT Medtrans and will continue for a few more months. ICTC will keep everyone updated on the program.

-          AVL CAD project is about 90% completed, still working on minor hardware and software issues. It is expected to roll out around the July and August timeframe.

-          ICTC’s Coordinated Plan is ongoing. Its current phase involves outreach efforts which are taking place; May 5, 7:30 am-10:30 am (Calexico Transit Center, East Third Street), and Thursday, May 6, 3:00 pm-6:00 pm (El Centro Transit Center, Seventh & State Streets).

Ms. Galarza had the following updates:

-          Staff coordinated with Ms. Lopez from the WorkAbility I program at IVROP to conduct several presentations, these will be focused on the disabled high school seniors who are in a transitioning point, nevertheless, continuing school and/or work life, etc. Some presentations were already conducted such as for Central Highschool, Southwest Highschool, and Imperial Highschool. In the next few days, more presentations will be conducted at Calipatria Highschool, Brawley Highschool, and Holtville Highschool. This a great opportunity to reach out to them and present the different transportation options they have.

-          Outreach has been initiated by dropping off brochures and rider guides to schools to make the information available to the students. Staff will begin to drop off brochures to any agency that needs more.

-          Staff is available to conduct presentations via zoom, either to agencies or a group of individuals.

4.       Transit Operator 3rd Quarter Reports:

IV Transit; Mr. H. Sanchez presented the 3rd quarter report for service.

-          From January to March passenger count started to rise.

-          IVT circulators are slowly rising in passenger count, but the Goldline in Brawley has been doing well.

-          There are about 700-900 passengers during the weekdays.

-          There are about 600-700 passengers on Saturday.

-          There are about 175-250 passengers on Sunday.

IVT Access; Mr. C. Sanchez presented the 3rd quarter report for service.

-          The service passenger count is slightly increasing.

-          The service usually has two buses and 1 bus on Sunday. There is very low demand on Sunday. The service usually has 12 passengers per day and 6-7 passengers per day on Saturdays.

-          Dayout continues to be closed, therefore most passengers are using the service for daily necessities. When Dayout begins ridership may rise more.

Ø  Mr. Aguirre clarified that the hour of operations remains the same, nevertheless, is responding by demand. If demand increases resources are available to respond to that demand.

IVT Ride; Ms. Aguilar presented the 3rd quarter report for service.

-          Passenger demand has increased for the following cities: Calexico, El Centro, Heber, and Westshore.

-          Westshore’s service demand to Coachella has increased, in comparison to Brawley during the months of January-March.

Ø  Mr. Aguirre clarified that the hour of operations remains the same, nevertheless, is responding by demand. If demand increases resources are available to respond to that demand.

IVT MedTrans; Mr. Guillen presented the 3rd quarter report for service,

-          There is a slight increase in the passenger count, as more clinics open service may see a continued rise in passengers.

-          There is an updated brochure for service, outreach will be conducted to distribute brochures to clinics and facilities.

-          Service is provided on demand, there are 2 buses and send either bus, 7 am or 10 am, depending on what is needed.

Ø  Mr. Aguirre clarified that 2 buses were modified to work around demand. Although if both were needed, the service is ready to respond. The hours of operation of the service remain the same. ICTC has applied to extend the free fares program, but this time including IVT MedTrans. This will possibly help boost ridership for the service.

Ø  Ms. Gay expressed gratitude towards the grant efforts for free fares. She asked about the duration of these funds.

Ø  Mr. Aguirre added that the funds will possibly cover the program until the end of the year, but it all depends on demand and service response. For example, IVC is set to begin school in August and that ridership accounts for a lot of IVT’s normal passenger count. The cost would go up initially spending the grant quicker.

Ø  Ms. Gay expressed extended gratitude towards ICTC and other agencies that are searching for grant opportunities that benefit individuals. Individuals given the opportunity in a positive aspect to utilizing the service for free will see what a great resource it is.

Ø  Mr. Aguirre expressed gratitude for the support.

5.       General Discussion

-          ICTC is conducting the UTN process, but due to COVID social distancing, a normal public hearing will not be conducted. ICTC has modified the process by creating a survey to collect feedback from the public. This was shared through email blasts, social media, service websites, and on-site on buses. In terms of the public hearing, ICTC is still moving forward with it virtually. More information will be shared as soon as it's determined.

Ø  Ms. Enz asked if there is an estimated date to look forward to.

Ø  Mr. Aguirre added that given that public notice must be posted 10 days before the meeting it is expected to have something scheduled in the next few days. ICTC is expected to complete the process before the end of the fiscal year to be able to include it in the next fiscal year's budget.

6.       Adjournment

-          The meeting adjourned at 10:23 a.m. (Enz), Motion Carried.

-          The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 2, 2021, at the Imperial County Transportation Commission Office, 1503 N. Imperial Ave., Suite 104, El Centro, CA 92243.