SOCIAL SERVICES TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY COUNCIL

                        MINUTES                   February 7, 2018

Present              Voting Attendees:

Ted Ceasar – Chair                   Consumer

Michael L. Hack – Vice-Chair   Consumer

Sonia Silva                               Access to Independence

Erika Martinez                          ARC – Imperial Valley

Raul Cordova                           Work Training Center

Rosie Blankenship                    Area Agency on Aging

Kathi Williams                         CTSA – ICTC

David Aguirre                          CTSA – ICTC

Kathleen Lang                          California Health and Wellness

Victor Torres                            Imperial Valley College

Michelle Soto                           California Children Services (CCS)

Debora Garcia                          Imperial County Public Authority / IHSS

                        Non-Voting Attendees:

                        Peter Pacheco                           Pioneers Memorial Healthcare

Eric Estell                                 IVT/IVT Access/IVT Ride/IVT MedTrans

Cesar Sanchez                          IVT/IVT Access/IVT Ride/IVT MedTrans

                        Karla Aguilar                           IVT/IVT Access/IVT Ride/IVT MedTrans

                        Karla Pacheco                          IVT/IVT Access/IVT Ride/IVT MedTrans

                        Helio Sanchez                          IVT/IVT Access/IVT Ride/IVT MedTrans

                        David Salgado                          Southern California Association of Governments

                        Mark McCumsey                      Caltrans

1.       Mr. Ceasar called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m.  A quorum was present. Introductions were made.

2.       Minutes adopted for January 3, 2018.

3.       CTSA Reports:

Mr. Gonzalez had the following announcements:

-          IVT Ride has made the following service adjustments:

Brawley

·         Maintain one bus with service hours on M – F 7AM to 6PM and the second bus reduce the service hours to 7 AM to 3PM.

·         Reduce the service hours on Saturdays from 7AM to 6PM, to 8AM to 2PM.

Imperial

·         Reduce the four Saturdays a month to two Saturdays a month due to very low ridership (1st and 3rd Saturdays only)

West Shores

·         Provide direct service to the City of Brawley beginning February 27, 2018.

-          Community outreach continues throughout Imperial County.

Ms. Williams had the following announcements:

-          The Short Range Plan is in process. The consultant team will be having bus stop workshops on February the 13th at the locations below and stakeholder meetings with social service agencies at the ICTC offices on February 14, 2018.

o   City of Calexico at 3rd and Paulin

o   City of Calipatria at State Route 111 and Main

o   City of Brawley at South Plaza/5th & G Transfer Center

o   Imperial Valley College at IVC Transit Center

o   IV Mall at IVT stop at Mall

o   El Centro at 7th & State Transfer Center

-          Recruitment is underway for one Office Technician position (bilingual) for the Regional Mobility Management Program at ICTC.  Applications are due on March 9, 2018.  More information on the position and full copies of the job description and job announcement are on the website at http://www.imperialctc.org/employment-opportunities/.   

-          Staff has been reviewing the IVT Brawley to El Centro trip and the Holtville to El Centro trip and it appears they are not meeting performance standards. It is possible that staff will be requesting recommendations at the March meeting.

Mr. Aguirre had the following announcements:

-          The Bus Stop Inventory Project is complete and a report is forthcoming. The project reviewed the countywide bus stop system amenities, potential technology upgrades and installation of new bus stop signage.

-          Staff is still looking at purchasing two small vans that will be able to access tighter locations. This will add an extra convenience to passengers.

-          UTN flyers are available to agencies. Please post as desired. The UTN meeting is scheduled for February 22, 2018 at 3 p.m. at the City of El Centro Council Chambers.

4.       FY 2018-19 Master Needs List

A motion was made to approve the master needs list as presented, (Lang/Hack), Motion Carried.

The master needs list was reviewed by SSTAC. Ms. Blankenship requested that we add an item to the list. The request was regarding an intercity IVT Ride for seniors. This request was presented last year but AAA had no raw data. An assessment was provided to a sampling of 900 seniors. Ms. Blankenship stated that 20% responded and found that 97% responded with intercity transportation needs. After further discussion, a motion was made to add a number 12 to the Master Needs List, “provide curb to curb intercity transportation to seniors,” (Blankenship/Hack) Motion Carried.

Mr. Torres also expressed continued support of the IVC Express routes. He requested data for the express routes from ICTC and First Transit. He stated that the “college hour” was changing in the fall 2018 semester to 2-4 p.m. and that it will most likely affect transit services. A need for a revision on the schedule may need to take place.

Ms. Blankenship encouraged all agencies to attend city council meetings and address concerns directly. She also stated that ICTC was not the only advocate for the UTN process.

5.       FY 2018-19 UTN Letter to the Hearing Panel

The letter from last year was used as a guide to create the letter for FY 2018-19. The general comments for Fiscal Year 2018-19 remained the same and were as follows:

1.       SSTAC would like to express continued support for the construction for the transfer terminals at locations yet to be determined in the Cities of Calexico and Imperial.

2.       SSTAC would like to continue to express support for the IVT Circulator bus concept which includes the El Centro Blue Line and IVT Green Line, IVT Gold Line in Brawley, and proposed IVT Red Line in Imperial and IVT Garnet Line in Calexico.

3.       SSTAC would like to express support for continued efforts to improve cleanliness and upkeep at El Centro City area bus stops, and other stops in the region as identified.

4.       SSTAC would like to continue to express support of enhancing communication of available services.

The items that were identified as issues and concerns by SSTAC were identified for consideration in order of priority for Fiscal Year 2018-19 and were as follows:

1.       Allow IVT Ride to provide transportation services to Seniors to congregate meal sites in Heber from June to September.

2.       Provide curb to curb intercity transportation to Seniors.

3.       Add an IVC Express Route from Calexico to IVC and from IVC to Calexico in the evening after 5:30 p.m.

4.       Review of a proposed Transit Mobility Summit.

A motion was made to adopt the letter with the items above as presented, (Blankenship/Hack) Motion Carried.

            Mr. Ceasar stated that he would read the letter to the hearing panel.

6.       Transit Operator Reports                                                           

-          Imperial Valley Transit:  Updates were given by Mr. Sanchez for the month of January

o   Total passengers were 59,328

o   Blue Line total passengers were 1,155

o   Green Line total passengers were 782

o   Gold Line total passengers were 1,152

o   Brawley Fast: 4 total passengers

o   Thursdays to Bombay Beach/Slab City: average 4 passengers per day

-          IVT Access:  Updates were given by Ms. Pacheco for the month of January

o   On time performance was 96%

o   Wheelchairs: 540

o   Passenger Count: 2,518

o   Weekdays: 2,406 passengers per week day

o   Saturdays: 67 per Saturday

o   Sundays: 45 per Sunday

o   No Shows: 106

o   Late Cancellations: 11

o   Non-ADA passengers: 35

-          IVT Ride – Updates were given by Ms. Aguilar for the month of January

i.         City of Brawley

o   55 or older or disabled can use this service with an ID card

o   Passenger per revenue hour: 2.37

o   On time performance was 100%

o   Wheelchairs: 193

o   Passenger Count: 784 weekday, 24 Saturday

o   11 No-Shows

ii.   City of Calexico

o   55 or older or disabled can use this service with an ID card

o   On time performance was 100%

o   Passenger per revenue hour: 2.19

o   Wheelchairs: 297

o   Passenger Count: weekday; 1,210, Saturday 63 and Sunday 74

o   33 No-Shows

            iii.  City of El Centro

o   55 or older or disabled can use this service with an ID card

o   On time performance was 100%

o   Passenger per revenue hour: 1.87

o   Wheelchairs: 310

o   Passenger Count: weekday; 1,659, Saturday 54

o   55 No-Shows

            iv.  City of Imperial

o   55 or older or disabled can use this service with an ID card

o   On time performance was 96%

o   Passenger per revenue hour: 1.36

o   Passenger Count: 257 weekday; 17 Saturday

o   Wheelchairs: 42

o   5 No-Shows

v.   West Shores

o   55 or older or disabled can use this service with an ID card

o   On time performance was 94%

o   Tuesdays/Thursdays service – 9 service days

o   Passenger per revenue hour: 1.48

o   Wheelchairs: 0

o   Passenger Count: 68

o   3 No-Shows

-          IVT MedTrans – Updates were given by Mr. Helio Sanchez for the month of January

o   Transportation services to San Diego County medical facilities

o   All buses are now equipped with Wi-Fi services

o   On time performance was 100%

o   Passenger per revenue hour: 1.84

o   Wheelchairs: 18

o   Late Cancellations: 0

o   No-Shows: 3

o   Passenger Count: 54

7.       General Discussion

-          Mr. Hack noted that Peoples First will be having their annual conference at the bowling alley on March 10, 2018.

-          Mr. Gonzalez stated that new MedTrans signs were made and available to agencies upon request.

-          Ms. Garcia stated that she was present at the January meeting. A correction will be made to the minutes to include her name.

-          Ms. Blankenship thanked ICTC for providing IVT Ride to their senior event.

-          Ms. Blankenship stated that an event titled “A Night to Shine” will be held in Imperial Valley for individuals with special needs. The event is brought to the valley through a special grant by the Tim Tebow Foundation and will be held on February 9, 2018 at IVC. This event is for individuals 14 and over and spots are still available. For more information please contact Juan Benito at 760-67-8608.

-          Mr. Torres stated that IVC will be having a welcome back event on February 22, 2018 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. A flyer will be disseminated to all.

8.       Adjournment

-          Meeting adjourned at 11:29 a.m.

-          Next meeting will be on March 7, 2018.