SOCIAL SERVICES TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY COUNCIL

                        MINUTES                 November 6, 2019

Present              Voting Attendees:

Michael Hack – Vice-Chair       Consumer

Ted Ceasar                               Consumer

Sarah M. Enz                            Area Agency on Aging/Public Administrator

Dr. Kathleen Lang                    California Health & Wellness

Mitzi Perez                               ARC-Imperial Valley

Raul Cordova                           Work Training Center

David Aguirre                         CTSA–ICTC

Maricela Galarza                      CTSA–ICTC

Gustavo Gomez                        CTSA–ICTC

                        Non-Voting Attendees:            

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

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

                        Jose Guillen                             IVT/IVT Access/IVT Ride/IVT MedTrans

                        David Salgado                          SCAG             

1.       Mr. Hack called the meeting to order at 10:07 a.m.  A quorum was present. Introductions were

made.

2.       Minutes adopted for October 2, 2019 (Lang, Cordova), Motion Carried.

3.       CTSA Reports:

Mr. Aguirre had the following updates:

-          Outreach events for the Fare Analysis Study occurred on October 23rd & 24th  at different times during the day. The approach for this study outreach was to go to consumers and obtain feedback on the proposed concepts.  The outreach events took place in different cities, including transfer terminals. There was a good turnout. A report from the consultants is currently pending and it will be shared with SSTAC. The report will provide recommendations to help the transit system.

-          The AVL project is still ongoing. Routematch is currently working on a database that is expected to be completed by the end of the month of November. The project is expected to be implemented between the end of this year to the beginning of the upcoming year. There are plans for outreach efforts.

Ø  Dr. Lang asked Mr. Aguirre to reiterate the purpose of the project.

·         Mr. Aguirre stated that the CAD AVL project’s purpose is to allow passengers to see the location of the fixed-route buses. Fixed route buses will be equipped with a GPS system to help the passenger look it up on a mobile app.

-          An RFP for the TDA Performance Audit is in the final process, the award is expected to be awarded in the month of December.

-          Mr. Aguirre announced that the IVT transit service initiated the annual “Stuff a Bus” event, where passengers can donate a canned or dry item for one ride. The event started on November 4, 2019, and will run through November 15, 2019. Our goal is to beat the total collection of the previous year of ~1,700 pounds. Flyers are available for SSTAC members to take and share with anyone interested (attached).

-          Mr. Aguirre announced that all IVT services, excluding IVT MedTrans, will be having the annual “Veteran’s Day” event, were passengers that are veterans can ride the services free for a week period of time, when showing military identification. The event will initiate on November 12, 2019, and will run through November 18, 2019.  Flyers are available for SSTAC members to take and share with anyone interested (attached).

Mr. Gomez had the following updates:

-          IVT Access service had 18 certifications for the month of October

-          There was an average of 4-5 sign ups per week for the IVT Ride service in the month of October.

-          On October 15th, staff attended the 15th Annual Senior Health Fair. The event was well attended. During the event, staff conducted IVT Ride sign-ups, with a result of 20-25 new passengers.

-          On October 16th, Ms. Galarza attended the 7th Annual Employment and Resource Fair in the morning and attended the Safety and Wellness Fair during the afternoon. Ms. Galarza will give further details.

-          Mobility Management staff have upcoming presentations and mobility training. The staff gives more information at the next meeting.

Ms. Galarza had the following updates:

-          On October 16th, there were two events in which mobility management staff and some of First
Transit attended. There was the 7th  Annual Employment and Resource Fair that occurred during the morning and the Safety and Wellness Fair that occurred during the afternoon. The 7th Annual Employment and Resource Fair had more of a general public audience, whereas the Safety and Wellness Fair consisted more of elementary kids and parents. Both had a good outcome.

4.       A presentation was made by Dr. Lang, California Health and Wellness, and a fact sheet with statistics was handed out to SSTAC members (attached).

v  Medical Transportation, Statistics

v  Partnership with Uber-Lift

v  Reservation at least 3 days ahead of time by calling logistics phone number after a series of questions are answered.

v  Transporation offered to any person that is under a MediCal provider.

v  Transportation can be provided up to 200 miles without prior authorization required.

-          Mr. Aguirre stated that presentations will continue on the next meeting’s agenda, therefore anyone that is interested still has the opportunity to do so. Mr. Aguirre informed STACC members that ARC-Imperial Valley will present information next STACC meeting.

1. Transit Operator Reports:

-          Imperial Valley Transit: Mr. H. Sanchez had the following updates:

o   There were more service days for the month of October.

o   There were no construction closures that interrupted service.

o   The “Stuff a Bus” event for the IVT service started on the 4th of November and will continue until the 15th  of November. Participation from passengers has been know to begin slow and then starts to grow throughout the event. Passengers start sharing the information about the event, as a result more people start to participate.

o   The IVT service will not be in service on Veteran’s Day, November 11th. On the 12th, “Veteran’s Day” event will start and will end on November 18th.  The event’s purpose is to show appreciation to the veterans that served the country. All veterans will ride free by showing their military identification to any IVT services, excluding  IVT MedTrans.

-          IVT Access: Ms. Pacheco had the following updates:

o   IVT Access does not participate in the “Stuff a Bus” event.

o   IVT Access does participate in the “Veteran’s Day” event.

o   IVT Access service is running well.

-          IVT Ride: Ms. Aguilar had the following updates:

o   IVT Ride does not participate in the “Stuff a Bus” event.

o   IVT Ride does participate in the “Veteran’s Day” event.

o   IVT Ride service is running well.

-          IVT MedTrans: Mr. Guillen reported the following:

o   The service for the second bus has been suspended a few times due to a lack of passengers.

o   There are plans to go out and pass out more brochures within the Calexico, Brawley, Imperial, and El Centro. There are also plans to go back to San Diego to do more outreach.

6.       General Discussion

-          Ms. Galarza informed SSTAC members that the January meeting will fall on the New Year’s Day holiday, therefore ICTC staff is looking for other date options to discuss with STACC members.

Ø  SSTAC members' discussion consisted of the possible dates of Thursday, January 2nd  or  Wednesday, January 8th.

·         Ms. Galarza stated that on the 8th of January there will be an event, Seniors Appreciation Day, where ICTC will be participating, so that day is not possible.

·         SSTAC members discussed that the 2nd that many would be out on vacation, therefore attendance would not be assured. Another possible option was Thursday, January 9th.  Further discussion is needed.

Ø  Discussion and motion will continue for the next SSTAC meeting.

-          Mr. Aguirre stated that there are plans with City of Calexico and City of El Centro to upgrade some bus stops within the cities. This might include the bus stop by the El Centro Library.

-          Mr. Aguirre reported that the Clinica de Salud bus stop is still in progress, it has been more of a complex situation since permission has to go through owner. The owner requires to go through his own process. A follow up will be attempted at least one time per week.

-          Mr. Aguirre reported that there has been a preliminary discussion with the City of El Centro in regards a potential stop for the new ECRMC. One issue that has been brought up is that the area is very narrow. This is still open for discussion.

7.       Adjournment

-          The meeting adjourned at 10:40 a.m. (Hack), Motion Carried.

-          The next meeting will be held on December 4, 2019, at the Imperial County Transportation Commission Office, 1503 N. Imperial Ave., Suite 104, El Centro, CA 92243.