SOCIAL SERVICES TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY COUNCIL

                        MINUTES                   October 4, 2017

Present              Voting Attendees:

Ted Ceasar – Chair                   Consumer

Michael L. Hack – Vice-Chair   Consumer

Gil Rebollar                             Area Agency on Aging

Sonia Silva                               Access to Independence

Erica Martinez                          ARC – Imperial Valley

Raul Cordova                           Work Training Center

Adrian Celis                             Imperial County Behavioral Health

Raul Martinez                          Imperial County Public Health

Kathi Williams                         CTSA – ICTC

David Aguirre                          CTSA – ICTC

                        Non-Voting Attendees:

Guillermo Gonzalez                  ICTC

Cristi Lerma                             ICTC

                        Peter Pacheco                           Pioneers Memorial Healthcare

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

1.       Mr. Ceasar called the meeting to order at 10:02 a.m.  A quorum was present. Introductions were made.

2.       Minutes adopted for September 6, 2017. (Hack/Martinez) Motion Carried.

3.       CTSA Reports:

Ms. Williams had the following announcement(s):

-          ICTC will be relocating to a new office building, most likely the Rabobank building on Main and Imperial.

-          A security company was acquired for the El Centro Transfer Terminal and they began on October 2, 2017.

-          Due to the recent Triennial Review that was conducted, changes to the IVT Ride services will be brought forth to the Commission for review and adoption. The general changes discussed are as follows:

o   Allow for limited hand carried bags on board

o   Reduce marketing expenses

o   Reduce eligibility age for seniors from 60 to 55 years

Location specific reviews and possible changes are identified by City:

o   Brawley: The service in Brawley is provided with two buses M – F, one bus on Saturdays, and primarily focused on providing access to medical facilities in the area of the Pioneers’ Hospital, Walmart, the Nutrition program at the Senior Center and Day Out facilities. The fare is $1.50. Service in the PM after 3PM is very low. Service on Saturdays is very low. The farebox ratio is under the required 10%.

1.       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.

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

o   Calexico: The service in Calexico is provided with three buses M – F, one bus on Saturdays and Sundays, and primarily focused on providing access to Walmart, the Nutrition program at the Senior Center and Alegria facilities. The fare is $1.00. Service is steady on the weekdays and the weekend. The farebox ratio is under the required 10%.

1.       Conduct more outreach

2.       Raise fares

o   El Centro: The service in El Centro is provided with four buses M – F, one bus on Saturdays, and primarily focused on providing access to medical facilities in the area of the ECRMC Hospital, medical facilities in the City of Imperial and along the La Brucherie Rd/Ross Rd, Walmart, the Nutrition program on Waterman Ave the Senior Center and Day Out facilities. The fare is $1.25. Use of the service is increasing even though it has been in operation for only six months.

1.       No changes recommended at this time.

o   Imperial: The service in Imperial is provided with one bus M – F, one bus on Saturdays, and primarily focused on providing access to medical facilities in the City of Imperial and El Centro area programs and services including medical facilities in the area of the ECRMC Hospital, and along the La Brucherie Rd/Ross Rd, Walmart, the Nutrition program on Waterman Ave, the Senior Center and Day Out facilities. The fare is $.75 in town and $1.75 to and from El Centro. Service on Saturdays is very low. The farebox ratio is under the required 10%.

1.       Reduce the four Saturdays a month to two Saturdays a month due to very low ridership

2.       Increase fare to and from El Centro.

3.       In a future competitive bid, consider combining service area of El Centro and Imperial into one contract/ scope of work to reduce any reporting and admin overhead costs.

o   West Shores: The service in the area of the West Shores is provided with one bus and primarily focused on providing access to the IVT bus stop in Westmorland for activities in Westmorland and Brawley and return on Tuesdays, and access to the Nutrition program on Thursdays. The fare is $2.00 in the community and $3.00 to and from Westmorland. Service is low. The farebox ratio is under the required 10%.

1.       Review a trip to Coachella/Indio instead of Westmorland and Brawley

2.       Review a trip to the Brawley transfer terminal and Walmart w/o/wo a connection to the IVT bus stop in Westmorland on Tuesdays due to difficulty for seniors etc. in making the transfers.

3.       Raise fare

4.       Retire the service due to very high cost per passenger

Mr. Gonzalez had the following announcement(s):

-          Mr. Aguirre is attending Construction of Transit Projects training out of town and could not attend the SSTAC Meeting.

-          Mr. Gonzalez is continuing to work with social service agencies and Pioneers Memorial Hospital to assist clients with their transit needs including paratransit training and orientation of transit services in the Cities of Brawley, Imperial and Calexico. There was a specific example Mr. Gonzalez explained about a patient being transported for wound care. 

-          The MedTrans second bus has a revised departure time of 10 a.m. This adjusted time will assist patients with their scheduling conflicts.

4.       Transit 101                                                      

Mr. Cesar Sanchez presented the fixed route services:

Imperial Valley Transit (IVT)

§  FIXED ROUTE services operate along specific routes and fixed time schedules

§  355 days of operation, including Sundays

§  Average Monthly Passenger Trips are 61,831

§  The current operations contract is between ICTC and First Transit Inc.

§  The FY 2016-17 cost was approximately $3.50 million for 34,440 annual service hours

§  All vehicles are ADA and CARB Compliant

§  16 - 40 Foot Low-Floor Gillig Transit Buses(Clean Diesel)

§  Wheel Chair Ramp and 2 Wheelchair Tie Down Positions

§  40 seated, 70+ is the Total Capacity

§  6 - 25 Foot Cutaway Buses

§  Wheelchair Lift Equipped

IVT Blue Line Circulator

§  Fixed Route Service to serve Southern El Centro

§  The FY 2016-17 cost was $318,526 for 3,184 service hours

§  70 Minute Headways with timed transfers @ 7th and State St.

§  Approximately 20 stops including ICSO, AAA, Public Admin., Imperial County Social Services (4th St.), WTC, IRS, County Admin./Court House, ECRMC

§  3 New Cutaway vehicles shared between Blue and Green Lines

§  1 Blue Line, 1 Green Line, 1 Spare Bus

§  20 passenger vehicle with 2 wheel chair tie down positions

IVT Green Line Circulator Route

§  Fixed Route Service to serve Northern El Centro

§  The FY 2016-17 cost was $315,515 for 3,182 service hours

§  70 Minute Headways with timed transfers @ 7th and State St.

§  Approximately 25 stops including ECRMC, El Centro Library, Wal-Mart, Food-For-Less, Costco, and limited service in Southern Imperial

§  3 New Cutaway vehicles shared between IVT Circulator Routes

§  1 Blue Line, 1 Green Line, 1 Spare Bus

§  20 passenger vehicle with 2 wheel chair tie down positions

IVT Gold Line Circulator Route

§  Fixed Route Service in Brawley

§  The FY 2016-17 cost of $263,125 for 3,300 hours

§  70 Minute Headways with timed transfers @ Brawley Transit Transfer Terminal (5th and Plaza)

§  Approximately 28 stops including Imperial County Admin, PMH, Wal-Mart, Senior Center, City Library, Cattle Call Park, Social Services, Lions Center

§  2 New Cutaway vehicles in operation

§  1 for Daily Operations and 1 Spare

§  20 passenger vehicles with 2 wheel chair  tie down positions

§  ALL FARE PRICES ARE ONE WAY PER TRIP

§  Local Zone Fare …….……………....… $1.00

§  Senior/Disabled Local Zone Fare……. $0.50

§  Regional Zone Fare …………….….…. $1.25

§  Senior/Disabled Regional Zone…..……$0.60

§  The following fares are “convenience” priced

§  Direct Routes…………...……………….….…....…$2.50

§  Fast Trip  …….……………………………..….……$2.25

§  The following are discounted trips for IVC students

§  IVC Express Students….……….…..………….….$1.25

§  NON-IVC Students………………….……………...$1.75

§  Marketing activities for IVT includes:

ü  Rider’s Guides Brochures

ü  Pens                                                    

ü  Sports Bottles

ü  Mobility Training

ü  Dedicated website www.IVTRANSIT.com

ü  Wi-Fi now available

ü  Social Media –Twitter and Facebook

ü  Stuff-A-Bus, OES Participation, Public Outreach, Veteran’s Day Free Ride Week and other various Outreach Activities

Ms. Karla Pacheco presented the American with Disabilities  Act (ADA) Paratransit – IVT ACCESS:

§  Curb to Curb intercity service for ADA certified disabled persons who cannot access regular fixed route transit service

§  Window and Corridor Concepts

Window is the time frame the IVT fixed route is in vicinity of the requested pick-up

Corridor is ¾ of a mile within the fixed route alignment

§  30 minute pick up window (15 minutes before and after schedule time)

§  Pick up and Drop off Locations must be safe and accessible

§  Fleet consists of 11 – 25 Ft Cutaway vehicles with 4 wheel chair positions each

§  Up to 16 passengers seated without wheelchairs

§  The FY16-17 Cost is $1,539,979 for 15,590 service hours

§  FY2016-17 – 32,882 Passengers

§  FY2016-17 – 9,031 Wheelchairs (35%)

§  Fare is 2x’s the fixed route fare ($2.00 to $2.50)

§  Eligibility/Certification Process

§  Self-Assessment is provided to the client to determine if the service is right for them

§  Requires a completed application with the Disability Verification form (6 pages)

§  Interview Process is then completed

§  ICTC is allowed 21 days to process

§  Upon completion a personal identification number is issued to use when scheduling trips

§  Trips must be scheduled in advance

§  Dispatch and Drivers use remote tablets for schedules and updates

§  Marketing activities for IVT Access includes:

ü  Brochures

ü  Sports Bottles

ü  Pens

ü  Magnets

ü  Mobility Training

ü  The IVT ACCESS service has a dedicated website www.IVTACCESS.com

ü  OES Participation

ü  Veteran’s Day Ride Free Week

ü  Public Outreach

            Karla Aguilar presented on IVT Ride:

§  Service operations began Fall 2014; El Centro Summer of 2016

§  Intracity Dial-A-Ride Consolidation:

                  Brawley – Calexico - El Centro – Imperial – West Shores

§  Curb to Curb Demand Response Paratransit Service

§  Seniors age 60 and over OR Disabled (ADA Riders)

§  Riders must schedule their trips in advance (ALL TRIPS)

§  Intake form with ID card provided

§  FY2016-17 Contract Cost $1,457,249 for 24,501 Hours

§  Low-Floor Cutaway Buses

§  Complete ADA and CARB compliance

§  Hi-Capacity Roof Mount AC

§  19 passengers w/o wheelchairs

§  13 passengers plus 3 wheelchair spaces

§  Marketing activies for IVT Ride includes:

ü  Brochures

ü  Sports Bottles

ü  Coin Purse

ü  Pens

ü  Magnets

ü  Umbrellas

ü  Mobility Training

ü  Dedicated website www.IVTRIDE.com

ü  Local OES Participation, Public Outreach and Various Outreach Activities

Helio Sanchez presented on IVT MedTrans:

§  Non-emergency transportation service Started July 2016

§  Same Day Round Trip service for Medical Trip Purposes Only

§  Departs Imperial County @ 7:00am & 10:00am

§  Arrives in Imperial County @ 5:00pm & 8:00pm

§  Services all major San Diego Health Care facilities in the  I-8 corridor with service to South Bay twice a month

§  Children's Hospital, UCSD Medical Center, Scripps, VA Hospital, Sharps, Shiley Eye Center, and many others

§  3 Cutaway buses

§  Up to 16 seats available or 12 seats with two wheelchairs

§  1 mini Sweeper Bus

§  10 seats available or 6 seats with 2* wheelchairs

§  5,599 passengers for FY 2016-17

§  Service Operates 4 days a week (Rotates Monday and Friday off)

§  $15 round trip for passenger + $7 for Personal Care Attendant (PCA) *Payments must be received 48 hours in advance of scheduled trip.

§  Marketing activities on IVT MedTrans includes:

ü  Brochures

ü  Sports Bottles

ü  Satchel Bags

ü  Pens

ü  Coin Purses

ü  Posters

ü  Mobility Training

ü  Dedicated website www.IVTMedTrans.org

5.       General Discussion

-          Mr. Rebollar stated that AAA is releasing a survey in October. Results will be shared with SSTAC when they are ready.

-          Mr. Martinez stated that the County Health Department is administering flu shots and hepatitis A shots.

6.       Adjournment

-          Meeting adjourned at 11:26 a.m.

-          Next meeting will be on November 1, 2017.