TO: Mayor and Members of City Council
THRU: Jay Reinstein, Assistant City Manager
FROM: Randy Hume, Transit Director
DATE: May 29, 2018
RE:
Title
FAST Route 11 Service Modification
end
COUNCIL DISTRICT(S):
Council District(s)
1,2,4,9
b
Relationship To Strategic Plan:
Goal 4: Desirable Place to Live, Work and Recreate
Objective D: To develop and maintain public transportation investments with high quality transit and airport services
Executive Summary:
At the May 7 City Council work session staff presented a proposed change to FAST Route 11 in an effort to reduce transit expenses in response to the loss of revenues from Fayetteville State University. Council directed staff to proceed with a notice of public hearing to receive public comment about the proposed change in accordance with transit policies regarding major service changes and Transit’s Title VI program.
Notices were published in the Fayetteville Observer on May 12, 2018. In addition, notices have been posted at the Transit Center, on all buses and on FAST’s website, ridefast.net. A copy of the notice is attached.
Transit staff also scheduled two public information sessions on Tuesday, May 22 and Wednesday, May 23, in order to provide an opportunity for our riders and others to learn more about the proposed change to Route 11 and to provide comment. These comments will be compiled and presented to Council at the public hearing. The Route 11 change is supported by the Fayetteville Advisory Committee on Transit (FACT).
Upon receiving comment at the hearing, Council may approve or reject the proposed change or provide direction to staff.
Background:
Fayetteville State University has notified the City that it does not plan to renew the student pass agreement with the City and FAST. The FSU agreement provided funding that allowed FSU students to ride all FAST buses without fare payment and provided funding to support Route 11 that provides connections to Cross Creek Mall and to the Ramsey Street Corridor from FSU. This route also enabled FAST to add service to Country Club and Pamalee that previously had little or no bus service. This service started in 2015.
As an offset to the loss of the income from FSU, staff presented a reduced service option for Route 11 that would maintain service along Country Club/Pamalee but eliminate service along Murchison Road already served by Route 12. Under the proposed change, bus frequency along Country Club/Pamalee would improve to 90 minutes from 6:30 a.m. until about 3:00 p.m. when currently one bus operates every 2 hours. The change would eliminate stops on Langdon and Seabrook, although this segment of the route has very little ridership except for the stop at the FSU arena. FSU students who choose to pay to ride FAST buses will still have access to Route 12 along Murchison Road.
Route 11 would continue to provide service along Ramsey Street to the Cape Fear Valley North Pavilion at Andrews Road. Route 11 provides the opportunity to extend service to the Goodyear plant as recently requested. Without Route 11, the service options to Goodyear would be limited and likely not very convenient.
The reduced service option has been reviewed with the Fayetteville Advisory Committee on Transit (FACT) who reached consensus in support of the change
FAST’s service standards and Title VI program provide that any major reduction in service on a route be made after an opportunity for public comment and public hearing. Once a change is approved, the City is required to provide a 30 day notice before implementing the change. In addition, a route or schedule change requires significant time to redo printed materials and make changes to a number of technology features on our buses.
Issues/Analysis:
FSU students will still have access to FAST services using Route 12 which provides service every 30 minutes until 10:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday and until 7:00 p.m. on Sundays. With route changes implemented and the opening of the new transit center, students’ travel time by bus to Cross Creek Mall from FSU is approximately 40 minutes with timed connections to either Route 14 or 16. We will also work with FSU to provide an outlet for students to purchase FAST passes on campus.
Service eliminated along Langdon and Seabrook. FSU students who now board buses near the Capel Arena may continue to board buses on Murchison Road. Boardings at three stops along Seabrook only average seven (7) riders per day.
Budget Impact:
The net annual cost to operate the current Route 11, including the impact of fare revenues and FTA preventive maintenance reimbursements, is $169,498. As proposed the net annual costs, including the impact of fare revenues and FTA preventive maintenance reimbursements, would be reduced to $106,774, providing a savings of $62,724 annually. If implemented on August 27 the budget savings would be $52,270 for FY 2019.
Options:
Receive public comment and approve the proposed change to Route 11; or
Receive public comment and reject the proposed change; or
Receive public comment and provide further direction to staff.
Recommended Action:
Receive public comment and approve the proposed change to Route 11
Attachments:
Public Hearing Notice
Route 11 Presentation