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Home My WebLink About2013-02-12-TAC-minTransportation Advisory Committee (TAC) Minutes — February 12. 2013 TAC Members present: Sara Arnold, Francine Stieglitz, Peter Levy, Sally Castleman, Bill Levison, Elaine Dratch, Michael Boudett Staff: Jeanette Rebecchi, Charlotte Rodgers Liaisons: Hank Manz, Board of Selectmen 1. Review of Previous Meeting Minutes • Minutes from the January 7 th TAC meeting were approved unanimously. 2. Transportation Services Update • Youville Place Proposal Youville Place (Senior Residential Facility) has requested bus service to their front door to better accommodate their residents. Jeanette presented a proposal for a trial period (for the rest of 2013) to have the Route 1 Lexpress bus stop at the Youville Place front door between 9:30 am and 1:30 pm on Mondays only. This will add 4 minutes to the route time. TAC Members unanimously approved Jeanette 's proposal for the change in Route ]for the rest of this year. • Free Senior Rides during off -peak hours Bill's analysis of the January data (comparison of senior ridership during January 2013 to January of three previous years) was presented. The data show substantial and statistically significant increases in senior ridership for January 2013 (83% during off -peak hours; 73% for all day). Data collection will continue. (Bill's analysis in Appendix to this memo) • Follow -up to Free Senior Rides Jeanette has requested volunteers to ride during off - peak hours and interview seniors about the free ride program. (Volunteers to be solicited from TAC at the March meeting.) Jeanette will look into capturing some of the interviews in an article for Patch or another town -wide publication. Jeanette will also write an information item for the Selectmen so that Hank can use it as a springboard for mentioning this at a Selectmen's meeting. • Chances to "The Ride" o The MBTA no longer accepts paper applications for eligibility for The Ride. Applicants now need to appear in person at the Charlestown MBTA office. The MBTA will arrange a free ride for the applicant and their care - taker. o Medical Emergency service has been added. This enhancement provides The Ride service to passengers on a temporary basis for 30 days if authorized by a medical professional. • Jeanette was approached by Jean Patel Bushnell (Executive Director of ITN Greater Boston). ITN arranges rides for seniors and visually impaired passengers through a volunteer network. Passengers are charged a membership fee and drivers are reimbursed on a per mile basis. Rides may be for any purpose (not limited to doctor's appointments like FISH). 1 o TAC members asked to check the ITNweb -site. We will put this item on our agenda for further discussion at our March meeting. http://www.itngreaterboston.gr • Friday (Feb 15 the annual Chinese New Year's party sponsored by the Evergreen support group will be held at Cary Hall between 9:30 and 11:30 am. The Route 1 Lexpress bus will provide service by adding a stop at Cary Hall for the event. • Proposal for "Summer Fun Lexpress Pass ": Jeanette presented a proposal to provide a two month (July /August) Lexpress Pass for the price of a one month pass ($60) for riders under 18 years old in order to increase ridership during the slower summer months. TAC asked Jeanette to try to estimate the potential cost in lost revenue if this Pass is offered. TAC unanimously approved a motion for Jeanette to put together a proposal for this pass and to present the proposal to the Selectmen (as long as estimated revenue loss does not exceed $2000 for July /Aug 2013) for implementation in the summer of 2013. Jeanette was approached by the School Department to extend Flex Pass hours on days with early school dismissals (1/2 days) to start at noon. Jeanette expressed some reservations related to having different hours and being able to effectively manage the time changes for discrete days. TAC agreed with Jeanette and suggested not pursuing the request to increase Flex Pass hours. 3. School Transportation and Safety Update (Elaine) • It has been determined that a by -law change to enable police to ticket dangerous driving on school grounds during student drop -off and pick -up is not necessary. School and police will re -write regulations to allow this action. • The School Department will decide on which approach for bus fees they will adopt. The initial proposal was to charge the full cost ($722) for bus passes purchased after May 10 An alternate tiered approach for bus fees based on date that the bus passes are purchased was subsequently Proposed: The lowest fee ($300) is available for 2013 -14 passes purchased by May 10 . The next fee level ($500) is charged for passes purchased between May 11 and July 1 The full cost fee ($722) will be charged for passes purchased after July 1 Elaine will provide an update on School Transportation and Safety activities at the March TAC meeting. 4. Bike, Walk, and Bus Week • This activity is planned for the week of May 5 — 11. Monica Tibbits is designing a LOGO for the event. The committee that is organizing this activity has asked TAC to endorse its Proclamation. TAC voted unanimously to endorse the concept of the proclamation. Elaine has been charged with suggesting edits based on our discussion at the meeting and sending recommended changes along with our endorsement of the proclamation. 5. Senior Van (Jeanette) • The Dana Home Foundation will be awarding grants to non - profit organizations for providing services (note: no hardware purchases) to seniors. (Grant values will be between $5000 and $50,000, renewable annually.) The town Human Services department 2 is planning to apply for a grant (due March 11 that will allow them to expand LexConnect services. The primary idea is to contract with a van service to provide once - a -week door -to -door group transportation for seniors /handicapped from their homes to the supermarket and /or a communal meal at the senior center. Charlotte & Jeanette are also soliciting other ideas for grant applications from TAC members. 6. Transportation Issues related to plans for potential new Community Center on Marrett Rd. (Sara) • If the town proceeds with the purchase of the Mason's property (corner of Mass Ave and Marrett Rd), how will it be served by public transportation (particularly Lexpress) and what additional transportation needs will arise? TAC may want to weigh in on this issue during future town -wide discussions. 7. Planning for Capital Projects • Approval of Capital Projects (such as equipping Lexpress buses with automated fare boxes) requires significant lead time for inclusion in the Town Budget. Scope and cost of the Capital Project need to be determined by September 2013 for inclusion in the 2015 Fiscal Year budget. 8. Human Services Department Transportation Budget: • The Town's proposed budget for FY' 14 includes funding to extend Jeanette's position to full time (beginning July 0) Materials Used at the Meeting: • Lexpress Summer Fun Pass memo • Lexpress Pick -up at Youville Place memo • Bike, Walk, and Bus Week proclamation Recorder: Peter Levy Appendix: Senior Ridership Data for January 2013 ALL -DAY SENIOR + WHEEI OFF -PEAK SENIOR + WHEI Historical Data Historical Data Month FY10 FY11 FY12 Mean SD January 462 390 432 428 29.5 February Mean March January April 731 May 742 Total February ALL -DAY SENIOR + WHEEI SD: Standard deviation about the mean Incr: Number of rides exceeding the FY10 -FY12 mean Incr ( %): Increase in rides as percentage of the mean Incr (SD): Increase in rides relative to the standard deviation LCHAIR RIDERSHIP FY13 Data Rides Incr 784 356 .CHAIR RIDERSHIP FY13 Data Rides Incr 1286 544 Incr ( %) Incr (SD) 83 12.1 Incr ( %) Incr (SD) 73 18.4 11 Historical Data Month FY10 FYI FY12 Mean SD January 782 731 712 742 29.6 February 670 605 718 664 46.3 March 970 863 808 880 67.3 April 995 789 895 893 84.1 May 1057 945 959 987 49.8 Total 4474 3933 4092 4166 277.1 SD: Standard deviation about the mean Incr: Number of rides exceeding the FY10 -FY12 mean Incr ( %): Increase in rides as percentage of the mean Incr (SD): Increase in rides relative to the standard deviation LCHAIR RIDERSHIP FY13 Data Rides Incr 784 356 .CHAIR RIDERSHIP FY13 Data Rides Incr 1286 544 Incr ( %) Incr (SD) 83 12.1 Incr ( %) Incr (SD) 73 18.4 11