HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-03-11-TAC-minMarch 11, 2013 Minutes
Transportation Advisory Committee
TAC Members Present: Peter Levy, Francine Stieglitz, Sara Arnold, Sally
Castleman, Elaine Dratch, Mike Boudett
TAC Members Absent: Bill Levison
Staff: Jeanette Rebecchi
1. The minutes of the previous meeting (2/12) were reviewed and approved by
unanimous vote.
2. Mary Jo Bohart of the Chamber of Commerce invited a visitor from the TAC to
a breakfast being held on March 26th. The topic will be commuting by
public transportation. Sarah is able to attend, and will speak regarding
Lexpress and give examples of people who commute on Lexpress.
Melissa Tintocalis, Economic Development Director and Monica Tibbetts
of the 128 Business Council will also be there. One trigger for this
discussion is the pending grant application to pilot a shuttle to the
Hartwell Ave. businesses (see below), although we won't know at that
point whether the grant was awarded.
3. There is also a Transportation Forum on March 26, which Francine will
attend. The focus will be on safety issues. Elaine is also available if
necessary.
4. Jeanette gave the transportation services update.
a. Ridership on Lexpress is up nicely. Off -peak, there were 962 free
rides for seniors, which is a 129% increase over the three previous
Februarys. In total there were 1366 senior rides (all day), which is a
106% increase over the average senior ridership from the previous
three Februarys. There was a discussion of whether to increase
promotion of Lexpress to other age groups.
b. Jeanette also asked for volunteers to conduct interviews of senior
riders during free ride periods. She had a list of possible questions to
ask, and the committee discussed possible additions to the list.
Ideally, some riders would be willing to provide positive quotes which
could be used in the press.
c. There was also a discussion of going to the Board of Selectmen with a
request to extend the current pilot free ride program. Jeanette
suggested that this request should probably be advanced in April. The
interview research could be helpful in that effort.
d. Jeanette also informed us that she is presenting the previously -
discussed Lexpress Summer Fun pass proposal (2 months for the
price of one) to the Board of Selectmen tonight. Sally plans to attend
in order to show the TAC's support. The program will be publicized
through many sources, including the Recreation Department summer
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program, school bulletins, and student newspapers. Since the town
typically collects less than $2,000 in student cash /ticket revenue all
summer, the maximum cost (in terms of people buying a discounted
pass instead paying via cash /ticket) is less than that; however,
Jeanette thinks the proposal is most likely revenue neutral, with an
expected increase in student summer ridership.
e. The town has a grant application pending with the Dana Home
Foundation to support a program called Senior Outreach Services
(SOS). This program would provide a variety of services to at -risk
seniors, such as daily "are you OK" phone calls to a pilot group of 25.
In terms of transportation, the grant would fund $10,000 in free Lex-
Connect taxi vouchers for low - income individuals over 60,. Jeanette
noted that LexConnect (which is not income - tested) is also expanding
to longer hours and more geographic coverage, although those rides
cost $5 /voucher for a maximum one -way cost of $15.
f. Bike and Walk week is approaching. Jeanette showed us a flyer for
the program and described some of the publicity, which includes a
website at www.lexbikewalkbusweek.org
S. As noted earlier in the meeting, the town has submitted a grant application to
fund 80% of the cost the 1St year of a new program to run a shuttle
service from Hartwell Ave. businesses to Alewife. The Town had hoped
for the businesses to fund the other 20 %, but there is a shortfall of $5,000
- 8,000 and the Town Manager's office appears to be planning to use TDM
(traffic demand management) funds to make up the balance. There was
some concern among committee members that these TDM funds are
typically used to support Lexpress and protect it from funding cuts.
Jeanette informed us that the contracts with developers which provide
for the TDM payments do allow for some flexibility, in that they allow the
funds to be used for Lexpress "or any in -town public transportation," or
similar wording. After discussion, the committee voted to support the
use of TDM funds, but only as connection with a pilot project (not as
ongoing support), and with a notation that these funds are usually for the
support of Lexpress, and that Hartwell businesses should support the
program going forward if it continues. There was also some related
discussion of whether we might exert some influence to arrange for the
shuttles to run in both directions, but there are practical barriers to this,
including lack of parking for residents in the Hartwell area.
6. We discussed adding some transportation- related material to the time
capsule being prepared by the town. We discussed adding an old route
map, a current route map, a schedule, and possibly some photographs.
Jeanette will see what material is readily available, and some of the
veteran committee members will help as needed.
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7. A group called ITN, which provides a ride network for people who pay a fee
to join as members, has inquired whether Lexington is interested in
joining or promoting this service. Committee members had a number of
questions about the group. It was decided that the group should be
invited to speak to the TAC and the Council on Aging, jointly, along with
other groups such as FISH (David Horton).
8. Jeanette has been exploring the possibility of adding GPS location capability
to Lexpress buses, and she circulated a draft document entitled Real -time
GPS -Based Tracking Proposal. This would be a rider - friendly service in
that it would enable people to use their mobile devices to see where the
buses are on their routes, receive delay notices, and get estimated arrival
times. There are a limited number of vendors selling this service for
small -scale implementations, which include Blirpit and Ridecell. Pricing
for Blirpit is $249 /mo /bus, which would be $9000 /year for the Lexpress
fleet. This would include all hardware, software and tech support.
Jeanette has heard that riders like the service where it has been
implemented elsewhere, and that complaints have also gone down
sharply when it is used. The committee decided to postpone this
proposal for further discussion. In the meantime, committee members
will try to look at the websites for the two companies, and Jeanette will
talk to the school department about whether they have any financing
and /or interest in the program.
9. Elaine brought to the committee's attention that there had been a comment
on LexEngage that the Lexpress schedule did not match well with the
MBTA buses. Peter had followed up on this by researching morning drop -
off times at the Depot, as compared to MBTA departure times, and found
that they generally line up well. It was decided that Elaine or Peter will
follow up with this resident and ask what particular location was of
concern.
Materials used at the Meeting:
Real -time GPS -Based Tracking Proposal, March 11, 2013, prepared by Town of
Lexington, Department of Human Services
Lexpress FreeRides Promo Interviews /Guideline questions for senior /disabled riders,
prepared by Jeanette Rebecchi
Bike Walk 'N Bus promotional flyer
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