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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-09-08-TAC-min Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) Minutes September 8, 2014 Members Present: Sara Arnold, Elaine Dratch, Peter Levy, Sally Castleman, Bill Levison, Francine Stieglitz Members Absent: Hank Manz, Matt Zhang Staff Present: Jeanette Rebecchi, Transportation Manager; Charlotte Rogers, Human Services Director Liaisons: Nancy Adler, COA; Richard Canale, Planning Board 1. Approval of Previous Meeting Minutes • Minutes from the August 2014 meeting were unanimously approved. 2. Route 4 Service Changes • Decision not to change Route 6 based on driver input. • Minor changes in Route 4 to be implemented(see Route 4 Service Change flyer) beginning on October 1st • Route 4 modifications include reversal of direction in two places and elimination of part of route on Worthen Road • Changes will be publicized in Tax Bill mailing along with introduction of GPS system on Lexpress buses. 3. Hartwell Avenue Shuttle • The Hartwell Avenue Shuttle (REV bus) started passenger pick-up for the general public in Depot Square on Monday (9/8) for transportation to Alewife Station. There are two morning pickup times and two evening return times. • The Town is paying $69,120 from the Reserve Fund to subsidize the service for this fiscal year. Whether these funds will be replaced with money from TDM has not yet been decided(would need to be approved by Town Meeting). • A number of questions were raised about resident access to all 128 Business Council buses and rules related to parking and public access to boarding points for the buses. Bill to arrange for Melisa Tintocalis (Department of Economic Development) to attend the October TAC meeting to inform the committee. 4. Transportation Q&A at the Senior Center • A Question and Answer session is scheduled at the Lexington Senior Center for Wednesday September 10th at 9:30 am. This session has been publicized in the CoA Newsletter • Some questions about Lexpress route changes are anticipated. TAC members are encouraged to attend, if available. 5. Lexpress GPS • GPS tracking of the Lexpress buses to begin October 1st • Routes and bus locations can be seen at http://tracker.lexpress.us/ 1 6. MBTA Grant • Ms. Rebecchi reported that the RFP for the MBTA grant that supports Lexpress ($40,000 per year) has been re-issued with a due date of October 2nd for the Fiscal Year beginning on January 1 st. • Two problems with ADA compliance were identified with the original Lexington application and need to be addressed before the October 2nd deadline. (see Items 7 and 8 below). 7. Cost of Senior Transfer on Lexpress • The cost of a transfer for senior riders on Lexpress can be no more than 1/2 the cost of a full price transfer($0.25). Presently seniors pay the full $0.25. • Ms. Rebecchi proposed eliminating the cost of transfers for senior riders. The present fare receipts for senior rider transfers are estimated at less than $100 per year. • The Committee unanimously passed the following motion: o Transfer tickets for senior riders will be provided for free in order to comply with ADA regulations. 8. Cost for The Ride cannot exceed 2X the Local Public Transit Cost • Ms. Rebecchi reported that the FTA objected to Lexington's approach of allowing passengers of The Ride who pay $5 (applicable rate in part of Lexington) to apply for a refund through the Transportation Office. This approach is considered out of compliance and must be fixed in order to receive MBTA funding. • Ms. Rebecchi proposed raising the adult cash fare on Lexpress from $2.00 to $2.50 to remedy this problem. Because there isn't a plan to increase the price of books of tickets or passes for adults, this change is expected to increase sales of ticket booklets ($1.44 per ticket) and/or passes. • The Committee unanimously passed the following motion: o Raise the cost for a single cash adult fare to $2.50 starting January 1, 2015 in order to meet the FTA requirement. • The Committee also agreed to re-evaluate the ticket book pricing and number of tickets per purchase at a later date. 9. FY 2014 Town Report • The draft Town Report prepared by Mr. Levison was reviewed. Mr. Levison recorded comments and edits suggested by other Committee members. • The Committee unanimously passed the following motion: o Mr. Levison is authorized to finalize the Town Report based on comments recorded at today's meeting and submit the Report to the Town Clerk's office. • A picture of the Committee is also needed for the Town Report. The best time for taking a picture with a Lexpress bus (as suggested by Ms. Rebecchi)is 2:20 pm. Mr. Levison will set up a"Doodle" to determine the date. 10. Community Center and Transportation Planning • After some discussion about TAC recommendations to the Community Center Action Committee(CCAC) over the past year, it was agreed that TAC should make another attempt to engage CCAC in a discussion about transportation planning. 2 • Ms. Arnold agreed to provide the co-chairs with the name and contact information of the appropriate person from CCAC to contact about transportation to/from the Community Center. 11. Member Report—Transportation Forum • Mr. Levison reported on the highlights from the Transportation Forum's last meeting. Materials Used at the Meeting: Agenda Minutes August 11, 2014 TAC Meeting Route 4 Service Changes Flyer Town Report Minutes recorded by P. Levy. 3