HomeMy WebLinkAbout1991-03-06-TAC-min.pdf Transportation Advisory Committee
Minutes
March 6 1991
Present Sally Castleman, Sara Arnold, Carole Sonduck, Bill
Murphy, Nick Santosuosso, Liz Andrews, Fred
Rosenberg, Lance Neumann, Pauline Burke, Eric Gibbs
1 Analysis of Ridership Trends Lance Neumann reported on his
analysis of what has happened in the past year We had a fare
increase of 33% to 50% effective July, 1990 and we reduced
routes by 25% after Labor Day in Sepember 1990 reducing
operating costs by 25%.
The impact has been predictable Total ridership is down
20% while fares and revenues have increased 11% Looking at
efficiency, the gross cost per passenger decreased 6% and the net
cost per passenger decreased 12% Thus the system is pared down,
but is more efficient in carrying the passengers it now serves
2 Town Meeting' Because Lexpress is now a line item rather
than a separate article, and because both the Town Manager and
the Selectmen have included Lexpress in the budget, it was agreed
that TAC did not need to prepare a presentation. but needed to be
prepared to answer questions that might come up as follows
-Should we eliminate Lexpress? The service is needed as
much today as it was needed 12 years ago, perhaps more There
are more families with no one available to drive the children.
school bus service has been cut and is being cut more in
September, we still need to conserve energy, we are in the middle
of a three year contract (If it comes up there is a $5000
penalty per bus, ie $20,000 if we discontinue the contract )
-Should we increase fares again? We instituted a major
fare increase this past year and it is not appropriate to do so
again so soon However we are looking at ways to simplify the
fare structure which could result in some small increase in
revenue
Should there be a dial-a-ride system? We have looked at
ti,.. .n the past It is not cost efficient and not only takes
away service from the majority of the Lexpress riders, but would
greatly reduce the availability of service to the senior citizens
who now use Lexpress
-Are the Lexpress vehicles handicapped accessible. At
this time we are providing the chair car service for those who
need handicapped accessible vehicles We are looking at
alternatives to this issue
It was pointed out that we need a flyer to hand out at
town meeting It should include the budget and summarize the
impact of the changes that took place over the past year
3 Accessibility Pauline reported that because of the
Disabilities Act the MBTA wants the minibus systems handicapped "-)
accessible starting with the next contract She also reported
that the Framingham specifications included the requirement that
one bus be acvessible, and this is satisfying the T s request
It is not clear how this vehicle will be used Pauline said she
met with the Disablement Committee and has tried to get
information on people who are in wheelchairs to begin to
determine the needs of Lexington residents She contacted
Share-A-Ride and the Council on Aging
Committee members recommended that Town Council be asked
to review the legal requirements before further steps are taken
4 Update on contractor Pauline reported that she is getting
positive comments about the new service, and that minor problems
have been addressed immediately
5 Report from new contractor Eric Gibbs provided a report on
progress to date--see attachment
6 Town events that include Lexpress Pauline reported that the
theme for the Patriots Day Parade is based on lessons learned in
Lexington. We need to all think about an appropriate decoration
for the bus and people are needed to decorate the bus
Pauline also reported that Eric wants to help with the Discovery
Day promotion in May
7 Other business Sally Castleman expressed concern that there
hasn t been enough promotion of the new service- She asked that
there be articles and/or pictures in the paper about the use of
the bus for student government days the limo rides that were won
by passengers and given by A-Connoisseur, and the new service
Nick Santosuosso agreed to interview some students about the new
service and write an article Pauline said there was already a
picture in the paper about student government day and it didn t
include the bus, but she would get pictures in regarding the limo
ride won
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LEXPRESS MEETING
Town of LEXINGTON
Lexington Massachusetts
RE items of Concern
1 Restroom This remains to be a problem
2 The location for the drivers to have lunch_, has been
solved thank you
3 People have asked that we stop in Senior Housing on Sat
This may improve the ridership for that day
4 She route six bus has been overloaded day after day
Today we had 34 people at 3 00
5 We have not had a problem with vandalism except for today
on the route 6/1 bus at the 7 - 8 routes
6 The cost is $ 171 00 to replace the seat We need to take
swift measures to insure that does not occur again
7 1 have visited with many of the other mini bus systems to
get an idea of what other systems are doing
-- Framingham has opened service to 4 other towns and has
had more funding from the MBIA Funny I should bring
this up because in todays HERALD the following article
appeared
8 Out of the tour towns 1 have been to visit Lexington has
the newest and the cleanest Most vehicles are between 3
and b years old and all the of the hourly rates in the
other towns are much higher
9 We believe that all of the townspeople are ow use to the
new driver and we have recipes many calls and
compliments on their dress code
10 On a sad note we were involved in a accident in which a
Person speeding and slid went off the road and into the
bus The driver pulled the bus forward to try to miss
the lady but she had caught the middle of the bus The
bus was looked at the same day by Commonwealth Thomas
and was fixed with in tour working days and back in
service A new fender , tire and right side The paint
Job also came out fine
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