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Home My WebLink About2017-09-11-TAC-min Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) Minutes September 11, 2017 Members Present: Bill Levison, Co-Chair; Hank Manz, Co-Chair; Sally Castleman; Elaine Dratch; Sara Arnold; Su-Shen; Susan Barrett (arriving at 8:00 PM) Staff: Charlotte Rodgers, Human Services Director The meeting was called to order at 7:15 PM There was no public comment. On a motion made and seconded, minutes of the previous meeting on 8/14/2017 were unanimously approved by those present (Susan Barrett arrived after the vote was taken). Transportation Update Charlotte Rodgers reported the following • The new buses were rolled out today unannounced. The Town found out when the GPS trackers were reported as not working. They will be working by tomorrow. A check will be made to make sure the bike racks were attached. New fare boxes will be used on the new buses. After long usage, the old ones were in poor shape. • There is some thought being given to a rollout fanfare to advertise the new buses. • Ride Lexpress Free Day is scheduled for Friday, Sept 22nd, and Saturday Sept 23rd. The Saturday date was picked so that parents could have a chance to ride with their children. • Work is being done to make Lexpress more attractive to school-age riders. • Checker Cab is working well as the vendor since July for the Lex-Connect taxi. They have an excellent on-time record with one taxi at the Community Center at all times. • The Transportation Manager's job has not yet been posted, but it will be shortly. The position will be 28 hours, four days a week. Charlotte outlined the posting and interview process. She also gave the group a general outline of what goes into hiring a staff member. Town Report Bill presented the second draft of the Town Report submission incorporating suggested changes. On a motion made and seconded, the committee voted unanimously to submit the report. TDM There have been changes in the way TDM funds are used, notably a vote recently by Town Meeting to allow TDM funds to be used for all forms of transportation. Bill presented two possible plans covering TDM support of Lexpress. One plan provides for funding a fixed percentage of the budgeted bus contract costs while funds in the TDM Stability Fund are sufficient to do so, after which TDM funding of Lexpress consists of the annual contributions to the Fund. The other plan uses the annual contributions plus a fixed percentage of the funds remaining in the Stability Fund. Annual contributions vary with CPI. At present the annual total contribution is approximately $75,000 with a total current fund balance of approximately $600,000. As a side note, Charlotte mentioned that the cost of providing free rides for Seniors has only minimal impact on the budget. She will provide a figure at the next meeting. Budget Issues Charlotte noted that personnel costs are separated from the operating budget. The Town is considering adding credit card fees to the transportation budget so that Lexpress passes can be purchased via credit card. The MBTA grant has been reduced over the years from $80,000. Charlotte talked briefly about the constraints imposed by acceptance of the MBTA grants. There was general discussion of the pros and cons of using TDM to fund all transportation. Charlotte mentioned that there is some thought being given to combining services to provide a more comprehensive transportation matrix. One important aspect is afterschool transportation. Charlotte passed out a job description for Jeanette's job after which there was a discussion about how best to attract competent candidates. Committee Membership It was noted that while currently all slots have been filled, the terms for three members expire the end of September, 2018. One Ilria6 ii�Ilu'16ded �,)o t rer:ie co a 11i a ii III muillllll III i,o seek a��i p�� uu��:��u��. The other two have not yet made a.,��u��u��u:u.p��i �� Ilrvipc � ullllll i � �.. decision. The meeting was adjourned at 8:50 PM. Materials presented at the meeting: Agenda • 2017 Transportation Advisory Committee Report (draft#2)for the FY2017 Town Report TDM Withdrawal for Lexpress Transportation Budget Summary FY19 • Lexpress 6 Year Summary o Ridership o Revenue/Expenses Lexpress Ridership Annual Summary- July 2016-June 2017 • Information sheet for September"Learn Express" Events Town of Lexington Transportation Coordinator position description Approved