HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-02-11-TAC-min Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) Minutes
February 11, 2019
Members Present: Hank Manz (chair), Sara Arnold, Elaine Dratch, Sally Castleman, Vinita
Verma, Andra Bennett
Staff: Susan Barrett
Liaisons: Bob Creech, Planning Board; Sudhir Jain (COA)
The meeting was called to order at 7:07 PM in Room 245 of the Community Center.
Minutes: A motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes from January 14, 2019.
The minutes were unanimously approved.
Public comment: A public comment was registered about how more bus shelters (potentially
heated with non-fossil fuel) could incentivise public transportation. Bus shelters would not be
feasible due to the flag system for Lexpress, but many MBIA riders would appreciate bus
shelters in town. Currently a single bus shelter exists in front of the Seth Israel medical center.
Advertising Policy
Lexpress currently does not have an advertising policy and although inquiries have been made
around advertising inside the buses, there is no possibility to move it forward without a policy.
Liberty Ride is interested in developing an advertising policy, and Lexpress could use the same
or different policy.
The members discussed various pros and cons around having advertising inside the buses.
Some of the main items that were discussed include:
a Advertising policy would provide the opportunity to accept a bid for advertising
® Revenue from advertising could be a good funding source for Lexpress, but would this
be sustainable/significant? Estimates based on initial proposal for advertising prices and
indoor space available for advertising are around $2000.
® Could include a minimum amount of time to advertise in order to ensure a steady
revenue stream
® Maintenance and upkeep of advertising posters was discussed; it would require
significant staff effort to enable. The question arose as to whether staff even has the time
to support this effort.
a Transit study could impact type of buses so actually implementing the advertising would
be held off. However, the effort could be beneficial in having a general language policy
about the types of ads allowed.
e Electronic advertising could be a lot easier to operate and potentially could generate
more revenue. Ms. Barrett will investigate the costs.
Transportation Update presented by Ms. Barrett
MAPC held meetings with multiple microtransit providers and Lexington's
Transportation Manager attended. Key takeaways: 1) Microtransit generally
serves 1-3 people per vehicle hour, 4-5 in very dense areas, so the Town of
Lexington would need considerably more vehicles to serve the same number of
people it currently does via Lexpress. 2) Microtransit is not a service people
choose to reduce transportation costs, but rather to enhance door-to-door or
curb-to-curb service. 3) Connections to/from other public transit still has issues.
4) For rural towns that do not have any transportation, this could be promising.
* Transportation Study is still ongoing and under peer review.
Microtransit options appear to be a costly alternative to implementing the current
Lexpress routes. For this reason Ms. Arnold noted that if the town were to use
additional funds for enhancing public transportation services, the alternative of
enhancing the existing fixed route system by overlapping routes may reduce wait
times and increase service quality more significantly. Lexpress originated as a 4
bus/8 route system that operated Monday-Saturday until funding costs reduced
the service.
* Still need to consider how to service the diverse needs of the community (door to
door, late night/low cost service for employees of various business in town).
® Committee is looking for another member to join the group.
Meeting was adjourned at 8:50.
Materials presented at the meeting:
® Agenda
* Minutes of January 14, 2019 meeting
® Draft of advertising policy
Respectfully Submitted,
Andra Bennett
Approved