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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-15 Report on the Mass Transit Master PlanCommunication No. 2017-15 September 7, 2017 Report on the Hawai'i County Mass Transit Master Plan as presented to the Hawai'i County Council, Committee on Public Safety and Mass Transit, September 6, 2017, 1:30 pm. Report submitted by Patti Pinto Curtis Sharp, Hawai'i County MTA Consultant and Analyst introduced Cheryl Soon, SSFM International, who is the consultant leading the Mass Transit Master Plan study. He reviewed the current status of the Hele On bus service. Hele On has been in existence for thirty years. This is the first Plan developed for the transit service. The fleet mix, which evolved from a mix of purchases of new and used vehicles is too diverse to keep a reasonable inventory of parts and is a challenge to the mechanics to learn so many different brands and makes They have outgrown their base yard and will be moving later this year into new facilities. Recruitment for an Administrator is in progress and they have added one new staff member who will be a warehouse foreperson. There are five mechanics with 5-8 years of experience. Hele On maintains service contracts with Roberts and Polynesian Adventures. Hele On has submitted three federal grant applications in the last three months, two for additional buses and one for operating assistance. Cheryl Soon made a presentation of the actual work to produce a Master Plan for Hele On. This plan will be a "base line" study as no plan has existed before. We were introduced to the Metropolitan Planning Organization, which is required by the Federal Transportation Authority when an urban area reaches a population of 50,000. Maui Island has passed this landmark. Technically, Hawai'i Island has probably reached this status, but because of how our districts are laid out it will not be an issue for us until the 2020 census. Taking the step to form an MPO moves our transit authority to our own organization and takes us out of the State DOT authority. The reporting burden is greatly increased, but our planning and funding applications will be in our own hands. The FTA wants all transit authorities to have a master plan, but once we move to the MPO, it is mandatory that a plan be established, reviewed and updated regularly. The importance of community input was stressed. To this date they have relied on the ridership survey which was conducted in March 2017 and customer interviews by MTA staff actually on buses and at bus stops. They have scheduled public meetings in October as follows: • Kona — West Hawai'i Civic Center — October 9 • Kea'au — Kea'au Community Center — October 11 • Pahoa — Pahoa Community Center — October 12 • Waimea — Waimea Elementary School — October 19 • Hilo — TBA Communication No. 2017-15 The Council requested that community meetings also be held in Ka'u and Hamakua. Cheryl will work with the Council Reps to set up these locations and times. The contract for the Master Plan outlines the tasks as follows: • Task One: Administrative • Task Two: Vision • Task Three: Public involvement • Task Four: Existing conditions, review previous studies, passenger survey • Task Five: Trends and future needs • Task Six: Service improvement program • Task Seven: Capital program • Task Eight Financial plan • Task Nine: Master Plan document The public involvement portion is lagging and will be remedied with the planned community meetings. There will also be a series of community meetings to present the final plan. It was noted that Hele On's current vision statement is not descriptive of the service, "Create a transportation agency the rest of the world recognizes as the best" A new vision statement will be proposed, "Create a high quality multi -modal transportation system that provides safe, reliable, convenient, environmentally responsible, and cost effective mobility choices that meet the needs of our residents and visitors" Toward that end the following goals have been established: • Goal One: Make riding transit easier and more desirable • Goal Two: Create a transit system to serve all people • Goal Three: Use transit as a tool • Goal Four: Crate transportation hubs with amenities • Goal Five: Phase system implementation The passenger survey conducted in March revealed the following demographic information: • 29.1% have been riding for less than one year • 15.5% would drive is bus service were not available • 84.5% are dependent on transit, although 35.8% could possibly get a ride from someone else if they had to • 57.1% ride five or more times per week • 27.5% ride more than ten times per week • 29.7% are students (grade school, high school, college) • 50.6% are employed either full or part time • 7.6% are tourists The survey revealed passenger satisfaction responses that were not really surprising. Buses that don't break down would be appreciated, realistic bus route schedules, schedules more responsive to the needs of the population, bus shelters. People were generally grateful for the service they were receiving and very much desired improvement. Communication No. 2017-15 The consultants were using population forecasting figures that appear to be accurate and have used the GIS tool to integrate their work into Hawai'i County planning They reported that they incorporated the data from the CDPs into their planning framework. They recognize Puna and Ka'u as underserved areas and propose the first upgrade to be a hub and spoke service in Puna. Trends and needs by district were presented. For Puna: Puna (2010 population 45,326) is served by routes 10 and 40. Puna needs additional frequency in AM and PM plus service beyond just commuter service. A hub and spoke service is necessary. There are many technological options that could be included in the new Hele On. Next steps in the study include: Service Improvement Recommendations: • Short term to address current problems • Intermediate term including modifications to existing routes to better meet customer needs • Long Term service objective to convert to hub and spoke operations; increase frequencies and provide improved customer experience. • Once the Service Plan (September 2017) is revised, prepare a Capital Improvement Plan to support each phase of modifications (November 2017) • Financial Plan (November 2017) • The final deliverable is a County of Hawai'i Transit Master Plan (first quarter in 2018) AND COMMUNITY MEETINGS IN OCTOBER 2017.