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HomeMy WebLinkAboutStudy Session - Item a DATE: February 20, 2018 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council FROM: Jason Kruckeberg, Assistant City Manager/Development Services Director By: Linda Hui, Transportation Services Manager SUBJECT: REPORT, DISCUSSION, AND DIRECTION REGARDING PROVISION OF OUT-OF-TOWN MEDICAL TRIPS BY ARCADIA TRANSIT Recommendation: Continue Current Policy and do not Provide out-of-town medical trips SUMMARY At a recent City Council meeting, the City Council requested an analysis of a “pilot project” to use Arcadia Transit to take residents out of the City for medical trips. Although details were left to the Staff, several different options were discussed, including offering this service once or twice a week, for example. This service was attempted once before, in 2003-2004, and was discontinued due to inefficiency and lack of use. The Development Services Department, along with service provider First Transit, reviewed the potential of this service to determine feasibility, sustainability, and possible options. It is important that the City Council understand the limitations of the service, the realities of ridership and service hours, and the budget as part of this review. It is recommended that the City Council continue to current policy of not providing out-of-town trips. BACKGROUND In the past two years, there have been a number of significant changes to Arcadia Transit. These have mostly occurred under our previous service provider, Southland Transit (“Southland”). While Southland was a good partner in implementing these Out-of-Town Medical Trips by Arcadia Transit February 20, 2018 Page 2 of 2 changes, they had challenges in executing them. We are now kicking off a new relationship and contract with a new provider, First Transit. By all appearances, First Transit is an excellent operator and we are excited to begin this era of transit provision in Arcadia with them. Just in the past two years, we have changed the following aspects of Arcadia Transit, after decades of simple, demand-responsive dial-a-ride service to the general public: Date Change or Modification 11-2015 City Council votes to end public dial-a-ride service (no more students). Actual change is at end of the school year (6-2016) 3-2016 Fixed-route service begins on the Green Line to meet new Gold Line Light Rail Service 6-2016 Fixed route service begins on the Red and Blue lines, general public dial-a-ride ends 2-2017 Council workshop to set policies for system, understand fixed-route performance 5-2017 Policy changes to allow ONLY Arcadia residents to use system 8-2017 City Council votes to change service provider to First Transit 10-2017 First Transit begins to provide service The table above represents significant and fundamental changes that have morphed Arcadia Transit into a full service (albeit small) transportation system. Some of these changes were generated from the Staff, and some were implemented at the request of a group of residents and users of the Arcadia Transit system (the “Transportation Task Force”). Toward the end of 2017, the City Council requested that the Staff research the possibility of providing out-of-town medical trips. The request was to look into this as a “pilot” program, perhaps providing the service once or twice a week. It is important to note that this service was attempted once before, in 2003-2004, and was unsuccessful at that time. Projections of use were not met, cost per trip was very high, and the City Council ultimately cancelled the program because it was not performing. Staff reports memorializing these efforts were sent to the City Council a number of weeks ago, and the final report summarizing the program is included again here as Attachment 1 for reference. DISCUSSION Although the 2003-2004 experience with out-of-town medical trips is telling, perhaps more important is the fact that under the current model of dial-a-ride and fixed routes, adding out of town medical trips to Arcadia Transit simply cannot be done effectively at Out-of-Town Medical Trips by Arcadia Transit February 20, 2018 Page 2 of 2 a level that will be sustainable. To answer the City Council’s direct request for a pilot program, First Transit analyzed user patterns to see if there is a day or time in a typical week when service like this could be provided without significant impact to the overall system. Since the current dial-a-ride service is at or close to full capacity, there is not a down time long enough in any weekday to accommodate out of town trips in a manner that would be fair to current dial-a-ride users, and sustainable over the long run. This service will take buses out of the City for long periods of time as they will need to return for pick up and/or wait for the return trip. Huntington Hospital, and the surrounding medical offices in Pasadena, and the City of Hope would be two examples of likely locations to travel to. Travel time to and from these and other potential locations will take away availability from the existing dial-a-ride, which you have heard from several riders is already stretched thin at peak times. The same can be said of the fixed routes, as they need a certain number of buses running at all times, and are already at what we consider a minimum level of service. For example, a trip to the City of Hope (using City Hall as a starting point) is approximately 25 minutes, not counting passenger loading and unloading. So, a trip of one person to City of Hope would require, at a minimum, 50 minutes of bus time. A trip to and from Huntington Hospital is approximately 40 minutes, not including loading and unloading, for a round trip time of 80 minutes. For perspective, for a typical service day of 14 hours, transporting a single person to Huntington Hospital and back would consume, on average, 10% of that bus day. Therefore, according to First Transit, providing out-of-town medical trips for residents on Arcadia Transit would be an added service. This could be accomplished, but it would require an amendment to the current contract. If the City chooses to provide the out-of- town medical trip service in addition to the existing services, First Transit would add a full time driver to their personnel. At the current per revenue hour rate of $51.12, this would be an estimated increase in cost of $106,000 plus fuel, to run the service Monday to Friday. The cost will increase annually according the rate schedule in the current contract. The other method to provide this service would be to modify the current service model. To provide more context to the issue of capacity, it may be helpful to review how the current service hours and ridership have changed following the recent decisions to stop the general public service (mostly students) and begin fixed route service. The tables below show a four year comparison of service hours and ridership. Out-of-Town Medical Trips by Arcadia Transit February 20, 2018 Page 2 of 2 TABLE 1 – Arcadia Transit Service Hours Fiscal Year Dial-a-Ride Rev. Service Hours Fixed Route Rev. Service Hours TOTAL Rev. Service Hours 2013-14 28,280 - 28,280 2014-15 25,296 - 25,296 2015-16 21,608 2,372* 23,980 2016-17 11,711 14,398* 26,108 *FY 15-16 represents only a few months of fixed route service, FY 16-17 is a full year. TABLE 2 – Arcadia Transit Ridership Fiscal Year DAR Ridership Fixed Route Ridership TOTAL Ridership 2013-14 130,134 - 130,134 2014-15 112,398 - 112,398 2015-16 100,785 7,220 108,005 2016-17 32,619 34,619 67,228 The 13-14 and 14-15 Fiscal Year numbers are included in the tables above to show the type of ridership we had when the service was a general public dial-a-ride. Clearly, the move away from allowing students (general public) on the bus in 2016 had a significant impact on dial-a-ride ridership and service hours. As is shown in the data for 2016-17, Arcadia Transit needed 14,398 service hours to run the fixed route service as the routes are currently configured. This is why we recently released the bid for an operator of Arcadia Transit at 15,000 service hours for the fixed routes. By nature of the fixed routes, these numbers are relatively static, so there is not much give. If the current fixed route system is maintained, we can expect this type of service hour amount to continue. We believe the fixed route ridership numbers will continue to grow over time but it is highly doubtful we will reach the numbers we had previously. Also, as stated above, the current fixed routes are the bare minimum of what we feel is a sustainable system. Headways on the fixed routes range from 20 minutes on the Green Line to 35 minutes on the Red and Blue Lines during the busiest times. During other times of the day, the Headways are increased to over an hour between buses on the Red and Blue lines. Adding a program to take buses out of the City for medical trips is just not feasible without changing something else about the system. It is recommended that the City Council continue with the current policy of not running buses outside of the City, and avoid providing out-of-City medical trips. However, if the Out-of-Town Medical Trips by Arcadia Transit February 20, 2018 Page 2 of 2 City Council would like to add this service to Arcadia Transit, it is recommended that the City Council consider changing the service model. Options that could be considered include adding funding to the system to enhance the service offerings for the dial-a-ride or fixed routes, eliminating portions of the existing service model, such as fixed routes, and/or modifying the contract with First Transit. These issues can be discussed at a subsequent study session as needed. ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS Provision of out-of-town trips would not be considered a project per the California Environmental Quality Act per Section 15061(b)(3) of the CEQA guidelines. FISCAL IMPACT If out-of-town trips for medical purposes were attempted as a pilot project, this could likely be done within the City’s current contract with First Transit. This is because the contract is based on an overall total service hours and the hours spent on out-of-town trips would simply replace hours spent on other dial-a-ride services. However, if a true program were established to provide these types of trips on a consistent basis, the contract with First Transit would need to be revisited and this would have financial implications estimated at approximately $106,000 per year, plus fuel costs. RECOMMENDATION It is recommended that the City Council continue with the current policy, and not provide out-of-town medical trips. Attachment: May 18, 2004, City Council Staff Report regarding Non-Emergency Medical Appointment Transportation Pilot Program U:Medical/Final_Council Report_05-18-04 1 Date: May 18, 2004 To: Mayor and City Council From: Don Penman, Assistant City Manager/Development Services Director Martha Eros, Transportation Services Officer Subject: Non-Emergency Medical Appointment Transportation Pilot Program Recommendation: Discontinue program SUMMARY At the October 2, 2003, Arcadia Senior Commission (“Commission”) meeting, the Commission requested a six (6) month extension of the Non-Emergency Medical Appointment Transportation Pilot Program (“Medical Program”) for an opportunity to promote the service to the senior and medical community. The Arcadia City Council approved a six (6) month extension to the Medical Program on November 18, 2003. The Medical Program was implemented in September 2002 to provide Arcadia senior and disabled residents access to five (5) medical facilities located outside the Arcadia city limits. Medical ridership during the 12-month pilot period was far below projected performance levels, and, to date, participation continues to fall below projected performance levels. Therefore, staff is recommending that the program be discontinued. BACKGROUND Arcadia Transit has provided the general public with transportation to Methodist Hospital and all medical buildings located in the city limits since its inception in 1975. Members from the Arcadia Senior Commission familiar with increased costs associated with HMO health care and Medicare systems (resulting in members being referred to medical professionals and facilities located in neighboring cities) identified a need for transportation outside of the city limits to assist seniors and disabled persons to access their health care provider(s). City staff, in cooperation with the Commission and the Recreation and Community Services Department, identified five medical hubs located beyond the Arcadia city limits where seniors are being referred: Santa Teresita Hospital and City of Hope Medical U:Medical/Final_Council Report_05-18-04 2 Center in Duarte, Mountainview Dialysis Center in Monrovia, Kaiser Permanente Baldwin Park, and Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena. The pilot Medical Program was blended into the Arcadia Transit dial-a-ride system by increasing the level of contract service hours with Southland Transportation Inc., the City’s transportation provider. The program utilizes existing vehicles, reservations and dispatch staff, drivers and administrative management. Appointments are available Monday through Friday, 8AM to 6PM, by advance appointment only in order to reserve a vehicle and accommodate regular demand response service. Subscriptions are not available for the Medical Program. DISCUSSION When the 12-month trial period approached review and evaluation, the Arcadia Senior Commission expressed concern about the availability of information and marketing efforts of the Medical Program to medical offices that provide health care to Arcadia seniors. The Commission determined that additional medical offices (within reasonable access to the City of Arcadia) would be identified and a list of offices provided to City staff for inclusion to the existing list of five (5) medical hubs, and that Commission members would visit medical offices that service Arcadia seniors to distribute literature to educate office staff. City staff created a separate brochure describing the Medical Program and included one (1) additional medical center—San Gabriel Valley Medical Center—to the list of service destinations. The brochure was placed at the Community Resource Center, Arcadia Public Library and City Hall, and an ample supply was provided to the Commission for distribution. City staff did not receive a list of additional medical offices to add to the destination list. A total of 2,540 annual hours of service [10 hours (Monday – Friday, 8AM – 6PM) x 254 weekdays] at a rate of $22.70 per hour and a flat passenger fare of $2.00 per one-way trip was programmed for the pilot program. Due to the distance (location) and travel time required to access the designated sites, each medical trip was projected at one hour per each one-way passenger trip, for a total annual productivity level of 2,540 passenger trips. During the 12-month pilot period, the Medical Program provided a total of only 241 one- way trips, with 78.58 revenue hours provided from September 2002 through September 2003, for an average cost of $7.40 per one-way trip or $14.80 per passenger (roundtrip). An additional 161 trips were provided during the extension period from October 2003 through April 2004, increasing the eighteen-month ridership to 402. A year-to-date total of 144.46 revenue hours have been expended, resulting in an average cost of $8.15 per one-way trip or $16.30 per passenger (roundtrip). The Medical Program has provided transportation to 57 clients, of which 11 repeat clients constitute 38% of the service requests. Thirteen (13) new clients used the service during the extension period, representing 14% growth in persons using the system. U:Medical/Final_Council Report_05-18-04 3 SEPTEMBER-03 APRIL-04 DESTINATION TRIPS DESTINATION TRIPS Variance Santa Teresita 81 Santa Teresita 131 38% Kaiser Medical 17 Kaiser Medical 92 81% Huntington Memorial 61 Huntington Memorial 93 34% City of Hope 56 City of Hope 60 6% Mountainview Dialysis 26 Mountainview Dialysis 26 0% Grand Total 241 Grand Total 402 40% Ridership on the Medical Program remains low, and the subsidized cost per passenger will continue to increase as time and (potentially) travel distance increases. Although a 40% increase in one-way trips has been experienced during the past seven (7) months, the overall use of the Medical Program falls below expected performance measures and the cost and time involved to transport one person is extremely high. Additionally, the City is currently in the process of a Request for Proposals (“RFP”) for the operation, maintenance and management of the Arcadia Transit dial-a-ride system. Contract costs are expected to increase due to fuel prices, insurance rates and computation of revenue service hours. City staff is unable to predict the cost impacts the Medical Program will experience, but are certain that the hourly rate specific to the Medical Program will also increase. Staff is suggesting that the pilot Non-Emergency Medical Transportation Program be cancelled effective June 30, 2004. The Arcadia Transit dial-a-ride system will continue to offer seniors and disabled persons transportation to any destination within the incorporated city limits, including Methodist Hospital and all medical offices, for 25 cents per ride. Regional resources available to seniors and disabled persons include Access Services Paratransit and the Immediate Needs Transportation Program operated by the County of Los Angeles. FISCAL IMPACT Ending the pilot program will make the programmed Proposition C Discretionary funds available for other transportation related services as needed. RECOMMENDATION THAT THE CITY COUNCIL CANCEL THE NON-EMERGENCY MEDICAL TRANSPORTATION PILOT PROGRAM TO TRANSPORT ARCADIA SENIOR CITIZENS AND DISABLED PERSONS TO MEDICAL FACILITIES LOCATED OUTSIDE THE ARCADIA CITY LIMITS. Approved By: _________________________ William R. Kelly, City Manager