Subject: Phoenix City Council Hearing - The State of Public Transit - July 1, 2008 Date: Friday, June 27, 2008 4:15 PM Friends, On Tuesday, July 1st, the Phoenix City Council will hear an item at their Policy Session entitled, -The State of Public Transit.- A copy of the City Council Report is pasted below. (It is quite lengthy, including several graphs, etc.) There is a LOT of great information, facts, figures and historical perspectives that may help you as you continue to inform your friends about transit. The Phoenix City Council meetings are open to the public and they welcome input and comments from residents. While it is a good forum to raise any concerns you have about public transportation, it is also good time and place to thank the Mayor, Council and City Staff who work tirelessly to provide a good quality bus service to the residents of Phoenix. I am sure they would love to see a few of the Friends show up in support. The Phoenix City Council meeting starts at 2:00 p.m. at the City Council Chambers - located at 200 W. Jefferson. _____ CITY COUNCIL REPORT POLICY AGENDA TO: Thomas E. Callow, P.E. Deputy City Manager AGENDA DATE: July 1, 2008 FROM: Debbie Cotton Public Transit Director ITEM: 4 SUBJECT: THE STATE OF PUBLIC TRANSIT This report provides information on the current state of public transit in Phoenix. THE ISSUE The City of Phoenix Public Transit Department prides itself on the variety and quality of dependable transit services we provide throughout the Valley. However, nationally the transit industry is struggling to meet the increasing demands of its customers in light of the second economic downturn in the past eight years. This report presents information on the services provided by the Phoenix Public Transit Department. Also included is information on our major funding sources and a fiscal outlook. Transit Operations Contractors are responsible for day-to-day operation of the service. Currently there are three companies under contract to the City of Phoenix providing fixed route (bus) transit service on 52 routes including local, express and RAPID. Those companies are First Transit, Inc., MV Transportation, and Veolia Phoenix. The City of Phoenix purchases fixed route bus service from the City of Tempe and the Regional Public Transportation Authority and also sells service to other cities. Attachment A provides a comparison of bus service and facilities demonstrating what has been accomplished since the Transit 2000 tax was approved. Other Transit Entities In 1985, the Arizona State Legislature passed a law enabling the citizens of Maricopa County to vote on a sales tax increase to fund regional freeway improvements and provide for the creation of the Regional Public Transportation Authority (RPTA) - now known as Valley Metro/RPTA. Under the Valley Metro brand, local governments joined to fund the valley-wide transit system. Valley Metro Board member agencies include Avondale, Chandler, El Mirage, Gilbert, Glendale, Goodyear, Maricopa County, Mesa, Peoria, Phoenix, Queen Creek, Regional Public Transportation Authority (Valley Metro RPTA), Scottsdale, Surprise and Tempe. Phoenix, RPTA and Tempe are the three major service operators in the Valley. Attachment B provides a comparison of services and facilities provided by these three service operators. TRANSIT FUNDING AND FORECAST Proposition 2000 In March of 2000, City of Phoenix voters approved the 0.4 percent Transit 2000 sales tax dedicated to expanding and improving public transit. The tax was implemented on June 1, 2000. Planning for the proposition provided for a 66% - 34% split in funding respectively for bus and light rail. General Fund (GF) - General Funds are general citywide sales tax collections that are used to fund City services such as Police, Fire, Parks, Libraries, Public Transit, the Municipal Court, and others. General Fund participation was projected to be $30 million per year, or $600 million for the 20-year plan. LTAF and LTAF II Funds - LTAF funds are distributed annually from Arizona State Lottery revenues based on population. In addition, LTAF II funds are occasionally available. Because LTAF II funds are received infrequently, they are generally used for one-time projects. Federal Funds - Federal Transportation Administration (FTA) grant funds are received primarily based on a formula and through earmarks for specific projects. Nearly all of these federal funding sources are directed to capital-related projects including the purchase of buses, Dial-A-Ride vehicles, purchase and installation of bus stop improvements, transit centers, Park-And-Ride lots, and light rail construction. Bus System Revenues - The majority of bus system revenues are from passenger fares, interior and exterior bus advertising, and bus shelter advertising. Interest earnings, vending machine receipts, warranty reimbursements, sale of excess assets, recovery of damage claims, building rental income, sale of plans are other miscellaneous revenues received by the program. ½ Cent County Sales Tax On November 2, 2004, the voters of Maricopa County passed Proposition 400, which authorized the continuation of the existing half-cent sales tax for transportation in the region. This provided a dedicated funding source for the twenty-year Regional Transportation Plan (RTP). The RTP is a comprehensive, performance based, multi-modal and coordinated regional plan. FINANCIAL FORECAST Similar to the General Fund, Transit 2000 sales taxes are also experiencing a significant slowdown. Earlier in the year, we reported declining revenues and recommended that planned service expansions not be implemented in 2008-2009. Sales taxes have continued to worsen and now through the first 11 months of this year, the T2000 collections are nearly 6% below the same period for last year. Funds from other sources such as the state and federal government are also subject to these financial pressures and are threatened. In addition, costs such as fuel are increasing at higher than normal rates. As a result, the Public Transit Department has updated the financial forecast for the bus program. With our current projections and assumptions, the 20-year bus program cannot support any new services or facilities as originally planned. There is a need to monitor the sales tax revenues closely, however, no immediate actions are required. CONCLUSION This report is for information and discussion. No action is requested. attachments: Public Transit -Then and Now- Fact Sheet (A) Regional Ridership Comparisons (B) Attachment A PUBLIC TRANSIT DEPARTMENT - THEN AND NOW (all timeframes FY 2000 and FY 2007 unless otherwise noted) THEN (Fiscal Year 1999-2000) NOW (Fiscal Year 2006-2007) Bus Ridership 30 million 44 million Dial-A-Ride Ridership 179,000 410,736 RAPID Ridership 0 1st Year of RAPID service = 2003 (2003 = 397,592) 907,352 Park-And-Rides Spaces available 1,374 (2002) 2,481 (May 2008) Park-And-Rides Percent capacity used 34% 83% (May 2008) Bus Stops 3,900 4,246 (June 2008) Bus Shelters 962 2,506 (June 2008) Bus Bays 425 753 (June 2008) Circulator Ridership (DASH and ALEX) 129,000 1st Year of ALEX service = 2002 735,941 New Circulator Ridership (July 2007 through March 2008 - Daily) DART = 118 Deer Run = 120 MARY = 2,040 SMART = 1,416 Operating Funds $46.4 million $175.2 million (2009) Transit Centers * Central Station * Ed Pastor * Metrocenter * Sunnyslope * Paradise Valley Mall * Desert Sky Mall Park-And-Rides * Shea Boulevard/SR 51 * Bell Road/SR 51 * Bell Road/I-17 * 79th Avenue/I-10 * 40th Street/Pecos Road Attachment B REGIONAL RIDERSHIP COMPARISONS (FY 2007) PHOENIX RPTA Tempe Bus Ridership 44 million 7 million 7 million Percent of Ridership 76% 12% 12% Number of Routes Operated by 52 17 17 Boardings per Mile 2.1 1.3 1.5 Service Miles Operated 19 million 5 million 5 million Park-And-Rides 5 0 1 Transit Centers 6 0 1 Maintenance and Ops 4 1 1 Revenue Bus Fleet 505 165 115