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Home My WebLink About2020-07-23; Carlsbad Connector Pilot Project Update; Gomez, PazTo the members of the: CITY COUNCIL Date 1 l?:2'f ::wcA 2--cc ~ CM -./ ACM ~DCM(3).Y . July 23, 2020 To: From: Via: Re: Council Memorandum Honorable Mayor Hall and Members of the City Council Paz Gomez, Deputy City Manager, Pu~orks Geoff Patnoe, Assistant City Managel§f Carlsbad Connector Pilot Project Update {city of Carlsbad Memo ID#2020152 This memorandum provides an update on the status of the Carlsbad Connector shuttle pilot project. The last update was provided on June 4, 2020 (Attachment A). Background On June 11, 2019, City Council approved the Carlsbad Connector pilot project and entered a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with North County Transit District (NCTD) and San Diego Association of Governments (SAN DAG) in Resolution No. 2019-087. On Aug. 19, 2019, the on- demand shuttle service was launched as the first program of its kind in San Diego County to transport commuters between the Carlsbad Poinsettia COASTER station and workplaces in Carlsbad. In June 2020, the city extended the initial agreement with the service provider to expire on Aug. 3, 2020. Discussion The pilot project successfully achieved its first-year objectives, and management of the contract and operations was ready to transition to NCTD beginning Aug. 3, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic impacts on transit ridership, NCTD has determined that a temporary suspension to this service is warranted. Thus, the final day for regular Carlsbad Connector service will be on Friday, July 31, 2020, and service will be suspended until further notice. NCTD plans to implement a new pilot on-demand service in April 2021, if the impacts of COVID- 19 have significantly eased by then and the COASTER commuter service returns to full operations. The NCTD pilot program will be aligned with their new service and operational plans, which are anticipated to be finalized in the coming months. NCTD will assume funding for the new pilot micro-transit program within their existing FLEX brand once service is re-launched. Next Steps Starting next week, efforts to communicate the change to riders, businesses and the public will begin, including a joint press release with NCTD and SAN DAG, a city website update and emails to current users. Attachment: A. Council Memorandum dated June 4, 2020 Public Works Branch Transportation Department 1635 Faraday Avenue I Carlsbad, CA 92008 I 760-602-2780 t Honorable Mayor Hall and Members of the City Council July 23, 2020 Page 2 cc: Scott Chadwick, City Manager Celia Brewer, City Attorney Gary Barberio, Deputy City Manager, Community Services Laura Rocha, Deputy City Manager, Administrative Services Robby Contreras, Assistant City Attorney David Graham, Chief Innovation Officer Tom Frank, Transportation Director Jeff Murphy, Community Development Director Kristina Ray, Communication & Engagement Director Nathan Schmidt, Transportation Planning and Mobility Manager To the members of the: CITY COUNCIL Datebhl2.o CA ✓cc ✓ CM L ACM VDCM(3) V June 4, 2020 Council Memorandum To: Honorable Mayor Hall and Members of the City Council From: Paz Gomez, Deputy City Manager, P&.u· arks Via: Geoff Patnoe, Assistant City Manage Re: Carlsbad Connector Pilot Project Up e ATTACHMENT A {city of Carlsbad Memo ID#2020111 This memorandum provides an update on the status of the Carlsbad Connector shuttle pilot project. Background On Aug. 19, 2019, the Carlsbad Connector launched, which is a first of its kind on-demand pilot shuttle service in San Diego County that transports commuters between the Carlsbad Poinsettia COASTER station and workplaces in Carlsbad. The innovative pilot service is operated by a partnership between the City of Carlsbad, North County Transit District (NCTD) and San Diego Association of Governments (SAN DAG). The pilot project successfully achieved its first-year objectives. On June 11, 2019, City Council approved the pilot project and entered a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with NCTD and SAN DAG in Resolution No. 2019-087. Pursuant to this MOU, Carlsbad executed a one-year $250,000 professional services agreement with Rideco, Inc. to provide technology-driven transportation services. With NCTD and SAN DAG each contributing $200,000, the initial investment for the Carlsbad Connector totaled $650,000. While the city's agreement with RideCo expires on June 5, 2020, it will be extended by 60 days to August 3, 2020 so that NCTD can assume responsibility for managing the agreement and the second year of operations. Discussion Complementing existing transit services with the on-demand service the Carlsbad Connector provides offers travelers flexible and convenient shared transportation options to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Carlsbad Connector service also helps achieve the more sustainable future envisioned in SANDAG's Regional Plan, the city's Clima-te Action Plan and the city's Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Program. The fundamentals of the Carlsbad Connector service include: • Peak hour morning service from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., capturing the 7:09 a.m. and 8:36 a.m. northbound COASTER trains Public Works Branch Transportation Department 1635 Faraday Avenue I Carlsbad, CA 92008 I 760-602-2780 t Honorable Mayor Hall and Members of the City Council June 4, 2020 Page 2 • Peak hour afternoon service from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., capturing the afternoon and evening rush hours • Mid-day service from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. provides expanded service to Carlsbad Village • Four 12-person shuttles, one of which is fully Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant • Option to add a fifth shuttle if warranted by increased ridership demand • Shuttles are equipped with WiFi and each shuttle holds up to two bikes • The system creates virtual stops at which riders can be dropped off within a five-minute . walk from their ultimate destination • The software optimizes drop-offs such that if 12 people all request to go to the same location, they will be grouped together and an entire vehicle will go straight to that singie destination • Customers with a COASTER monthly or day-pass will ride for free • Individual rides are $2.50 per ride, in alignment with NCTD fares • Data will be shared with all three agencies to help determine if service or stops need to · be changed and for planning the viability of long-term service After the current contract expires on June 5, 2020, the city will no longer provide funds for year two of operations. However, the innovative partnership will continue through city staff support and economic development engagement. A 60-day agreement extension will be executed this week so that the current agreement will expire on August 3, 2020. Program operations and funding will be fully assumed by the city's project partners, NCTD and SAN DAG, for continuing the program until June 2021. The city, in cooperation with SAN DAG, NCTD and local employers, will continue to work with the vendors to target employers and employment gathering places to successfully market the service. The MOU with NCTD and SAN DAG will be amended to reflect the revised responsibilities · of each agency by next month. Since its launch in August 2019, the Carlsbad Connector logged over 9,000 rides, with a significant increase in month-over-month adoption. The average trip duration with planned stops was only 16 minutes, compared to 12 minutes if passengers drove themselves. The Carlsbad Connector demonstrated a 96% on-time performance and achieved 4.9 out of 5 stars in average · customer ratings. Through late February 2020, the service had achieved its initial ridership goal of 100 or more daily trips and developed a devoted base of riders who depended on the Carlsbad Connector for their daily commute to work. In recent months, the COVID-19 pandemic has severely reduced ridership as shown in Figure 1 below. The decline in ridership reflects approximately 80% reduction in ridership on the COASTER, which is temporarily operating under a 50% reduction in weekday train service. Even with the significant declines in ridership, both the COASTER and Carlsbad Connector service have Honorable Mayor Hall and Members of the City Council June 4, 2020 Page 3 maintained operations at reduced levels to provide transportation connections to essential service businesses such as ThermoFisher Scientific and GenMark Diagnostics, two Carlsbad-based companies working on COVID-19 testing. ' As an additional cost savings, the mid-day service from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. will be discontinued; however, the morning service from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. and evening service from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. will remain. To ensure social or physical distancing requirements are met, the maximum vehicle capacity of each shuttle has been reduced to six passengers through the rider application. The number of shuttles in operation has also been reduced to one shuttle. Figure 1: Carlsbad Connector Total Riders by Week Since Launch 450 400 350 ~ 300 ~ Ql ::g Cl:'. 250 >, 32 Ql ~ 200 1§ {=. 150 100 so 0 Aug. Sept. Oct. Total Riders by Week Chri tmas Thanksgiving ~I I r~ov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Month Mar. COVID-19 Pandemic - • I I I I I Apr May The data compiled from year one of this pilot service unexpectedly included insight on rapid and emergency adjustments, which was valuable to help guide future, long-range transportation and mobility plans. Staff closely monitored ridership levels, including the COVID-19 impact, and adjusted vehicle capacity and the number of shuttles in use as ridership demand shifted. The ability to provide these on-the-fly adjustments highlighted the flexibility of the Carlsbad Connector program, which could not easily be accomplished with traditional transit services. Next Steps After June 5, 2020, the city's project partners, NCTD and SANDAG, will assume full funding and operations of the Carlsbad Connector program. This week, the city will amend the existing agreement with RideCo to extend it by 60 days so that NCTD can assume responsibility for managing the agreement and the second year of operations. The city will continue to work with Honorable Mayor Hall and Members of the City Council June 4, 2020 Page 4 the partners to successfully market the service to employers and employment gathering places. By next month, the MOU with NCTD and SAN DAG will be amended to reflect the revised responsibilities. · · In April 2021, NCTD will re-evaluate the Carlsbad Connector service to determine if they will continue full operations of the program in the future. Moving forward, NCTD has expressed that the program is intended to support planned increased frequencies on the COASTER . Additionally, micro-transit service expansion will be supported by the NCTD Strategic Multi modal Transit Implementation Plan which is currently under development and anticipated to be adopted in fall 2020. cc: Scott Chadwick, City Manager Celia Brewer, City Attorney Gary Barberio, Deputy City Manager, Community Services Laura Rocha; Deputy City Manager, Administrative Services Robby Contreras, Assistant City Attorney David Graham, Chief Innovation Officer Tom Frank, Transportation Director Nathan Schmidt, Transportation Planning and Mobility Manager