HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-06-17; Carlsbad Connector Pilot Project Update (Districts - All); Gomez, PazTo the members ofthe:
CITY COUNCIL
Date ~/,1 /~ CA L CC ✓
CM L ACM __L DCM(3)_i,.
June 17, 2021
Council Memorandum
To: Honorable Mayor Hall and Members of the City Council
From: Paz Gomez, Deputy City Manager, Public Works
Via: Geoff Patnoe, Acting City Manager @
Re: Carlsbad Connector Pilot Project Update (Districts -All)
{city of
Carlsbad
Memo ID #2021124
This memorandum provides an update to a previous Council Memorandum dated July 23, 2020,
(Attachment A) on the status of the Carlsbad Connector shuttle pilot project.
Background
On June 11, 2019, City Council adopted Resolution No. 2019-087 approving the Carlsbad
Connector pilot project and entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with North
County Transit District (NCTD) and San Diego Association of Governments {SAN DAG). On
Aug. 19, 2019, the on-demand shuttle service was launched to transport commuters between
the Carlsbad Poinsettia COASTER Station and workplaces in Carlsbad.
Discussion
As of July 31, 2020, the Carlsbad Connector has been suspended as a result of temporary service
reductions implemented on COASTER trains due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Carlsbad
Connector was the first program of its kind in the San Diego County and was designed to increase
COASTER ridership by providing a flexible and convenient solution to bridge the gap between the
Poinsettia COASTER Station and the city's primary industrial and commercial corridors. The
Carlsbad Connector program was also a successful example of a public/private partnership
between the City of Carlsbad, NCTD, SAN DAG, and Carlsbad employers.
NCTD anticipates assuming operations and funding for a new pilot micro-transit program with
extension of the service area into the City of San Marcos. Building upon the successes and
lessons learned as part of the Carlsbad Connector pilot, NCTD intends to implement a FLEX on-
demand micro-transit pilot operating within a designated zone that will likely be anchored by the
Carlsbad Poinsettia COASTER Station to the west, and California State University San Marcos and
Palomar College to the east, with a significant concentration of employment along Palomar
Airport Road.
NCTD's relaunch plans in early 2022 will be dependent on post-COVID-19 recovery. NCTD will
provide and maintain the vehicles and anticipates deploying six to 10 shuttles within the service
zone. This will be a significant expansion from the Carlsbad Connector pilot program, which
included four shuttles. NCTD plans to select a new consultant to provide the micro-transit
Public Works Branch
Transportation Department
1635 Faraday Avenue I Carlsbad, CA 92008 I 760-602-2780 t
Council Memo -Carlsbad Connector Pilot Project Update (Districts -All)
June 17, 2021
Page 2
software service, identify current ridership and travel patterns within the Carlsbad-San Marcos
service zone and assign vehicle resources accordingly.
Next Steps
Staff will continue to coordinate with NCTD on the new pilot micro-transit program, which is
currently scheduled to start in early 2022, and will update City Council as new information is
available.
Attachment: A. Council Memorandum dated July 23, 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/City Engineer
Jeff Murphy, Community Development Director
Kristina Ray, Communication and Engagement Director
Nathan Schmidt, Transportation Planning and Mobility Manager
Matt Sanford, Economic Development Manager
To the members of the:
CITY COUNCIL
Date 1 l?:::j=wcA .:!._cc ~
.CM ..]!__ACM ~DCM(3)~
ATTACHMENT A
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 41 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, 20201 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 Date"'bl2.ei CA ✓cc ✓
cM L AcM..0cM(3l v""'
June 4, 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 Manage(_~
Carlsbad Connector Pilot Project Up~ ·
ATTACHMENT A
{city of
Carlsbad
Memo ID#202O111
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. Pursuantto 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 Climate Action Plan and the
city's Transportation Demand Management (TOM) 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 t rains
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 S, 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 t he
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 m_inutes if passengers drove themselves. The Carlsbad
Connector demonstrated a 96% on-time performance and achieved 4.9 out of S 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
befow. 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 t ransportation 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
Total Riders by Week
450
Chri<tmas
400 Thanksgiving
350
100
50
0
Aug. Oc1. Nov. Dec, Jan.
Month
Feb. Mar.
COVID-19
Pendemic
- I 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 th.e number of shuttles in use as ridership demand shifted. The
ability to provide these on-the-fly adjustments high lighted 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 employmentgathering 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 MulUmodal 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