City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
Meeting Date: 2/28/11 Item Number: A-1
CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM: Approval of Schedule Modifications to Culver
CityBus Lines 3 and 4 Related to Direct Service into West Los Angeles College
Effective on March 28, 2011
Contact Person/Dept.:
Art A. Ida/Transportation Director
Phone Number:
(310) 253-6545
Fiscal Impact: Yes [X] No [] General Fund: Yes [] No [x]
Public Hearing: [] Action Item: [x] Attachments: []
Commission Action Required: Yes [] No [x] Date: _______________
Public Notification: (Email) Agenda and Meetings – City Council (03/04/2011);(Email)
West Los Angeles College Stakeholder Email List (03/04/2011); and (Meeting) West Los
Angeles College Staff (03/01/2011).
Department Approval:
Art A. Ida (03/02/2011)
City Attorney Approval:
Carol Schwab (by H. Baker) (03/03/11)
Chief Financial Officer Approval:
Jeff Muir (by M. Noller) (03/03/11)
City Manager Approval:
John M. Nachbar (03/04/11)
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends the City Council approve schedule modifications to Culver
CityBus Lines 3 and 4 related to direct service into West Los Angeles College
(WLAC).
BACKGROUND:
Culver CityBus operates seven bus lines which provide approximately 5 million
passenger trips annually on the Westside of Los Angeles County. Culver CityBus
Lines 3 and 4 currently provide direct transit service to WLAC. Except for the
temporarily-discontinued service to WLAC in summer, 2010, the service has been in
operation since the mid-1980s. Lines 3 and 4 have approximately 700 combined
daily average boardings/alighting at the WLAC campus stop.
The discontinuation of service in summer, 2010 was the result of a request in May,
2010 from former WLAC President Mark Rocha, who requested that direct Line 3
and 4 services be discontinued under the condition that WLAC would provide
connecting shuttle service between the campus and existing bus stops outside of
campus. Direct transit service was discontinued on June 9, 2010. On July 27, 2010,
WLAC sent the City a letter requesting reinstatement of direct transit service. WLAC
further informed staff that WLAC no longer had funding to operate the connecting
shuttle. In order to minimize the impact to students, staff, and visitors to the
campus, the City resumed direct transit service to the campus in August, 2010.
City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
Since the reinstatement of direct transit service to WLAC, the City received
complaints from the Lakeside Villas neighborhood (Lakeside Villas) on noise impacts
from Line 3 and Line 4 buses going in and out of WLAC. At the September 27, 2010
City Council Meeting, the City Council directed staff to address these complaints.
Subsequently, staff evaluated potential alternatives to address the issue and
received the City Council’s direction to move forward with the alternative of reducing
direct bus service into WLAC to lessen the noise impact to Lakeside Villas residents.
The City Council further directed staff to recommend schedule modifications
necessary to attain the reduction in direct bus service to WLAC.
Existing Line 3 and 4 Service into West Los Angeles College
Line 3 is a north-south route that connects Century City with the Culver City Transit
center. It runs seven days a week and services WLAC from Monday to Saturday.
Line 4 is an east-west weekday-only route that connects the West Los Angeles
Transit Center to the Culver City Transit Center. The existing Line 3 and 4 service
has a combined total of 122 scheduled weekday trips into WLAC, with service before
7am on an as-needed basis. A “trip” is defined as the movement of one bus that
goes into the campus, picks up / drops off passengers, and leaves the campus to
continue along its designated route. Line 3 has a total of 96 trips into WLAC during
the weekday (with the frequency of once every 20 minutes per route direction) and
67 trips on Saturday (with the frequency of once every 30 minutes per route
direction). Line 4 has a total of 25 trips into WLAC during weekday only (with the
frequency of once an hour per route direction).
DISCUSSION:
In accordance with the City Council’s direction to look at options for addressing
community concerns about noise, staff is recommending the following schedule
modifications to the direct Lines 3 and 4 services to WLAC:
Direct Weekday Service
Line 3
From Monday to Thursday, direct Line 3 service to WLAC will commence
after 7 am and will run every 40 minutes instead of every 20 minutes from
approximately 7:30am to 5pm and will run hourly instead of every 20-30
minutes from approximately 5pm to 10pm; existing scheduled direct service
from 5:49am to 7am and the last trip at 10:30pm will be eliminated.
On Fridays, direct Line 3 service will commence after 7am and will run hourly
instead of every 20-30 minutes from approximately 7:10am to 2pm; existing
scheduled direct service from approximately 5:49am to 7am and
approximately 2pm to 10:30pm will be eliminated.
Line 4 City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
From Monday to Thursday, direct Line 4 service to WLAC will commence
after 7am and will maintain the existing headway of one hour until
approximately 6pm. On Fridays, direct Line 4 service will commence after
7am and will maintain the existing headway of one hour until approximately
2pm; existing scheduled direct service from approximately 2pm to 6pm will be
eliminated.
Direct Weekend Service
Line 3
On Saturdays, direct Line 3 service to WLAC will commence after 7am and
will run hourly instead of every 30 minutes from approximately 7:50am to
2pm. Existing scheduled direct service from approximately 6am to 7am and
from approximately 2pm to 10:30pm will be eliminated. There is currently no
direct Line 3 service on Sundays and holidays.
Line 4
There is no modification proposed to Line 4 as it is a weekday-only service.
Reduction in Direct Transit Trips to Campus
The proposed schedule modifications will reduce the following average total daily
trips to the following:
Monday to Thursday – reduced from 121 trips to 63 trips (48% reduction in
trips)
Friday – reduced from 121 trips to 31 trips (74% reduction in trips)
Saturday – reduced from 66 to 14 trips (79% reduction in trips)
The total number of Weekly Trips is reduced from 671 to 297 trips ( a 56% reduction
in trips).
The proposed modifications will reduce the noise impacts to Lakeside Villas while
maintaining direct transit service that will continue to serve the needs of bus patrons.
Operation efficiency, ease of understanding for bus patrons, night-time safety,
existing ridership patterns and overcrowding situation were also taken into
consideration in the recommended schedule modifications. In evaluating the
appropriate schedule modifications, staff also looked at the feasibility of
concentrating more direct service during hours that may have higher demand and
provide less service during hours of lower demand. Staff determined that, due to
operational difficulty, the availability of classes throughout the day, and the need to
maintain basic service to the campus, the direct service to WLAC should maintain a
somewhat consistent headway throughout the day and should not have long gaps in
service. The recommended modifications, through maintaining a somewhat
consistent schedule, will allow for some ease of operation by bus operators and will
make it easier to understand and remember for bus patrons. Staff also had a City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
meeting with WLAC during which WLAC staff discussed their suggested reductions
in direct transit service to the campus. Staff considered their suggestions and
incorporated some of their input into staff’s recommendation.
Should the City Council approve the recommended schedule modifications, to allow
adequate notice to be provided to transit patrons, the proposed implementation date
for schedule modifications will be on March 28, 2011.
It is worthwhile to note that demand for direct transit service to WLAC is likely to
increase in future years. The increasing cost of college education at four-year
universities, ( which may lead to higher demand at community colleges), increasing
gas prices, and the opening of the Exposition Light Rail Line that connect Culver City
westward to Santa Monica and eastward to downtown Los Angeles may all bring
additional students to WLAC, a portion of whom will become Culver CityBus riders.
The existing Line 3 service has already been experiencing some overcrowding in the
morning. The proposed reduction in direct service to WLAC may lead to more
overcrowding and an increase in complaints from bus patrons. Staff will continue to
monitor the demand on direct service to WLAC.
FISCAL ANALYSIS:
The proposed schedule modifications will not create a significant fiscal impact to the
City. The reduction in direct bus service to WLAC will not add to the cost of
operations or result in operational cost reductions. Ridership on Lines 3 and 4 may,
initially, be negatively impacted due to the reduction in direct service to WLAC,
which would impact the amount of transit funding the City receives annually.
However, the initial reduction in ridership is anticipated to be negligible. As noted
above, the longer-term impacts will need to be monitored,
MOTION:
That the City Council:
Approve the proposed schedule modifications to Culver CityBus Line 3 and 4
Service into WLAC effective on March 28, 2011.