City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
Meeting Date: 7/27/09 Item Number: PH-2
CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM: PUBLIC HEARING – (1) Adoption of a Resolution
Approving Fare Changes for the Culver CityBus System and Rescinding Resolution
No. 2000-R118; and (2) Approval of Proposed Service Changes to Line Seven.
Contact Person/Dept.: Samantha M.
Blackshire/Transportation
Phone Number: (310) 253-6535
Fiscal Impact: Yes [X] No [] General Fund: Yes [] No [X]
Public Hearing: [X] Action Item: [] Attachments: [X]
Commission Action Required: Yes [] No [X] Date: _______________
Public Notification: (E-Mail) Meetings and Agendas – City Council (07/22/09); (E-Mail)
Ongoing Topics – Culver CityBus (7/22/09); (Published) Culver City News (6/4/2009);
(Published) Culver City Observer (6/4/09); (USPS) Stakeholders (6/1/09); Two (2) Public
Meetings (7/8/09); Culver CityBus website; City of Culver City website.
Department Approval:
Art Ida (07/16/09)
City Attorney Approval:
Carol Schwab (by H. Baker) (07/22/09)
Chief Financial Officer Approval:
Jeff Muir (07/22/09)
City Manager Approval:
Mark Scott (07/22/09)
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends the City Council (1) adopt a Resolution approving the Culver
CityBus proposed fare increase (effective August 24, 2009) and rescinding
Resolution No. 200-R118; and (2) approve service changes to Line 7 (effective
September 14, 2009).
PROCEDURE:
1. Mayor seeks motion from Council to receive and file the affidavits of publication
and posting of notices, and correspondence received in response to the public
hearing notices; and,
2. Mayor calls for a staff report and the City Council Members may pose questions
to staff as desired; and,
3. Mayor seeks motion to open the public hearing; and,
4. Mayor seeks motion to close the public hearing after all public testimony has
been presented; and,
5. City Council discusses the item and arrives at its decision.
City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
BACKGROUND:
Culver CityBus operates seven routes, serving approximately 6 million riders
annually with a service area encompassing 25.5 square miles, which includes the
following Westside communities: Venice, Westchester, Westwood, West Los
Angeles, Palms, Marina Del Rey, Rancho Park, Mar Vista, Century City, and Culver
City.
Fares
Founded in 1928, Culver CityBus has weathered several periods of economic
difficulty, including the current unprecedented economic recession. Staff has been
making difficult decisions in order to focus on upholding our commitment to quality
customer service to the community. We have not modified the Culver CityBus fare
structure since January 2001. Over the course of the past eight years, we have seen
an increase in operating costs, as well as an increase in ridership. Presently, Culver
CityBus is partially funded by State and Federal funds, sales and gas taxes, and
farebox revenue. Farebox revenue accounts for only approximately 18% of the total
operating budget. Due to economic difficulties, the State has reallocated
transportation funds to reduce its deficit. It is estimated that Culver CityBus will lose
roughly $5 million in funding over the course of the next five years. In addition, sales
tax revenues have decreased, which will in turn affect other transportation funding.
Line 7
The City Council approved the creation of Line 7 in 2006, which was once a portion
of Metro’s Line 220. Line 220 had a history of having extremely low ridership. The
City agreed to adopt a portion of Line 220, and both Metro and the City agreed to
decrease headways from 60 minutes to 40 minutes. At the time, Culver CityBus’s
base fare was $0.25 less than Metro’s base fare.
By offering greater frequency and a reduced fare, staff hoped ridership would
increase. However, this has not been the case. Line 7 runs along Culver Boulevard
from Fisherman’s Village in Marina Del Rey to Venice Boulevard / Culver Boulevard.
Metro’s Line 220 extends from Venice Boulevard / Culver Boulevard into West
Hollywood. Both Culver CityBus and Metro service runs Monday through Saturday.
Due to the current economic climate, other transit agencies have been forced to
make difficult decisions regarding fares and service levels. Specifically, Metro
proposed dropping its Line 220 service. After several discussions with staff, Metro
proposed keeping the service and increasing its headways to 60 minutes, which
reverts back to their 2005 service levels.
City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
DISCUSSION:
Public Notification
In compliance with Federal Transit Administration (FTA) requirements, the City
published a public notice in the Culver City News and the Culver City Observer on
June 4, 2009. Furthermore, to comply with Metro’s notification policy, staff sent letters
describing the proposed fare increase and Line 7 service change to stakeholders,
which include the Culver City Unified School District and other affected local schools
and universities, Metro and other transit agencies, and regional hospitals on June 1,
2009.
We posted English and Spanish versions of notices via placards and take-one flyers in
buses and at businesses where Culver CityBus schedule holders are located;
provided several means to accept customer response, which included US Mail, E-mail
and voicemail. Staff also posted notification about the proposed changes on the
Culver CityBus website and the main City of Culver City website. In addition, two (2)
public outreach meetings were held on July 8, 2009.
Fares
In order to maintain Culver CityBus service commitments, a fare increase is
necessary to help compensate for some of the federal, state, and local funding
losses mentioned above.
The originally proposed fare increases took into account 1) the amount of revenue
required to maintain service levels, and 2) an analysis of fares from other transit
providers within the region. Through the public comment process, customers
provided additional information, which staff took into consideration and upon which
our final proposal is based.
The majority of the public comments reflected that the local transfer cost increase
from no charge to $0.40 was too much at one time. Staff determined that charging
the same price for local and inter-agency transfers (IAT) would create a level of
confusion for customers and could also create operational issues.
Staff recently received information that our new farebox system, installed in
February 2008, may have the capability to issue a day pass. If this farebox function
proves to be feasible, we will begin implementation planning within the next year. At
that time, we will incorporate a new revised local transfer value.
The current, original, and revised fare change proposals are as follows:
City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
Current Proposed
(original)
Proposed
(revised)
Cash Fares
(Effective January
2001)
(Effective August 24,
2009)
(Effective August 24,
2009)
Adult (Base) 0.75 $ 1.00 $ 1.00 $
Student (K-12) 0.50 $ 0.75 $ 0.75 $
Senior (62+ years) 0.35 $ 0.35 $ 0.35 $
Disabled 0.35 $ 0.35 $ 0.35 $
Blind Free Free Free
Transfers
Local Transfer:
Base (Adult/Student) IAT Free Use IAT 0.25 $
Senior (62+ years) IAT Free Use IAT 0.10 $
Disabled IAT Free Use IAT 0.10 $
Inter-Agency Transfers (IAT):
Base (Adult/Student) IAT 0.25 $ 0.40 $ 0.40 $
Senior (62+ years) IAT 0.10 $ 0.20 $ 0.20 $
Disabled IAT 0.10 $ 0.20 $ 0.20 $
Staff believes that an increase in fares now will prevent future service cuts at a time
when transit ridership is on the rise. It would be a greater detriment to the community
should Culver CityBus’ services become unavailable to the public in the future.
Line 7
The City strives to facilitate efficient connections for our riders. Therefore, in order to
provide connectivity with Metro’s Line 220 service change, staff is proposing to
increase headways from 40 minutes to 60 minutes. This proposal is in the best
interests of Culver CityBus and Metro customers. Staff will continue to monitor the
ridership of Line 7. We hope that the ridership will increase with the introduction of
the Expo Rail Line which will directly connect with Line 7.
FISCAL ANALYSIS:
The fiscal impact analysis primarily relates to community interest. If the fare changes
are approved, Culver CityBus foresees a potential $750,000 increase in farebox
revenue for FY2009-2010 provided that ridership levels remain relatively constant. City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
In the case the City Council determines a fare increase is not desired at this time, staff
would immediately look at other ways to reduce costs of operations, including
modifications to some of our less productive services and return in the near future to the
City Council with these proposals for the Council’s consideration.
This projected increase in fare changes was reflected in the adopted interim fiscal
2009-10 budget, but will be revised for the final budget per revisions in fare changes
noted in this staff report.
ATTACHMENTS:
Resolution Amending the Fares for Culver CityBus.
MOTION:
That the City Council:
1. Adopt a resolution approving a new fare structure for Culver CityBus effective at
2:00 AM on August 24, 2009 and rescinding Resolution No. 2000-R118; and,
2. Approve service changes to Culver CityBus Line 7 as proposed effective at 2:00
AM on September 14, 2009.
MEETING DATE: 7/27/09
AGENDA ITEM: Adoption of a Resolution Approving Fare Changes for the
Culver CityBus System effective August 24, 2009.
ATTACHMENTS
Pages
1. Resolution No. 2009-R 1-2