Trolley Ad Hoc Committee

MINUTES OF THE MEETING: AD HOC TROLLEY COMMITTEE/CITY OF GALVESTON 3/25/19 11:00 A.M. In Attendance: Chairman Kyle Albright, Co-Chairman Trey Click, Council Member Craig Brown, Joe Rozier, Mike Shriner, Clyde Wood, John Zendt. Goodman Corporation-John Carrara. City of Galveston-Rick Beverlin, David Smith, Marissa Barnett. Galveston.com-Lee Roane & staff members. Reporter present: Keri Heath, The Daily News. Call to Order. Chairman Kyle Albright called the meeting to order and declared a quorum. No conflicts were noted. No public address. Minutes. Trey Click moved for approval of the July 18, 2018 minutes, January 15, 2019 minutes, January 29, 2019 minutes. Clyde Wood seconded the motion. All in favor; motion carried. Business. Chairman Albright stated meeting would cover routes, GPS mapping and other interests; and proposal to raise the fares from $1 to $2. He asked for discussion, comments, suggestions, and thoughts. David Smith said Rick Beverlin could speak to fare item. Albright: Raising throughout transit system? Smith: Something Rick will speak to. John Zendt: Day pass, three day pass. Albright: $1 – no wiggle room. By going to $2 opens to credit card fee; GPS cost; Parks Board and Convention & Visitors Bureau to market passes. $2 weekend hop-on/hop-off. $20 unlimited usage. 110,000 ridership 2017-18; projection for 2019? Rick Beverlin: No, haven’t projected out. Six months – discount free period. Go back to last transit figures, into spring break, get an average of 350 per day; 250 weekdays and 400 weekends. Cost of ridership not done yet. UTMB rubber trolley service – 12 month picture? $74,000. Smith: Yes. Beverlin: Doesn’t account for children. UTMB fiscal year? Beverlin: October 1st. Craig Brown: $74,000 based on 110,000 – you are thinking that will double? Beverlin: Insert another vehicle – costs could go up. Smith: GPS will help people understand and ride more—cops, hotel workers riding, live downtown. Beverlin: During Mardi Gras – riders-locals-put off by shortened Mardi Gras schedule. Albright: Rough numbers. Beverlin: we have run 86 trips per day average; 37 per day in 10 to 7 run time; 18 mid-week and 24 weekend. Albright: ½ that; 15% capacity of what we could run. 784 per year passengers at 110 – room for growth. Brown: 606,000. Beverlin: three seawall; one downtown. Brown: $200,000 per trolley in operational expenses. Beverlin: Depreciation built in. $154,000 per trolley. UTMB, if 4th trolley and increased fare – 30% riders free. General population – backpack crowd. UTMB loose on minors. Zendt: Adding another rubber wheel if at 15% capacity. Beverlin: 15 to 20 minute headway—activity center—have fun. Miss a trolley 15 to 20 minutes more likely to use it. Zendt: tourist, ten minutes headway experience. A little faster local people. Beverlin: Ride time same; delay time… Zendt: Out of their cars – don’t want to wait 30 minutes. Beverlin: Circulator system. Brown: Up fares to $2 develop $75,000 more revenue. John Carrara: Take a hit – margin that says too much. Albright: Where packages come in and GPS. Beverlin: Premium price; premium service. Brown: Costs to lower headway. Beverlin: Ridership goes up; acceptable cost? Brown: One to two million in HOT budget for funding operating reserves. Clyde Wood: Use money to bring back fourth steel wheel trolley. Beverlin: Run two, one in reserve. Wood: Fourth steel wheel. Click: Efficiency that they should have. Albright: Rate increase recommendation. Routes we have with ridership now…what will rate increase provide us with – marketing and packaging – recommendation to City Council. Fare increase after 30 years. Rate increase - $2 to $2.50. Minor policy – 10 years to 12 years. Recommend GPS. Adding another trolley on Seawall; another coming? Fifteen minute headway with real-time on phone. You need to know this – GPS on board; then add a trolley. Wood: $2.50 exact? Pay by phone? Beverlin: Do-able. Down to dollars. Cannot do for free in-house. Look at Metro – very few successful in-house. Carrara: Paid parking vendors? Beverlin: Downtown and Seawall different paradigm. Wood: Increase ridership. Beverlin: Pay to park – get a free ride. Zendt: Mobile app. Look at fees – stay away from fifty cents. Do we have a hotel pass? Beverlin: Sell discounted to hotels. Two dollar fixed rate. Zendt: One-quarter (1/4) to mobile app. UTMB - status of GPS. Somebody working on this? Island Transit talking to vendors a year ago. Offer from Galveston .com, backed off, now again if fare increase. Smith: Galveston.com gave us good numbers. Google best. Have to have somebody with knowledge to do that. Day to day adjustment on staff. Hotel’s people ride free. Brown: Too short timeframe. Report to committee in a month? Joe Rozier: Timeframe? Beverlin: To City Council for public meeting for fixed rate. Fourteen day public comment meeting. Soonest (paratransit) June 1st. Fixed route – April end with what we receive back. Rozier: Fixed rate? Beverlin: Unintended consequences. Brown: Next month evaluate and approve GPS. Beverlin: Back end side. Smith: Come back to committee. Beverlin: End May – not due fixed route. Budget pressures heavy. UTMB Coordinated by June 1. Carrara: Timeframe for servicing UTMB…not enough money to restore switch – direction to the other. Can’t be that flexible manually. Decision as to conditions. Wood: Would driver get out? Carrara: No. Not safe – crew from maintenance – extra operating expense. Similar discussion – rail vehicles. Options – basic route to Seawall. Rozier: $185,000 per switch. Albright: Operation figures, GPS postponed. Smith: Study on app and hotel cost. Albright: Get with CVB. Lee Roane: Galveston.com. Sign above head – does not block windows. (Sign displayed for committee). Click: QR code to Galveston.com. Vehicle on location? Galveston.com: In day before and after – great opportunity. Rozier: Funds for rehab on 4th? Wood: $1.3 million. Beverlin: Reserve, balance proportionate to general fund. Trickle down fund as it relates to trolleys. Wood: Contract to restore trolley. Smith: Welding inside beams, corroded from inside out; unforeseen costs. Work outstanding – time difficult. Demarco. Wood: Seats are here. Smith: Doing floor at their costs. Adjournment: There being no further business to come before the committee, Chairman Albright asked for motion to adjourn. Moved by Rozier, second by Wood; all in favor, and motion carried. Respectfully submitted, Linda Strevell Recording for David Smith Executive Director of Fleet, Transit & Special Events Distribution document: Galveston Island Rail Trolley Operating Configurations