Public Transit Advisory Board

PUBLIC TRANSIT ADVISORY BOARD IN-PERSON AND VIRTUAL MEETING February 26, 2024 3:30 PM Staff Liaison: Bren Schweitzer bren.schweitzer@siouxfalls.gov (605)367-8689 Karla Resendiz karla.resendiz@siouxfalls.gov (605)367-8895 MEETING ASSISTANCE: UPON REQUEST, ACCOMMODATIONS FOR MEETINGS WILL BE PROVIDED FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES. PLEASE CONTACT THE HUMAN RELATIONS OFFICE, FIRST FLOOR, CITY HALL, 224 WEST 9TH STREET, SIOUX FALLS, SD AT 367-8745 (VOICE) OR 367-7039 (TDD) 48 HOURS IN ADVANCE OF THE MEETING. Public Transit Advisory Board Member Participants: Erik Nelson, Joni Tschetter, Bailey Abbott, Al Svennes, Luke Senst PTAB Board Members Absent: Manny Guiterrez, (Excused), Jaime Johannesen (Excused), Staff Participants: Tierza Lanham, Glenn Wright, Bren Schweitzer, Kevin Hansen, Jeff Eckhoff, Garry Horrocks, Joe Martin, Emily Shapiro Public Participants (attending virtually and in-person): Phyllis Arends, Bret Glirbas, Trevor Mitchell, Lori Montis, Sean Hegyi, Cathal Minutes Call to Order and Quorum Determination: Erik Nelson, Chair called the meeting to order at 3:32 pm and welcomed all participants. Member participants represented a quorum. 1. Meeting Procedures: Bren Schweitzer read the meeting procedures for the PTAB meeting. 2. Approval of Agenda: A motion was made by L. Senst, and second by A. Svennes to approve the February 2024 PTAB Agenda. Motion passed unanimously. 3. PTAB Meeting Minutes: A motion was made by A Svennes, a second by B. Abbott to approve the January 2024 PTAB Minutes. Motion passed unanimously. 4. Public input on non-agenda items: Bret Gliberas prepared a statement with board member Baily Abbott reading this for the attendees. Bret’s concern was the challenge of communication in making reservations with dispatch. He had recently worked with a text option for clarity for the SAM dispatch team. There was discussion on the challenges to this for dispatch. Via and SAM worked on this situation and found a resolution, which was then shared with Bret. Unfinished Business: Joe Martin with Via presented a slide presentation showing maps and stats for three different zones proposed for future microtransit service. The microtransit service was further explained, being a shared-rides service will utilize para vehicles, and future ADA vans. In keeping within the COSF budget, 320 hrs/week are being considered for this additional service, with some savings being recognized on increased efficiencies in the paratransit service. Considerable conversation followed. Joe shared that there will be a presentation to the city team reviewing these zones on Wednesday. Future reorganization of the fixed route service would go through the public input process, with projections of implementation of this for early fall. With the city team’s meeting on Wednesday and the discussion involved, there was no formal action taken by PTAB on supporting a specific zone. This will be added to the March agenda for consideration. New Business 5. MPO – 5310 Applications Sean Heygi presented the 2024 5310 funding opportunity. There is $408,805 available to those non-profit organizations that support individuals with disabilities and those over 60 years of age and are part of the Human Services/Public Transit Coordination Plan. There are six applications for consideration requesting funding for both Capital and Operational expenses. The review process goes through TAC, UDC and CAC for consideration with the proposals being presented to the South Dakota DOT. 6. Triennial Review Process Bren updated the group about the Triennial Review, a 3-year audit done with FTA. This process includes several city departments and the SAM operation. Submission of documentation is due on 2/29/2024. The Denver training attended by Bren and Karla was very beneficial. 7. Operations Report – Gary Horrocks & Glenn Wright Via and the city are working on updated data for PTAB reporting. There were no current stats provided in document form. The following information was provided:  App usage for scheduling rides is at 77.9%, which is excellent. o App can calculate capacity and ability to serve  Promotions for the service includes o Signage at all locations and in the buses o Phone solicitations o Depot staff have been very instrumental in educating users o Business cards that have directions for use have been ordered o Staff have been at the Depot visiting patrons.  Outreach materials will be brought to the next PTAB meeting  Fixed Route is up approximately 1,000 rides from the previous year. This increase could also include weather factors from last year.  Title VI questions concerning the app: o It can accommodate some foreign languages and is set by the phone user’s settings. o Looking into accommodations for the visually impaired. Adjourn: Motion by B. Abbott, Second by A. Svennes 4:32PM Minutes prepared by Bren Schweitzer