METRO RIDE TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN FINAL REPORT Prepared for County of Marathon Metro Ride Prepared by AECOM Technical Services, Inc. AJM Consulting May 2012 Metro Ride – Transit Development Plan Table of Contents METRO RIDE TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN ...............................................................................1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................1 Population and Employment in the Wausau Metropolitan Area ..............................................1 Metro Ride Service ..................................................................................................................2 Peer Community Analysis ........................................................................................................2 Public Outreach .......................................................................................................................3 Rider Survey ........................................................................................................................3 Stakeholder Meetings/Workshops ......................................................................................5 Drop-in Sessions at the Transit Center .................................................................................5 Driver Forum .......................................................................................................................5 Metro Ride Service Evaluation .................................................................................................6 System Performance ...........................................................................................................6 Route Diagnostics ................................................................................................................6 System Issues and Opportunities .........................................................................................7 Service Plan ...........................................................................................................................10 Selected Service Option for 2012 .......................................................................................11 Potential Funding Options .................................................................................................11 APPENDIX A SOCIOECONOMICS AND LAND USE CHARACTERISTICS .........................................12 Introduction ..........................................................................................................................12 Population and Socioeconomics ............................................................................................12 Senior Citizen Population...................................................................................................14 Youth Population ...............................................................................................................15 Income ..............................................................................................................................16 Households below Poverty Level .......................................................................................17 Zero-Car Households .........................................................................................................17 Transit Score .....................................................................................................................19 Employment and Commuting ................................................................................................20 Labor Force .......................................................................................................................20 Employment ......................................................................................................................21 Major Generators ..............................................................................................................21 Journey to Work ................................................................................................................31 APPENDIX B METRO RIDE 2011 SERVICE OVERVIEW ................................................................32 Introduction ..........................................................................................................................32 Organizational Structure .......................................................................................................32 Fixed Route Service Description ............................................................................................33 Metro Ride Fare Structure .....................................................................................................39 Metro Ride Paratransit Service Description ...........................................................................40 Financial Information ............................................................................................................41 Capital Resources ..................................................................................................................42 Historical Trend 1996-2009 ...................................................................................................45 Changes Since the Previous TDP (2006) .................................................................................48 ii Metro Ride – Transit Development Plan APPENDIX C PEER GROUP ANALYSIS ........................................................................................50 Introduction ..........................................................................................................................50 Peer Group ............................................................................................................................50 Financial Efficiency ............................................................................................................51 Service Effectiveness ..........................................................................................................52 Cost Effectiveness ..............................................................................................................53 Service Provided per Capita ...............................................................................................54 Service Span Comparison ...................................................................................................55 Conclusion .........................................................................................................................55 Trend Analysis .......................................................................................................................56 Service Baseline .................................................................................................................57 Financial Efficiency ............................................................................................................58 Service Effectiveness ..........................................................................................................58 Cost Effectiveness ..............................................................................................................58 Amount and Use of Service ................................................................................................59 Conclusion .........................................................................................................................59 APPENDIX D PUBLIC OUTREACH ...............................................................................................60 Introduction ..........................................................................................................................60 Survey Description ................................................................................................................60 Survey Results .......................................................................................................................63 Bus Route and Survey Response .........................................................................................63 Mode of Accessing Bus ......................................................................................................64 Mode to Complete Trip ......................................................................................................66 Length of Time Riding Metro Ride ......................................................................................68 Trip Purpose ......................................................................................................................68 Frequency of Use ...............................................................................................................69 Riding Trend ......................................................................................................................70 Fare Payment Options .......................................................................................................70 Service Evaluation .............................................................................................................71 Best Place for Metro Ride Information ...............................................................................74 Most Important Service Improvement ...............................................................................75 Extent of Transit Dependency ............................................................................................75